This Father's Day, we share the touching story of how Chef Solanki Ashok Kumar joined his father, the head Indian chef of Grand Hyatt Singapore, in the hotel’s kitchen as a complete rookie to become the lead Indian chef at W Singapore—Sentosa Cove today
How I’m Making It is a weekly series in which Tatler speaks to influential individuals about their unique journeys and what keeps them going.
12 years ago, Chef Solanki Ashok Kumar joined his father, the head Indian chef of the Grand Hyatt Singapore, in the hotel’s kitchen as a complete rookie. Today, Ashok has managed to follow in his father's footsteps to become a chef in his own right at the W Hotel Singapore, where he is leading and training teams while pursuing his art for North and South Indian dishes. His favourite dish to make is a fish curry that has reportedly never been criticised.
However, funnily enough, Chef Kumar’s interest in becoming a chef did not exactly begin with his father. Rather, it was inspired by a stint he had while assisting at banquets.
“Growing up, I was always interested in food and my parents used to teach me how to cook. I certainly knew that I wanted to cook in the future,” said Ashok to Tatler Singapore hurriedly over the phone. Ashok was preparing for a big event and had only minutes to speak with us before he had to get back to work.
However, when he was 16, Ashok was given the opportunity to work part-time as a banquet server and that was what changed everything.
“I got to see all these beautiful plates being put together by the kitchen team. This was what really inspired me to want to one day be able to create my own dishes,” he said.
“So after I finished my National Service, I told my dad that I wanted to try to be a chef. That’s when my dad decided to give me a chance and he roped me into the kitchen of the Grand Hyatt Singapore,” Ashok said. At that point, Ashok’s father, the famed chef Kishore Solanki, was the head Indian chef at the luxury hotel—a position he has held there for the last 59 years.
It was a massive role, especially for a rookie who had never been to culinary school. “Everyone had their eyes on me because of my dad and wanted to see how I was performing. It was a huge responsibility to hold his name up high and I knew I couldn’t afford to make mistakes,” Ashok said.
Don’t miss: Meet Patricia Ho Douven, the Woman Redefining the Bounds of Design With Her Firm, White Jacket
However, despite his connections with one of Singapore’s most widely-regarded Indian chefs, Ashok did not get it easy. “The first thing my dad had me do in the kitchen was to peel and cut 10 kilograms of onions,” he said with a laugh. “In the kitchen, it’s so important to have these basic skills. You don’t even get to touch a pan until you learn your knife skills, hygiene and all the basics.”
It was only after he mastered the basics that his father began allowing him to learn smaller dishes. “You start by learning how to make things like mashed potatoes or gravy,” he said.
