Bakery Review — February-March 2018

By Sharmila Chand

InteRvIeW BAKERY REVIEw

Passionate Towards

Guest Satisfaction

Nikhil Mishra is the Demi Chef De Parte at Novotel Imagica Khopoli, which is

AccorHotels’ first theme park property in India. Bringing with him about nine

years of experience in the hospitality industry, Chef Nikhil is a skilled culinary

professional. His immaculate execution abilities, versatility, coupled with

his forte to deliver positive results, make him the ideal choice for this role.

Having completed his degree in hotel management from SIPS, Bhubaneswar,

Orissa, Nikhil has worked with renowned hotels like Hilton Bangalore

Embassy GolfLinks, The Park Hotel, Hyderabad, amongst others.

The excerpts of the interview with the seasoned culinary professional are

given below:

What is/are the current trend/s
in the Indian bakery industry?
Healthy baking is vogue in the Indian bakery
industry, these days. Using organically
produced ingredients, replacing the
traditional castor sugar with coconut sugar,
having gluten-free & dairy-free pastries and
breads are the trends as our consumers are
increasingly getting inclined towards being
health conscious.
Moreover, these days you don’t need to
go to culinary schools to be a baker—the
number of Home Chefs/Home Bakers has
increased enormously, and some of them
can outshine industry professionals.

How did you become a Pastry
Chef? You were inherently
interested in it or entered this
profession by default?
Baking always came naturally to me since I
was a child. I have always been passionate
about the science that goes behind baking
which most people don’t understand. The
accuracy & creativity that goes into baking
always helps fuel my creative urge.

Who are your idols, that is who
all have inspired you?
The baking gene has come from my mother
so she is my number one idol and guru,
whom I really look up to for polishing my
creative edge. Another of my idol would
definitely be Dominique Ansel — the Founder
of the ever so delicious & creative ‘Cronut’.

What are your hot selling

bakery items?

Anything sweet and creative will always be

a hit amongst the masses. A few specialities

up my sleeve are fruit cobblers, chocolate

bombs & apple cinnamon struddle.

What about the health quotient?

How do you take care of that

aspect?

The eye with which consumers view bakery

produce has taken a major shift during the

recent years with many people showing

interest towards healthy eating. It has only

made Chefs more aware of various healthy

ingredients, and in encouraging us to explore

our creative side further.

It is sometimes overwhelming on how

as a baker I am able to deliver something

that isn’t just tasty but also healthy, thereby

diminishing the fad that all healthy food

taste dull.

What are the challenges a

Bakery Chef has to face in his/

her day-to-day job?

Keeping up with the trend within limited

budget is a challenge, as is the time

management. Food storage is also a

challenge as bakery produces are very

delicate in terms of ingredients used &

flavours. We need to store the ingredients as

per SOPs or else we are bound to waste it.

What do you like about your job?

When I see a child enjoy his/her favourite

pastry or a health fanatic binge on my

gluten-free croissants, it gives me extreme

satisfaction. Guest satisfaction is my mantra

for personal gratification.

What is your strength as a

Bakery Chef?

My team is my strength. My team members

make me be a better Chef and mentor.

They encourage me to learn more & keep

innovating. When you know that people

look up to you, you are bound to be at your

utmost best.

What is your working philosophy?

It can be summed in three words — Love,

Laugh, Learn. Love your job. Laugh with your

guest. Learn from your gurus & team.

What are you passionate about

besides baking?

I am passionate about painting, and about

any form of art where I can get to create

something new.

How do you like to de-stress?

A 10-minute meditation followed with some

holy chants helps me to de-stress.

Lastly, what is your mantra for

success?

Go with the flow. If your cake didn’t turn out

right crumble it up & make a mean brownie

delight.