Mystory@Gourav Dutta: How I made my career - the challenges & successes

I am an artist since childhood. I sketch, sing, write poetry and have my own philosophy about life. Tagore being my role model I wanted to get admission into JJ Arts College and learn the Arts. But I soon realised that my financial condition was not good. To top it all, artists have to struggle pretty much all their lives with no guarantee of returns in future. I was also playing for a local cricket club simultaneously, in fact, I was professionally involved as a player having played for MCA in the under 16 and under 19 categories.

I was a wicket keeper batsman. I was in the 12^th std. I had to manage my cricket routine along with my studies. Both, my professors and parents, supported me a lot. I would start my day at 5 am to play, after that go for classes and finally studied before going to bed. Despite a lot of effort, I felt that the path to success was too long and my chances of moving ahead were slim because there were better players than me doing the rounds. It was a time I decided between my sport and the back-up option that I had since my 10^th std; that of becoming a chef.

Why chef? Because I am a Bengali-a born foodie and creative at that. After my class XII board exams, I spent a few more months playing cricket finally, said good bye to the game with great difficulty and a heavy heart. I joined a personality development class and started preparing for hotel management entrance exams. I appeared for IHM and Anjuman Islam College. I secured admission to the latter.

Three years in Anjuman Islam was tough to say the least. It was here that I learnt the basics of cooking. Although, I knew how to make home food from my school days. Both my parents were working and I had no option but to learn how to cook for myself but this helped me shape my career. The pressure of performing in college was tremendous and everyone’s focus was the third-year campus interviews.

It was those three years of college where I perfected my culinary and other skills. By the end of third year, I had more confidence and this was apparent in my body language. I had a pleasing personality and was positive and professional in attitude. However, I needed to sharpen my practical culinary skills which was only possible in hotels.

My journey started then in 2010 from Trident Hotel BKC which is an Oberoi property.

I completed my internship at Oberoi’s Mumbai in 2009 and graduated in 2010. I joined Trident BKC in 2010 as an associate at entry level. I worked there for 2.5 years. I was expecting a promotion there but on not getting one, I did not allow myself to get motivated. I decided to switch instead to Starwood group with Hotel Westin, Goregaon at the same level but with a better salary. I worked for 1.5 years after which I got an offer from Chef Angad Rai with whom I had worked earlier at the Trident. The offer was to become a part of a pre-opening team in Palladium Hotel presently known as St. Regis, Lower Parel. I had already been a part of the pre-opening teams of the Sahib Room and Kipling Bar-a specialty Indian restaurant. I worked with the same for one year and later joined Accor group in Novotel, Juhu joined as a coffee shop sous chef. I handled the square restaurant for 1.5 years and have recently joined the Taj group as a chef at the cuisine banquets at Taj Lands End, Bandra where I am handling banqueting with capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 people.

The field of hospitality was not as easy and glamorous as it appeared from the outside. There were long hours and odd timings and I almost lost my personal life but my character had already been shaped by the game I played back in school. Hence I was totally patient, dedicated and passionate about what I was doing.

About the Author:

Gourav Dutta is a Chef by profession. He works at Taj Lands End Bandra as a Banquet Chef de Cuisine. He is a hotel management graduate from Anjuman Islam College. His hobbies include sketching, cooking, playing chess, singing, writing poems and travelling. He loves biking and owns a 200 cc sports bike which he purchased from his first salary.

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