Years later, a very different mood prevailed over Bollywood actor Bobby Deol’s wedding reception, hosted by his father, the legendary star Dharmendra. Dharam ji was an icon for an entire generation of Indian men, both for his winsome smile and his action hero status. Bobby was his younger son, and he was at his happiest best on that day. I remember the bonhomie that he shared with his guests, and how he wanted a selection of the finest drinks and snacks to be served in the VIP room all through the evening.
Being discreet, nipping potential crises in the bud and enjoying the confidence of your client—these are skills that come to the aid of every executive chef in a high-profile hotel. And I was no exception. Over the years, I had kept the secrets of many of my clientele, including renowned vegetarian industrialists who would come to our restaurants to enjoy a special prawn dish. Or a young Bollywood couple secretly raising a toast to their relationship. We had to take care of them all.
Another incident which I can never forget happened at a dinner I organised for Mrs Indira Gandhi and her family. Though I had catered for her during an international conference, this was a different experience—this time we had to cook for her and her family. One fine day, we got a notice that Prime Minister Mrs Gandhi would be in Bombay with her family, including her sons Sanjay and Rajiv Gandhi, and his wife Sonia Gandhi. We were supposed to cook for the family at the state guest house.
Since they were in Mumbai, I created a very special menu that comprised Maharashtrian and Parsi dishes. The Gandhi family arrived in the evening and I was introduced to them, after which I went on to explain the menu. I elaborated on the origin of the dishes and how they were prepared, and I could feel that the family was quite excited about the offerings. So far, so good. But then Sanjay Gandhi piped up and said that he did not want any of the dishes on the menu, and asked for Chinese instead. I was in a fix. I had not made any provisions for cooking Chinese food at the state guest house, and Chinese food did not taste good unless served right off the wok. In fact, as a chef, I have always been against the idea of taking Chinese food out of the restaurant where it is meant to be served.
But this was Sanjay Gandhi, the second most powerful person in the country. You could perhaps attempt to convince the prime minister to try something different, but I had not heard of anyone who had had the audacity to say no to Sanjay Gandhi, let alone try and make him change his mind!
As soon as I walked out of the dining room, I called my chef at the Golden Dragon kitchen and gave him instructions for whatever I needed—some fried rice, a chicken dish, a prawn dish and some vegetables. I told him that I would come to collect the dishes as there was tight security at the guest house and it would take longer if he sent it. Timing was of paramount importance in Operation Golden Dragon, so I took a police jeep with a flashing beacon and urged the driver to make a dash for the hotel where my chef had the food ready.
I had asked the chef to prepare Golden Fried Prawns, which was a hot dish at the restaurant, Jade Chicken (minced chicken with spinach and Chinese herbs poached and immersed in a flavourful sauce), Konjee Crispy Lamb (shreds of lamb crisply fried in an orange, flavoured sweet- and-spicy sauce), salt and pepper veggies dipped in batter and fried, and crispy honey noodles served with vanilla ice cream.
We dashed back to the state guest house just in time for dinner. I rushed in, quite breathless, to see that my team had already started serving the Maharashtrian and Parsi food which the family was visibly enjoying. So when I started serving the Chinese food, it was the icing on the cake. As Mr Gandhi dug into the Chinese food with relish, I felt relieved and rather pleased. Later, after dinner, Sanjay Gandhi thanked me for an excellent meal.
Looking back, I think this incident taught me how to always be resourceful in order to avert a possible crisis and how to always prioritise the guests. Had I allowed my nerves to get the better of me, I could not have reached out to Golden Dragon to save the day. The food was fresh and warm thanks to the five-minute green corridor that we got, and we were applauded for the effort.
This excerpt from Sweets and Bitters: Tales from a Chef’s Life by Satish Arora has been published with permission from Bloomsbury India.