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From making a basic daiquiri to wearing a good attitude, chefs talk about testing rookies

Some of the best cuisine specialists, mixologists and pastry experts tell Pooja Bhula about the one skill or dish that would make or break a candidate's chance of working in their kitchen

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Clockwise from top: Andy Toh Chye Siong, Rachel Goenka, Dimitri Lezinska, Scott Pickett, Amninder Sandhu and Manu Chandra
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'Fried rice and a vegetable'
— Andy Toh Chye Siong, Executive Chef, Hakkasan Middle East

Spice ruled the Mumbai menu, but sometime ago I have recently introduced dishes where Chinese rice wine and ginger flavour the lobster soup, lotus leaves lend the aroma to the steamed vegetarian tofu, and truffle sauce flavours cod in another dish. It's important that other flavours and fragrances also speak to the palate. That's the skill I look for while hiring my cooking staff. For instance, if it's a wok chef, I would ask him/her to prepare any simple fried rice and vegetable. There's nothing better that'll be a test of their technique. The fried rice must carry the wok's smokey scent; in Cantonese, we call it wok hei. Chinese food is not only about the taste, but also about the aroma. The rice grains should remain whole and have a shine without being too oily. As for the vegetable, ones that are naturally crisp such as kailan, bok choy or asparagus, must remain so. That tells you whether the veggies have been overcooked and the use of oil or water is balanced, directly reflecting the chef's skill and judgement.

'A basic daiquiri'
— Dimitri Lezinska, Beverage Director, The Good Wife and Koko

There's a lot of fusion happening at every place. I prefer simplicity. When it comes to cocktails, it doesn't get more simple than a basic daiquiri, which only requires rum, lemon and sugar. And yet it's easy to mess up. When I'm looking at a daiquiri, I'm looking for the right texture and that shine on the top. You won't get it if you don't shake the cocktail adequately. Anyone who can't get that right, is out.

'Sponge cake, tart shells and ganache'
— Rachel Goenka, Restaurateur and CEO, The Chocolate Spoon Company

If someone tries a complicated dessert over and over again, they'll get it right. But no one expects to be tested on the basics. I usually ask them to bake a sponge cake, sweet and savoury tarts and ganache. Is the vanilla sponge light or dense? Does it look dry? Done right, it would take on a golden brown colour. When you hold it, it should be light and airy and when you slice it, crumbs must fall. A clean cut means the cake is dense like bread. The tart shell too should be golden brown; with just a wee bit pressure, you should be able to break it with a knife. It can't look hard from the outside, but have a soggy inside — when that happens, you know it's not well cooked. Likewise, if the shell is not pierced or rolled well, it will rise and be uneven. Thankfully, most people now get the ganache right. I test candidates on the chocolate one. If heated too much, chocolate can lose its composition. A good ganache will be smooth and creamy with a nice gloss and a dropping consistency. Lumps or skin formed by cream, are dead giveaways.

'Roomali roti, fish kebabs and biryani'
— Chef Amninder Sandhu, Executive Chef, Arth and A Bar Called Life

Preparing Indian food at a restaurant is an entirely different ball game from cooking for the house. Especially for a restaurant like ours that doesn't use gas. Generally, from the tandoor section, I'd like to see how a potential candidate makes roomali roti. It should be even and soft; the edges often become thick. The way you rotate it, slap it and expand it makes all the difference. I look for evenness in naans and tandoori roti too. For both, kneading well will give a shine, a nice crunch on top and softness inside. I can tell it's not kneaded sufficiently if the naan is chewy or becomes stretchy once cold. From the mains, I'd like to see a good plate of fish kebabs. Fish is very easy to overcook – a good indication is the fish turning dry rather than remaining juicy. Also, the person has to know how to remove it from the skewer so it doesn't break. Finally, from the curry section, they've got to do the biryani – in the style they know best (Hyderabadi, Lucknowi, etc). Most of them don't know the difference. The grains should remain whole, not be overcooked or smashed and the rice should carry the flavour of the meat, without being overpowered by masalas.

Attitude before skill
  • Scott Pickett, Melbourne-based celebrity chef
"Skills in the kitchen can be taught, but all of my staff must start and continue with the right attitude, and the willingness to work hard. Kitchens are a tough environment and the attitude of the team is a huge component of its success. If the chef possesses a good attitude, willingness to learn and work hard, s/he will evolve and the product coming out of the kitchen will be consistently better."
  • Chef Manu Chandra, partner Olive Cafes South 
"I have clear benchmarks. Most times, I am not looking at someone with tremendous qualifications. In fact, when hiring a senior chef, I rarely take trials. I speak to them, get a sense of where they're coming from, their perspective, attitude towards work and what they like to do with their lives. They must obviously know the fundamentals, but you're going to pass your own style down to them because that's essentially what you're trying to push through your products. Those with their own style get amalgamated into the larger vocabulary of the restaurant. An exception would be when the chef's vision is going to matter — then I'll ask him/her to cook me a feast, giving them as many days as they require for preparation.

Apart from that, I'll only ask potential line cooks, who'll be preparing most meals, for a trial. Most often, the food is very average. But that's not what I want to gauge. I'm really looking at simple things: Was the seasoning right?

Was the vegetable cooked correctly? Are they able to get the protein right? Are they clean and organised? Do they care about the quality of the produce? What about their knife skills? Basically, can they command themselves well in the kitchen? If they do, then I know that in a week or 10 days, I'll have them up to speed. But there's no set formula. Parameters change as per position, the person's background, credibility and the kind of places s/he has worked at."

 

 

 

 

 

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