Hyatt Regency Kolkata welcomed Kharagpur girl Ishika Konar as executive chef in June. With a career spanning over 16 years, she’s experienced in streamlining operations and improving service, while preserving highest level of quality, menu engineering and food styling are her prime forte. With a portfolio that traverses across properties such as Atmantan Wellness, Crowne Plaza, Westin Gurgaon and JW Aerocity, she has worked with several Michelin star and celebrity chefs such as Mark Wilson, David Whatson and Kushal Arora. t2 gets you a heart-to-heart with the ever-smiling chef.
If you could describe your 16 years stint in a few words, how would you describe it?Oh, it’s so difficult to say, but then you know, I think that immense passion is what definitely strikes me. The kind of flow of my personal life actually made me balanced and made me more mature and taught me how to balance my work and personal life. It was all about nurturing my skill set, so that you know I can evolve myself very transparently wherever I go because the more experience you gather, the more exposure you gather, you get to see a lot of things.
Wellness is a big part of your portfolio. So, how was the experience at Atmantan like?I must tell you that it was a very thoughtful decision because prior to that I was associated with JW Marriott Aerocity, New Delhi. It was a working hub, and I was handling 161 chefs. Super busy restaurant... 530 rooms. It’s like the milking cow for Asia for Marriott. So, from there, moving to Atmantan was a very thoughtful decision. And it’s an added feather on my cap right at this moment, being a chef because once I actually went through that process and I got to understand wellness, it was an entirely different ball game. It is all about our lifestyle. It’s very unfortunate that these days people are doing a lot of things for their health, but most of the time the young generation doesn’t take care because in general they are fit. If you want to know from the chef’s perspective... I have been in this trade for so many years, but then for the first time I got to know how each and every ingredient works for us, for our body and how separate ingredients when they get together, how beneficial they are, how nutritious they are... so that was a pure learning.It’s situated in a such place that the aura was positive. That is the essence of wellness. And that is now a very integral part of me. For Hyatt, too, wellness is a major essence of their philosophy so this was a perfect match.
How would you describe your food philosophy?You know, what I feel is that it has to be very passionately and lovingly curated. It’s minimalistic so that whatever ingredients you are using, those ingredients should talk, they shouldn’t be overpowering. And after my stint at Atmantan, I added the nutritional part of it as well. But then personally, I love when a dish is nicely presented. In my food you will get to see a little fruity touch. That I think comes from my Bong roots, the mishti is there, but I don’t use sugar. I rather try and harness the natural sweetness of elements in my dish.
What is your vision for the future of Hyatt Regency in terms of food? How do you want to take things forward?This property I think is in itself an icon. It’s very well established in the market. And we have a very loyal clientele. I am trying to emphasise on ushering in a new era food where the wholesome, seasonal and organic point of view is taken into consideration. That would be one of my priorities. Even if it is not in a larger scale. But then I would like to incorporate the organic part as well, where it’s distinctly separate from its chemically treated brothers.
Things ishika loves doing
Reading, gardening, especially micro greens spending time with her son learning about cuisines
Mango Salad is Chef Konar's latest addition to the Hyatt Regency Menu
You’re from Kharagpur, essentially a Bengal girl. How does it feel to be back here?Oh! That’s great, you know, because I personally love my home food. Home food in the sense, lighter version of food. People might think that a chef gets to have all delicious food every day. It’s not about the delicacies, but it’s about your comfort zone with your food and your own appetite. So I love my home food. I love Bengali cuisine. When I actually learnt about the food philosophy, it borrows heavily from French food. I love the fact that Bengali cuisine has distinct courses. Starting with one bitter thing. Then you have a sip of water. Your bitter thing should cleanse your intestine. Then you start with your bhaja and all. Then you come to your chorchori. Then you go ahead with your fish or a chicken. Then you finish with dessert, so it’s very course-wise. And in Bengali food, the dal has never been a staple. That makes it very different from North Indian food. It’s not your simple dal makhani and naan type of food.
What other cuisines excite you?I love Mediterranean food. That’s got a very wholesome approach. You can do fusion as well, but you cannot take it beyond a point, the fusion must stand based on the authenticity itself. But then if you want to go light you can do so... if you want to take a little bite from a lot of things you can do that. So I like Mediterranean cuisine. I love Indian Chinese as well.
How is it like at home for you? |Does your family have favourites from your cooking?My husband stays abroad and my son is here with me. He’s the entity of my life. You can say because one parent is a little far so the other parent has to be more responsible. I got married to a non-Bengali, so they have a very different food. My son loves my pasta, mostly spaghetti. He loves it sometimes with tomato sauce and sometimes with cheese and chicken. Also, my style of Maggi. I add a lot of elements and create a unique type of Maggi. I’m trying to make him a proper metropolitan kid where his taste has a varied palate. He must eat everything and should know, otherwise you cannot justify being the son of a chef. He’s a real foodie. I’m very happy. He’s a 14-year-old chubby guy, taller than me. He loves to hug me, he loves to give me, you know, a kiss on my forehead when I’m sleeping. So, I still love all these gestures... I know very soon it will go away the moment he finds a girlfriend.
So, what is your signature dish?I make a caramelised onion and goat cheese tart. I make it with whole wheat flour, it has orange juice in it. There is no water. It has olive oil and it’s a little savoury biscuit. It’s like a bowl and then your caramelised onion and your your microgreens and your glaze, goat cheese, the combination is awesome and with some candied walnuts on top. So I think that is one of my signatures, and one more is a basil-infused quinoa salad with pickled beetroot. It’s gluten free.