Zaryan Turab is the executive chef at Tuscany Courtyard Islamabad. He has an advanced diploma in culinary arts from the DCT International Hotel and Business Management School in Switzerland and a master class certification from the School of Culinary and Finishing Arts, Dubai. He has worked at the Renaissance Zurich Hotel in Switzerland and Madinah Jumeirah Hotel, Dubai and after returning to Pakistan, he worked as the executive chef at Café Aylanto. He also won the Unilver Chef Of The Year Award in 2013. Dawn spoke to Mr Turab about his journey.

Q: How did you first become interested in cooking and what were some of the first recipes you tried?

A: I was interested in culinary arts because I thought of cooking as an art form. My great grandfather Fakeer Mohammad was a Pakwan, followed by my uncle Farhan Turab, who is a chef in the United States and my grandfather Mohammad Turab was a renowned artist.

I remember spending a lot of time watching my mother cook. And I would practice during the summer holidays when my cousins would come over. I would always be the one cooking up late night snacks such as French fries, hotdogs, eggs and pizza. I decided to take up this profession after my O levels. I was not a very good student. I just wanted to think about food and cook. In those days I would watch a lot of BBC Food on television. Watching the celebrity chefs, I would be intrigued by all the fancy ingredients they were using and wonder how they would taste as most were not available locally.

Q: When you cook for yourself or friends, what do you make?

A: Mostly when I cook for friends I make steak or spaghetti Bolognese but when I cook for myself I usually make daal and boiled rice. If I am in the mood, I precook some meals such as a tenderloin or roasted chicken with sautéed vegetables. I try to keep it as simple at home as possible, because after spending weeks in the kitchen, a chef usually doesn’t feel like cooking at home. So the simpler the better or I just read a book instead.

Q: As someone who has worked at restaurants in both Pakistan and abroad, what differences do you see and what are the difficulties you face?

A: In general, a big challenge I have faced is a lack of professionalism and passion for the work. Secondly, having worked in the three major cities of Pakistan, I see a huge gap which needs to be filled. In Karachi, it is more about quality than quantity, restaurants in Lahore are also catching up but Islamabad seems to be where Karachi restaurants were in the 1990s. Here, it seems to be about how much can be stuffed in rather than understanding what is on the plate.

Similarly, for most restaurant owners in Pakistan it is only a business but one needs a passion for food. There is also a need for a strong food control department in all cities, which should monitor restaurants all the way from the supply chain to ensure quality products are used to handling and cooking in the restaurant kitchen.

Another challenge is the gap between local and foreign chefs. With no proper culinary institutions in the country and not enough qualified professionals, local chefs do not have enough exposure. One of my objectives now is to bridge this gap by bringing the quality and presentation of food at restaurants abroad to Pakistani cuisine.

Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2015

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