The food industry in NYC has been dynamic since the ages, and now the trend has gone further with innovations and adaptability of Asian cuisine, now we can see one of our celebrities, Priyanka Chopra, has introduced her eatery naming SONA, which is more focused on the methodology of Indian cooking. This outlet serves a vast range of victuals from different parts of India whose aroma took you to the depth of Indian culture and made you fall for the food they serve.
The great credit to this achievement goes to the hardworking and dedicated kitchen staff, including the in-charge MR. ABHIJEET SINGH RATHORE began his culinary journey when he pursued his bachelor’s from the Institute of Hotel Management, Jaipur.
Being a chef and achieving new heights in this field is a big achievement for MR. Rathore, who has been bought up in a traditional family and now has become a prominent chef of SONA where he puts his skills and techniques together to enhance the flavours of food items that SONA serves.
- ABHIJEET is very skilful and loves to do experiments in cooking; some of the interesting food items that he serves, which will make your taste buds delighted with abundant flavours, are curd rice ice cream with sweet mango pickle chards or a ghevar edamame chaat.
So by proceeding further, we asked a few questions to him regarding his experience in the industry and captivating the crowd towards traditional Indian fare.
So we would like to know your experience with the crowd and their demands. What do they like the most about Indian cuisine?
It’s been around one year in New York, and the crowd of New York is versatile; they love to try new delicacies. As we all know, New York is the world’s culinary capital, and food trends are made over here. In New York, there are more than 25000 restaurants of different cuisine and culture. The best part of the crowd is that they love to try and taste different cuisine.
My experience with the crowd is amazing as we all know that the craze of Indian food is growing these days, now Indian food is gaining popularity in major cities of USA. The menu of our restaurant is very diverse you will get the dishes from every part of India.
The best thing about the people here is that they love the amalgamation of the different spices infused into the dishes.
The Indian cuisine is not limited to butter chicken or chicken tikka masala. As a chef, we introduce Indian food in a progressive way that people love, like buckwheat bhel with honeycomb tuile, crab and caviar puri, tamarind glaze lamb chop, chocolate bebinca, and much more.
Are you an experimental chef, or do you only prefer to cook with authenticity?
I love to try different things in food or cooking. The more you experiment, the more you enhance your cooking skills and knowledge. Experiments with techniques and flavour combinations make you unique in culinary.
What’s the most disliked ingredient that new Yorkers would never appreciate about Indian food?
I have never come across someone who dislikes anything about the Indian food we serve in SONA. If a food is made with perfect ingredients and proper flavour combination, everyone will love it.
Salt or sweet which is preferable for the mass?
Both play a vital role in the culinary perspective; if both are given or taken in an appropriate quantity, it is fine for the health.
Please share a few tips for the aspiring chefs that you’d like them to know.
Always keep dedication and discipline towards your work
Keep reading
Keep exploring
Always take time to do the staging in a few best restaurants to open up your creativity.
Always be humble while learning from your senior chefs.
- Abhijeet is an influential and inspiring chef who believes in working with passion and love. His love for cooking is immense, and his time and energy on his ambition are truly worthful. He gave us some major goals and set a wonderful example for aspiring chefs. He believes in the expansion of Indian cuisine over the globe and is looking forward to some more experiments with foods. If you need to seek help from the chef himself you can DM him on his instagram account here.