In Chandigarh for the launch of 'The Biryani Leader: Spice Up Your Management Style', Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi says a successful chef must be well travelled

Mona

Happy Dancing Chef, Energy Chef of India…Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi is known by many monikers. And then there is his lilting Namak Shamak note for every dish!

A man of many talents, Chef Sokhi has not just earned a name with cooking showsTurban Tadka , Kitchen Khiladibut has to his credit reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 9, fiction show Channa Mereya and the film Bank Chor, among others.

“I want to inspire chefsthey can do whatever they want. Just do not to limit yourselves,” says the Chef, who now owns multiple restaurants across the world and is due to launch another chain, Kingdom Of Grill, which he is touting as a ‘royalty feast’. He is also launching an apparel brand.

Chef Sokhi’s visit to Chandigarh on Monday was to launch a book, not a cook-book like his earlier Royal Hyderabadi Cooking, but one that blends biryani and management fundas! The Biryani Leader: Spice Up Your Management Style, published by Story Mirror, is Chef Sokhi’s dedicated work of over a decade. “It’s not just the macro process, but what goes on inside the vessel that interested me. The book explores a range of topics, including avoiding overcooking, preventing employee burnout to fostering adaptability, which I took diligent notes for while cooking,” shares the Chef, who had to spend considerable time convincing publishing houses to warm up to the idea. “The book delves into the importance of upholding kitchen and workplace ethics,” offers the chef, who calls it an interesting read for all, especially for hotel management students.

Vast experience

Growing up in Kharagpur, pursuing hotel management in Bhubaneswar, learning the royal secrets in Hyderabad, Chef Sokhi has had many culinary influences. “A successful chef must be well travelled, for me it happened naturally. Growing up in West Bengal, studying in Orissa to learning under the best in Telangana, and, of course, my deep connection with Punjab…My cooking picked up from different cuisines.”

The chef also knows six languagesEnglish, Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali, Odia and Telugu. While one understands the rest, how in the world did he pick up Telugu? “Our Telugu house help spent 18 long years with us. In all those years, she didn’t learn Hindi but our family learnt Telugu. Some of our neighbours also spoke Telugu!” he laughs.

While he joined hotel management course to land a job, humbly he admits a waiter’s job or something was all he was aiming at. “It was in my third month that I realised I could be a chef, and there was no looking back.”

Perfect recipe

Apart from his wit and happy vibes, another talent of Chef Sokhi is to find ‘opportunity in a problem’. When Covid almost predicted the end of hospitality industry, he started a chain of restaurants named Karigari. A unique name indeed! “When we were setting up, we felt like karigars, each exploring their talent and hence the name,” he smiles.

His Punjab connect stays strong. The restaurant in Jalandhar, De Nuevo, where he is a partner, is under revamp and will soon be opened in its new avatar.

Like many professional chefs, Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi’s home kitchen too is ruled by his wife, and he admits candidly, “She is a better chef than I am.” In love with Indian cuisine, his comfort food stays khichdi, and on his daughters’ insistence he makes special restaurant food, including hara bhara kebab, mushroom galouti and Thai curry!

To those aiming for a career in this field, he insists, “Be ready to sacrifice. One only sees the success, but not the struggle that goes behind it. Being a chef working in the kitchen means longs hours, working during festivals, being away from the family through most important celebrations, but that’s what it takes to be a chef. An opportunity is never to be missed.”