My best friend Chef Raj Mohan has entered into the Limca India book of records and Asia book of records and USA based record setter for Longest Solo Cooking Marathon.I want to share this with you all to know more about him.Good luck chef!
1.Tell us about yourself ?
I am Chef M.S.RajMohan, 31 from Ambasamudram of Tirunelveli district. I am expert in South Indian Cuisines and known for the country style food preparation. Currently I am the Director of the Hotel Management & Catering Science department of Mary Matha College of Arts and Science, Periyakulam. I am a consultant for a few famous South Indian food outlets in India as well for the food festivals. I am a board member in South India Culinary Associations (SICA) and also for the Hotel Management studies of Madurai Kamaraj University. I am a World Record title holder of Longest Solo Cooking Marathon in 2015 and a certified Chef Trainer by Indian Federation of Culinary Associations (IFCA).
The interest of teaching and facilitating sprouted in me at the time of my Hotel Management education which is the reason for me to choose the teaching profession as my career.
2.Tell us about your education?
I did my schooling at my native after that I completed my graduation in Hotel Management & Catering Science in Subbalakshmi Lakshmipathy college of Science, Madurai. I am holding three advanced degrees and pursuing the doctorate degree on Food and Culture in Madurai.
3.Tell me about your proudest achievement in Longest Solo Cooking Marathon?
Desire in creating the world-record worked in me last six years but I could not make it into real. Always the desire to attempt the record or making achievement in the culinary field is within me. Eight months back, I made the determination to make the achievement in culinary field in 2015. I took my pioneer attempt with the encouragement of my father who gave his full support in all forms for the achievement.
I have done this longest solo cooking marathon record for Limca book of records, India Book of records and Asia book of records. We started this on December 19, 2015 at 7.10 am and finished it on December 21, 2015 at 7.10 am at Poppys Hotel, Madurai, Tamil Nadu. I created the record in Longest Solo Cooking Marathon is 48 Hours, dished out 1204 recipes including 257 Non-Vegetarian dishes and 947 vegetarian dishes. The total weight of the cooked dish was 307kg. I used five cooking ranges at a time to cook variety of food items. This record is now entered into Limca Book of Records, India Book of Records, Asia Book of Records, Everest World Records and officially approved as world record by USA based prominent organization Record Setter. I am the first Indian chef who holds the world record title in the Longest Individual cooking marathon in very young age. I crossed first 100 dishes within three hours of time. A team of 35 chefs worked day and night to help me to achieve this feat and each one of them gave their heart and soul to this attempt.
4.Tell us about the guidelines of Longest Solo Cooking Marathon?
I was allowed to prepare only one dish at a time even if I use any big spacious appliances like tawa or kadai. The domestic appliances were allowed to use not the restaurant type appliances. While making Dosa in tawa, I was allowed to cook one dosa variety at a time not many items as same like deep frying items too.
II) I was permitted to take only five minutes break in every one hour but I took the accumulated rest breaks after cooking continuously for minimum five hours.
III) A detailed log book was maintained to record the each and every moment of the record event, also recorded the starting and ending time of the preparation, weight of the each dish and the photographs of the dishes were also taken. The entire record event was video graphed.
IV) This record event was adjudicated by a committee of 05 main and 24 sub-judges carefully chosen by the Limca Book of Records and India Book of Records.
V) Food should not be wasted and it should be properly distributed to the public consumption.
VI) No cooking range burner was left empty without cooking.
VI) Entire cooking was done by the record attempted, no pre cooking was allowed.
VII) Only one sous chef level and commis level chef was allowed to be with me for other assistance.
5.What motivates you to do your best on the job?
Searching, learning, teaching, willing to get involved, making myself to get active in my profession and desire to do good things to the society through my profession are some always in my mind, these things make me to love my profession and motivate me to do the best as chef.
6.What is your favorite food to cook?
If I come across some new dish anywhere, I used to take the note of it and eager to learn the preparation method of the dish. In my favourite list there are many to list out, Biriyani and Mutton preparations are always the best for me to cook. I always love to cook country style preparations.
7.Tell me about your You Tube channel “Food Tape”?
I have done several cookery shows in leading Tamil satellite TV Channels. I always want to give my own cooking content and wish to promote South Indian style cooking to the viewers that is the reason I created this You Tube channel ‘Food Tape” – https://www.youtube.com/user/ChefRajMohan in 2014. All the cooking videos of this channel are video graphed in scenic location which is very much welcomed by the viewers and now Food Tape have good audience from all over the world.
8.In what ways can a chef be creative?
Creativity is a must in one to differentiate their style from others. Chef must be creative in terms of making his own unique food items and also creative in business prospectus. Chef must understand the day by day changes in the customer, Food, agriculture and climate according to that chef should upgrade his creativity in food and its presentation.
9.Tell me about your Free Culinary education training programme for the under privileged candidates?
Still hotel management education is a big dream for many rural area students and also they are not much aware of the potential of this education. As well many rural students are not able to continue their school education or not able to pursue higher education in their young age due to their family reasons so they opt to go for daily wages work. Keeping this in mind, we have formulated the curriculum named “Intensive Kitchen apprenticeship programme” in Mary Matha college in 2012 and offer the free culinary education to the under privileged candidates. It is the programme of Ten Months and they will get the class room training of four months and on the-job training at hotels for six months. We took this initiative to the like-minded hotels and restaurants; they offer the training to the candidates and provided the decent stipend during studying this programme and also offer the job to the candidates immediately after this programme so far 62 students have been benefitted by this training training programme and working in hotels as chefs. It is the aim to bringing hope in young life and untap the talents of the young minds and thereby transform their life through culinary education.
10.Why did you want to be a chef?
Love in cooking encouraged me to choose this chef profession. I was attracted by the street foods of my native there I observed their preparation styles and started the fun cooking at home. During my school holiday time, I used to spend my holidays at my native bakery stalls & food stalls just to see how they are making varieties. By seeing my interest in cooking, my mother Shantha taught me the basic cooking stuffs in my school days with that guidance I started cooking food for my family members and they credited my cooking through their appreciation which encouraged me to enroll for the formal culinary education. Still I am asking any of cooking doubts to my mother in making authentic masala or any food preparation. Nowadays Chef’s have many responsibilities other than food and cooking.
11. What is your message to young chefs?
Understand and be strong in the basics. Try to express yourself. Grab and use the opportunity whenever and wherever you get it. Always have the willingness to study, learn, teach, experiment, observe and explore your subjects, these things make you active in your profession and keep yourself vibrant in the industry. Accept the responsibilities, be able to work under hard times and also have the energy to work for long hours. Involve yourself for the social causes and make good relationship with others. Love your work and perform your work with full dedication and energy. Take care of your food habits and the health related practices. Set the goal high and get into it you can see now the opportunities are chasing you.
12. Describe your typical day as a chef educationist ?
Every day is precious for me and it is a gift of God so that we are saying the time is the most valuable one in human life. Every day is typical for me to educate new information to the students and also to motivate them in the right direction.
13. How your record motivates the public and industry?
This record event motivates the young chef community to come out to expose the talents and skills in new platforms. Motivates many of them to create or break records. This attempt gives high impact about the chef profession and highlighted the features of Hotel Management and Catering studies. It brings the idea of making more varieties of vegetarian dishes.
Thanks
