T HE C HEF
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A CULINARY DIRECTOR Inside COYA Culinary Director Sanjay Dwivedi’s daily routine
7:30AM –
I have a different schedule in Dubai compared to London, starting my day with exercise. I do Bikram yoga, practiced in a room heated to 40 degrees. I’m very fortunate that I've found a yoga studio near my hotel. I've been going there three times a week and it takes me about half an hour to walk to the studio, arriving 15 minutes early. My main goal is to loosen up and prepare me for whatever the day might have in store. It leaves me feeling that I can move through the day feeling mentally and physically strong. I started doing yoga more, during the lockdown in London, and it’s become a nice way to start my morning.
my knowledge to these young chefs and see how they apply that in the kitchen.
9:00AM –
my wife a call just to see what’s been going on back home. Maybe I’ll go around the restaurant after that and speak to COYA’s guests and members. There was a member here yesterday who also came the day before, and I made some food for him. It’s nice to make people feel comfortable and special. I like to treat our guests the same way I would like to be treated when I go to a restaurant.
After yoga, I walk down to the hotel. I'll go down the pool and relax before I shower and prepare to leave. I changed my eating and drinking patterns since the lockdown. These days, I’ve been doing intermittent fasting as well. I’m only having black coffee, which is why I don’t go to cafes as I would usually do. I take my decaf espresso probably at the hotel or when I get to the restaurant and have oat milk with it. Coffee isn’t as big as it used to be with me, but I found myself sleeping better now because I don’t have much caffeine in my system.
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10:30AM – I head to COYA Dubai and spend the late morning catching up with the staff to see what’s going on for the day. I don’t manage the kitchen of any of the restaurants now, because it would be difficult to manage eight kitchens across different continents at once. I’m glad to have been able to empower and pass on
12:00PM – For lunch, I sit down
with COYA’s Executive Chef in the Middle East, Chef Ben, and our Head Chef in Dubai, Chef Eric, to do a tasting of a couple of new dishes we may want to add on the menu and talk about how we can improve them. For me, the only way a chef will find out how good your food is, is by sitting down, away from the kitchen, with nobody asking you questions, and just eating the food.
2:00PM – In the afternoon, I give
4:00PM – I also like to go outside
and visit COYA’s next door neighbours and speak to their chefs about the latest industry news. I think it's always good to know what everybody else is up to. I don’t really have a strict schedule when I’m in Dubai.
5:00PM – Maybe I’ll have a meeting
with the big boss and see where we’re at and what’s happening at the restaurant. I come to Dubai only twice a year and have press opportunities and photoshoots lined up, so I take time to do these while I’m here.
6:30PM –
I'm part of the staff dinner and briefing for the evening service around this time. It’s always so energetic, it’s something we’ve done consistently at COYA every day since we opened. I don’t get as involved as much as before; I just like listening now. COYA is like my second baby, so I love seeing and hearing how it’s being looked after so well by different people. I think I’ve got the best job in the world right now to be able to just move around and see everyone doing their jobs - it just works out perfectly.
9:00PM – Depending on the mood as well, I like to go to the Bar & Lounge and try a couple of concoctions from the guys and see what’s new. My beverage consumption has been very low recently as I know I’m not getting any younger and I don’t want to overindulge.
10:30PM –
Once it’s getting late and the restaurant is slowing down slightly, I prepare to go home. I like to walk back to the hotel and listen to music. I make sure to catch up with my kids on videocall. Yesterday, I was talking to one of the twins and then today I’ll talk to the other. I don’t ask them what they did at school because kids don’t like that - I ask about their day and I tell them about mine.
12:00AM –
I check out Netflix quickly before bed, even though I don’t watch TV so much when I’m travelling. I recently finished The Last Dance on Netflix, which I think is just the best docuseries. Michael Jordan was sort of my childhood hero growing up, so to me, it was mind blowing to watch. I always have a hot shower to end the day.
Edition 53 / The Pro Chef Middle East
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