My Philosophy And Approach To Cooking Has Been One That Is Focussed On Creativity And Depth Of Flavour - Sebastian Simon (Chef)

I have always loved bold flavours, keeping the hero ingredient as the muse and try to be different.

  

1.Tell us about your background and journey.

I was born in a beautiful part of in the subcontinent , God’s own country but grew up in the garden city of Bengaluru. 

I am now Melbourne-based and a culinary consultant, a chef, and Culinary instructor at the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu, Melbourne.

 

 I have been professionally cooking for over 23 years. Worked in three continents. I also own a consulting firm based in Melbourne call lavasaltconsulting. www.lavasaltconsulting.com .

 

 Lava Salt Consulting works with a diverse range of hospitality businesses, cafes and restaurants. These projects encompasses a hands on and personalise service, giving the owner cum chef a voice.

I have always loved bold flavours, keeping the hero ingredient as the muse and try to be different, against the grain with my creativity.

 

 I have specialised in indigenous cuisine predominately Australian bush ingredients, street food, molecular gastronomy, vegan, gluten free and French fare. My philosophy and approach to cooking has been one that is focussed on creativity and depth of flavour. I believe food must be clean and sourced from ethical and natural resources. You should avoid processed food, waste less, and watch out for food miles. 

2. What led you to take up this career path?

It began with a few failures, and my experience at Miss World 1996 at the Windsor Manor Sheraton in Bengaluru. 

 

The sheer glitz and glamour of the event was fascinating, but I realised I was not looking deep enough into the underbelly of the culinary world. Chefs like me were very reserved about my past. 

 

Questions about what I did and where I honed my skills, who I worked under and what was it like working under someone else was not something I wanted to share publicly. 

 

But my career began on a bed of failure. My parents wanted me to pursue trendy jobs in Medicine and Engineering. It did not work for me. I wanted to be a journalist. 

 

Somehow I decided to get into hospitality as a last option. A kind of last throw of the dice. But in my first year of Bachelors degree in 1996, I felt a strong urge to be a chef. 

 

As mentioned before I began as a trainee at a Miss World beauty pageant hosted by the Windsor Manor Sheraton hotels. A first year trainee cook, this was a sensory overload. 

 

Food, smoke and the hustle made me wake up to the behind the scene fireworks of an actual professional kitchen. I began to see my future, passion and purpose, all meshed into one well defined recipe. 

 

I finally saw my calling. Sebastian the cook to Sebastian the chef. I felt for the first time a sense of purpose. Stop wallowing in the past failures and press on to make a career became my motto. Frankly all I did was learn from my failures and stepped up to the plate. 

3. Does one's approach change when cooking professionally and at home?

Most of my life I cooked for so many clients and customers. The last thing I wanted was to think about cooking for myself. I never looked at that aspect ever until I became a teacher.

 

 I realised that for me to explain cooking to home cook or an upcoming culinary enthusiast I need to appreciate my home kitchen as an extension to my professional kitchen.

 

I was so busy pleasing my customers that I forgot the Home kitchen is where great heart warming recipes are born. Recently I curated a master class from my home and the results were astounding. 

 

The food looked homely with so much soul. So to me cooking at home is very different. I approach it with a sense of fun, more risks and not worry if the end result wasn’t that great. But I must say this. You must have an organised kitchen.

 

 Have the food groups kept in its respective place otherwise you work agianst your cooking philosophy . A messy kitchen is a messy mind which results in a messy dish.  

4. Is there a dish you particularly associate yourself with?

One of the first dishes I found so special that I see myself on that plate is The Birds Nest that I created for my Art of plating Masterclass.

Its a reflection of my childhood , a bit like a bird coming out of its nest and expressing boldly that it can now fly. This dish is playful, fun, interactive and full of umami. A flavour bomb created to showcase my skill juxtaposed with a sense of wonder and gratitude.

Dish prepared by Sebastian Simon

5. Can cooking be learnt at culinary schools or a natural talent is required?

I also tell my students I can teach you skills but not desire or passion. Otherwise how would a boy that grew up in the suburbs of Bengaluru become a culinary instructor at the Mecca of cooking schools , Le Cordon Bleu Australia.

 

To me desire to learn takes primary position than talent. For me, experience and hindsight go hand in hand as a teacher. 

 

When I teach culinary arts I challenge my students to live every moment and enjoy it because this is the crucial peg on which most chefs hang their futures and rely on every ounce of experience from the past and pick the right time to draw on it.

 

I want them to understand the underpinning knowledge or technique of a new dish. There is a base note or an undergirding on which this new dish takes form. 

 

This could mean something as simple as the principle of the “Maillard reaction” used to give meat a good char or using anchovies in a soffritto. 

 

This is critical in the long lasting taste of a meal. Long after that dish was consumed, it is a powerful snap shot embedded in the neo cortex region of your brain. 

 

I want my younger chefs to realise its value and purpose. Over time a student chef becomes the master and designer of several taste profiles using the art of eye appeal, smell and mouthfeel. 

 

This is alchemy in its most beautiful form. I also challenge them to understand that meals create memories and every stove has a story. Capture it, live it, breathe it, taste it and serve it with love and a sense of pride. 

 

 

 

6. Which is your favourite book and why?

I actually have two 

The Kitchen confidential - The adventures of the Culinary Underbelly by the late great Chef Anthony Bourdain. 

And White Heat by Chef Marco Pierre White.

Both the books have a raw , unpretentious view of chef life.

 

 - Sebastian Simon

Interviewed By - Swathi V