Riding high on the success

CE speaks with Chef Shyamal Raj, the executive chef, Prost Brewpub, who also heads all the Ironhill Microbrewery branches about his love for fusion food and movies
Riding high on the success

Coming from Visakhapatnam, the young chef has quickly risen the ladder in the gastronomy world. Joined as sous chef with Prost Brewpub in 2016, he is now the executive chef and also heads all the Ironhill Microbrewery branches apart from Prost. If you’re inclined to take a tour of the breweries in the city, Prost Brewpub is one you can’t miss. One of the first breweries in Hyderabad, this Bengaluru-based brand has a loyal following, thanks to its range of craft beer and delicious food.

Talking about his association with Prost and the journey in food industry, Chef Shyamal says, “Its been almost seven years that I am working with Prost. I joined in 2016 with a small team of 18 members and now my team has increased as well as my responsibilities. Earlier I was only looking after Prost, but we opened Ironhill Microbrewery branches, I started to look after them as well.

Journey has been very nice. As I come from a working background of five star properties, working in a micro brewery was different. Prost was one of the pioneers of micro breweries in Hyderabad, which led to a lot of pressure, as we had to maintain the quality and taste. We have about 600 people dining in daily. In Hyderabad people are very open hearted, they will give chance and be open to try new things. But if you fail to satisfy them they will not return. So, we have been giving our 100 per cent each day to create our niche customers.”

Chef Shyamal studied at Food Craft Institute, Visakhapatnam. After passing out in 2007, he started his training at the Green Park Hotel, Visakhapatnam. Soon after he worked as a Commi in several restaurants. In 2010, he joined Marriott, Hyderabad as Lead Associated before moving to Park Hyatt till 2016 when he joined Prost.

“Every six months we change menus and we do food festivals as well to engage our clientele. The dishes which becomes a hit during the festivals with the people we try to put it on our regular menu as well.  To analyse, taste and finalise the dishes we take about three months,” says the chef who loves fusion food. “As a kid, I was interested in food and wanted to  be a chef.

For me fusion food is both interesting and challenging. Like a mix of both worlds coming together to create something new and delectable. We have created Haleem Melts and Peri Peri Basil Chicken with Mexican Rice which goes well with the beers in our menu. It is difficult to maintain calm in the kitchen with all the rush, but I don’t show the stress to my staff as they may panic as well. Once the service is over I calmly give them points to improve,” concludes Chef Shyamal Raj who loves watching movies and liked Sita Ramam over Ponniyin Selvan: I.

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