Coming from a Bengali household with the aroma of freshly prepared fish enveloping the entire house always, Chef Roy’s love affair with food started right at home.
Being a curious young boy helped. For the chef, even watching the road side vendors skilfully chop vegetables when they had no formal degree was always amusing. He would often wonder about the secret behind their precision and speed when working with the knife. In fact, with much fondness towards his childhood days and the bashfulness of a child, Chef Roy admits that he fails to achieve same recipe with which his mother used to prepare pickles, despite multiple attempts made.
Fast-forwarding into the future, the childhood dream is now the reality with over 21 years of experience to account for, which includes the chef working across multiple kitchens around the globe and also for multiple brands including Hyatt, Marriott and ultimately the IHCL under the TATAs.
The Chef’s entry into the professional kitchen happened with Hyatt Regency, Pune starting in as a member of the pre-opening team. There after he moved onto working for Ritz-Carlton at their US property in 2007, shifting to the Shanghai property a while later. The chef’s association with Marriott International proved to be long-standing with his commitment continuing on with the group with him working for JW Marriott after his time at the Ritz-Carlton.
Apart from his stints at premium hospitality chains, notable achievements in Chef Roy’s career also include preparing meals for diplomats such as the first Lady President of India Pratibha Patil, Serving Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and ex-President of USA Barak Obama.
When asked about his philosophy in the kitchen, the chef reveals matter-of-factly that the food created by him, for him, is equivalent to the guest experience. And for him the success of the dish he has curated is dependant completely on the emotion and expression of the guest upon taking the first bite.
Despite the serious demur in the kitchen where Chef Roy is the Chef-in-Charge, he has always believed in maintaining a work-life balance and reveals that in his leisure time, spending time with his wife and kids is something he enjoys. A gist of the much more playful side of the Chef is also given, where he embarrassingly admits that his guilty pleasure is warm chocolate fudge with a scoop of ice cream at 2 am in the morning.
One dish prepared by Chef Roy which is a must try when visiting the dining at Taj Fort Aguada is the Crackling Skin of Pork Roast with Caramelised Onions and the hearty and homely Apple Chutney.
