Cooking his way into the hearts

Chef Ravi Saxena chose to study hotel management just to avoid studying medicine. Today, he is a celebrity and the Corporate Chef with Dhaba by Claridges – a popular Punjabi restaurant chain

Dhaba by Claridges has long since moved away from being a specialty restaurant within a hotel in the national capital to being a brand on its own, and has now spread out into other cities.

The restaurant moved out of New Delhi for the first time and opened in Hyderabad under the watchful eye of the Corporate Chef Ravi Saxena. During his recent visit to Hyderabad, he spoke about his journey, and how despite being from a family of Engineers and Doctors, he chose to sweat it out in the hot kitchen.

“I come from a Kayasth family where food is a big obsession. But, everyone in my family is either a doctor or an engineer, and when it was my turn, I too got through BDS and was supposed to join college.

Simultaneously I also got a seat in IHM, Goa. It was a choice between studying for three years in Goa and being a doctor that meant having to study for ever.

And I chose the former. And that was a life turning decision,” shared Ravi Saxena, who was to become a celebrity in his field in the years to come.

It was during the second year that Ravi knew what he would be doing with the rest of his life. “At college had to work in every department, but when I was in the pantry, my hands were moving automatically. I knew I wanted to be a chef.”

It’s been 22 years since Chef has been in the hotel industry; he began as a trainee with The Leela and later worked with Holiday Inn. “It’s a lot of hard work behind all the glamour.

There were days when I spent the whole day just peeling prawns. It is only with passion that one survives and succeeds in this field,” he shared.

While the Chef likes dabbling with various cuisines, he specialised in Italian originally. “I worked in 2 Star Michelin Italian restaurants in South of Italy.

I had travelled across Italy and it was an enriching experience that helped me understand the cuisine. This helped me open the San Gimignano restaurant at Hotel Imperial,” he related. San Gimignano continues to be one of the most popular Italian restaurants in New Delhi.

However, when Dhaba was offered to him in 2007, he was all for exploring a new cuisine. He went across Punjab to understand the cuisine and created a menu that has found the way into people’s heart, so much so that the restaurant gained legendary status of its own, “I know what people eat and what they want to eat.

If we understand the ingredients and palates you can understand the cuisine. Till the time we don’t live with people and know the food culture, we will not understand the cuisine.”

The dishes on the menu that Chef creates at Dhaba are picked from the nooks and corners of Punjab, but he adds his unique touch and voila you have the likes of Balti Meat, Dhaba Dal, Kadhi Chicken, Nutrisaag Paneer, Tawa Galouti, Lawrence Road ki Tikki.

“The success of Dhaba is not just mine, I believe in team work, and it is because of the wonderful people I work with that we have been such a huge success,” exclaims Chef Ravi Saxena as he poses for a picture with his team in Hyderabad. “We are planning to open outlets in more cities.

It has been an exciting journey and I enjoy every bit of it,’ he signs off.