Meet the Chef

Ashish Dhar

Corporate Chef and Executive Chef Sarin Hotel Group

Ashish Dhar was born and bred in what he describes as ‘heaven on earth’ – Kashmir. Having always had a close relationship with nature and its miraculous contribution to the world, Ashish was lucky to have herbs and spices and their flavours right at his fingertips.

“L

eft home in my late teens for a culinary journey, starting from the most vibrant city of India – Mumbai, where I graduated with my hospitality qualification and the rest is history,” he

explained.

Ashish has now been in the industry for 20 years. After graduating, he worked for Carnival Cruise Lines, through all the ports from Costa Rica to Tampa. Ashish then moved to London where he worked for five-star restaurants across a range of cuisine from continental, to French and modern British. “Following my five-year tenure in London, I went back to India to work for top premium brands of the capital and developed an excellent fusion combination of continental, and core Indian flavours which are now known as ‘Progressive Indian cuisine’.”

It was in 2018 that the owners of the Sarin Hotel Group, who Ahish described as connoisseurs who love travelling and enjoying the local cuisines of each region they tour, headhunted him for a corporate chef position managing the head chefs of four different hotels, overseeing the menu and cross training staff. “I now spend most of my time chefing at the Lower Hutt Events Centre for large corporate and weddings as well as managing the team at the Centre’s popular Tutaki Cafe.”

Ashish’s day starts with a good cup of coffee and a peep into the world through news, blogs, and social media, he also loves to start with getting into his favourite attire: ‘the whites’.

“I love my chef’s jacket. I do not feel complete on the kitchen floor without my chef’s’ uniform. It brings responsibilities on my shoulder to run the show with efficiency and high standards, it also brings pride and joy in my heart and widens my chest a few more inches.” Ashish’s heritage gives him the perfect foundations for culinary inspiration - India has a wealth of cuisines, their flavours, and every ingredient in each cuisine plays a unique role. “I like to give a little bit of a modern or let’s say an international touch to Indian dishes and create something which is not too complicated; it brings a ‘wow’ effect, but I make sure I do not overdo it.”

One of Ashish’s greatest career achievements has been successfully launching restaurants in multiple hotels with different international brands across India, UK, and New Zealand, which is no mean feat. “In my current position at Lower Hutt Events Centre (LHEC), I am particularly proud of the fact we have been extremely successful in positioning ourselves as a preferred cultural wedding destination,” he noted.

“We have hosted numerous Indian and Pasifika weddings which consist of large numbers of guests and we offer a one stop shop experience which is thoroughly enjoyed by our guests. We are differentiating ourselves with the quality and presentation of our food that is produced by our inhouse culinary team and offering flexible solutions to address the needs of our clients.”

Meanwhile, Tutaki café operates seven days a week in the LHEC and has matured extremely well in the market. It has a loyal following for which Ashish and his team are grateful and that base continues to grow as they endeavour to keep the menu evolving and offer monthly promotions that offer something new to customers while they are able to enjoy the best of Tutaki’s a la carte menu at any time.

Ashish is currently exploring new sketches of culinary style on a modern canvas by focusing on simple things with big flavours so that his guests at the Lower Hutt Events Centre (conference goers, wedding guests, café diners) have an amazing experience with high quality cuisine.

“I am passionate and confident that I will be able to achieve this with the Sarin Hotel Group as they are committed to delivering a genuine and quality product. I am also excited about the opening of a new hotel in Lower Hutt called The Sebel, also owned by The Sarin Group, in September this year which I will also manage. It will be a game-changer for Lower Hutt.”

Of course, for Ashish and his teams, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a catastrophic impact, but it has also brought vital learnings about how to stabilise in such as uncertain atmosphere and while it has been hard, this chef is confident that the industry will bounce back with more power, more resources, new education, and additional methodologies.

“Chefing is not a sprint, it’s a marathon,” he expressed, his advice to those just starting their culinary careers is just as relevant to those with more experience in the industry.

“Take one step at a time; build your foundation strong with knowledge and experience. And do not try to make it easy, make it good. It will become easy automatically with practice and commitment, and most of all it’s not just a career, it’s an art of living.

I believe that if we do not compromise on the quality of ingredients used to produce a perfect dish, the result naturally falls into place and gives you immense pleasure. The same applies to life.”