Dutch Chef (Cook) wants to work in India

Just wondering, in a few years we want to move to India is there enough work for a Chef (Cook) in India.

Did all big hotels in the Netehrlands (Inter-Conti), Marriott ect...

did somebody do this step..... meaning moving from country as a Chef to India ?

Terry

big surprise...that the dutch can cook too!

I've never been directly aware of anyone doing this, but my guess is that the pay structure could be a problem ( ie LOW )

With your experience, I would perhaps suggest approaching some of the "Big Names " here in the west ( Marriott, Hilton etc ) and looking for some kind of "placement" to train staff in Kitchens / Restaurants etc.. If successful, this should pay much better and perhaps put you in a more appropriate environment..

I guess the other alternative would be to open your own place - but from what I hear, it's very difficult.. There is a thread somewhere here about a German who was said to have started the whole "German Bakery" thing... So, will we be seeing a chain of "Chips with mayo" soon in india ???

Terry:
- Visit the large hotels (in only the big cities i.e.) and apply from within India.
- If you work for one of the large hotels, can you not ask them to x-fer you to one of their 'branch' in India?

Another alternative is to open your own speciality hotel in a hi-society area of Mumbai like Bandra, Andheri (E/W) etc...

Oh and yes what is Dutch food? Cafe food is good once in a while ... and now Febo is starting to bore me as well.

Good luck!

I was pleasantly surprised at a restaurant at a five-star hotel in Delhi to get a very good steak with foie gras, even cooked medium rare as requested, at a very reasonable price (I think around Rs. 550). I am not clear on the legalities of this. Perhaps they fobbed me off with kangaroo, but I doubt it.

When I asked, the waiter told me the beef came from Holland. I didn't know they were big exporters, I would have expected Australia or Argentina.

Personally, I think there is scope for good inventive restaurants in India but I would team up with someone who is starting one rather than just try to get a job. Bangalore strikes me as the best place to do this.

The advantage you have is (IMHO) that as yet there are relatively few people from overseas who move to India to do this kind of thing. Until some years ago there were practically none. The average restaurant experience in India is still execrable compared to even Bangkok, forget London or NYC.

Not sure if the Dutch 'coffee' shops' would be a "hit"................

Earlier this year I had a few drinks with the chef of a Mexican restaurant in Goa who happened to be Indonesian.

In my opinion you would be better off starting your own restaurant in India serving haute cuisine rather than joining a 5-star hotel.

If you are good then there always a demand for chef . You need to show your credentials and what you can make . When i used to work for a hotel they used to look for the number of years of experince and what you can make .

yes, bangalore would be a good place for this. i went to a place there on 100ft road called 100ft road and something else (two names? restaurant and bar?). foreign chef. mediocre food. high prices.

also ate "mexican" and "italian" food at a restaurant in the central bangalore shopping center (near mg/brigade rds). mediocre food. i cook much better, and am untrained.

lots of local jealousy in india, so if you are doing something illegal people will lay into to you and put pressure on you. they'll want money or to make you close.

i'd suspect your local value is around 20k Rs/mo at the typical urban restaurant, and closer to 40k/mo at a 5-star hotel. that is $450 and $900 US respectively.

a decent partnership should yield you much more. yet, it is hard to find trustworthy indians to do business with.

(my friends with the most integrity aren't business people. business is traditionally a lower-caste thing in india. "decent" people tend to do "higher" work such as being government employees, scientist, academics, and the like).

and as a westerner, we are slower to detect the signs of a deceptive character. if you do work for someone, try to get paid twice a month, as indian employers are notorious for not paying up at month's end- and you have no rights without a work permit.

I work now as a Exec. Sous-Chef in a 5 star hotel here in Amsterdam, but I have a plan to set up something in India but want to work on the side as well like saying have always a income.

The trick: what we do when hirring new Chefs is as follow: we give them some ingredients and let them make a dish which will be tasted by the GM and Exec. Chef

Your best bet IMHO would be to apply to Oberoi's , Taj or independent 5* hotels in India ,like the Imperial in Delhi. If you can cook Italian/ French or 'continental'
then you will have a head start.
During the period I lived in Delhi I often found the big Indian hotels using foreign chefs. Even the food court at the India Habitat centre in Delhi was set up by an ex-Conran chef.....and the food there is mainly Indian street food.
Your other option is to talk to the foreign owned restaruants in the big metros. I know in Delhi there is one at Defence colony called Flavours which is owned by an Italian chef and I think even Olive is owned by a foreigner.
Before you start setting up your own place which would require considerable investment of finance and time , I would get some expereince working for someone else . I assume that if you are employed as a specilaist ,the owner should be able to obtain a working visa for you.
Ofcourse as mentioned above in another post , the salary in India would be much lower than what you would earn in Europe but your living expenses will also be the same.

Had a look at this place after dinner at the American dinner with one of our Delhi wallahs.
Looks great and warrants further exploration

Hi Cyberhippie
I ate at the food court when it first opened and found it far too clean (!!) and the food slightly bland. Personally I would rather eat at Sweet Corner in Sunder Nagar market. Numerous of my friends/family from abroad have eaten here without any problems.

The food court's good point is that it is in an aircon building so great during the summer.
chagu

Oh I'm usually to be found in those blackened hole in the wall type places not pretty to look at but sometimes the food is as good as it gets!!

Aurangabad was a bit of a foodie experience this year, as was the Guru Kripak in Indore now THAT was great food!!

Your observation is correct, but reasoning a bit skewed.

Yes, people with integrity are not into business, generally... coz honest men cannot do business honestly in India. There are exceptions, as always.

Business is not a "lower caste thing" in India. The majority of low caste ppl are barely eating at the end of the day, after very hard work. Only the enterprising few amongst the lower class are into business. People of all castes are into business nowadays. Dominated by the vaishyas. The traditional caste of vaishyas [=business ppl] who are the third caste, which was never considered "low" even 400 years ago.

For your observation that Govt Employees are "decent" and tend to do "higher" work.... well you haven't seen much. They are singularly viewed as the most corrupt group of ppl in the Country. How can one call such ppl having "higher" work or "integrity"? Exceptions present, obviously.

Scientists are OK, by and large. Here too, the largest employer is the Govt. Sycophancy does rule. Merit is not mostly rewarded on its own standing.

Academics too are OK, by and large. Maybe not so in Bihar and UP.

Things are changing, however. There are youngsters nowadays who will not put up with crap and will do business with integrity. Their number was practically non-existent, say; 20 years ago. On the other hand, there are youngsters who will take to corrupt ways ab initio and be quite boastful about it. They don't care a fig. The earlier corrupt generation hid it.

Yes, you are slow to see deception. Consider that even Indians are deceived, in spite of being "fast" !

Even Indians with so called "work permits" have very tenuous rights. They can go to Court and hatch eggs for ten years before the court hearings are scheduled. The Unions do have clout. But this too is the other extreme. As someone on [this thread?] wrote, one can hire workers in Kerala to just pay them salaries and then hire temporary help to do the actual work!!

In spite of this, its a miracle that we are progressing as a nation. Surely and steadily. Things are definitely getting better. After 50 years or so, things will be quite improved, IMHO.