Yesterday I was invited by Philips India to attend a masterclass by Chef Sebastian Simon. During the class, chef shared many tips which I have shared in the previous post. He focussed on sustainable cooking where he demonstrated that every part of a fish can be used for stock. After the masterclass, I got to spend a couple of minutes with Chef Sebastian Simon for a one-one interaction at the Philips Kitchen Appliances booth. Chef Sebastian also shared his culinary journey with me. He has worked at Taj Exotica Goa and Leela Kempinski, Bengaluru. He then relocated to New Zealand where he began international career at Orbit Restaurant and Brassiere of Skycity. Later, he moved to Melbourne, Australia and took over as the Executive Chef of the Mirvac hotels. Currently, he is the Chef Instructor at The Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts Melbourne and has his own consulting business. Chef also shared that his journey was not an easy one. He said that he came from an abusive cheffing industry. The chefs would keep secrets and not share it with juniors. Later he realised that this style of teaching was not for himself. He wanted to support the new chefs. He worked tirelessly to make the cheffing industry safe and happy place for his students and his staff. Chef said that he lost his mom 3 months ago in Bangalore. His mom was a great cook and told him lot of things about cooking .. the smell, the taste, the sound of cooking… He said that his mom taught him not to show off and never to brag about anything. That is the reason why he gives respect to even a basic chef inspite of having 22 years of experience in cooking. He says that inspite of having so much experience, he still has lot more to learn. He also said that he is the only Indian chef in Australia and 40% of culinary students who come to The Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts Melbourne are Indians. Chef said that he personally assesses his students so that they become certified chef. He said that he is like their mentor and has a dual role there, as a teacher and as a mentor. @philipsindia #PhilipsKitchen #PhilipsKitchenAppliances #WOAP2019 @chefsebastian_lsc (at The Ritz-Carlton, Bangalore) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByNFUpglt4d/?igshid=43ciqhceso9l