'If I'm not in the kitchen, I'm probably ballroom-dancing'

Your favourite memory of food.
As a child, waking up on Christmas morning to the aroma of chocolate cake in the kitchen that would have been baked by my mother the night before.
What's the most challenging part of your job?
Guest requests for desserts or pastries they have tried in another part of the world that they want me to re-create. It's challenging - but I also see these as great opportunities to learn to create something new.
Do you have a personal mantra or motto that drives the way you cook food?
Cook with great passion, bake furiously and serve with genuine warmth.
If you could cook for a high-profile personality, who would it be and what would you serve them?
It would be the musician Don Moen. I have always been a fan of his style of singing, the way he conducts himself and his abilities as a multi-instrumentalist. I met him once when he visited India about seven years ago. I would serve him a warm caramelised apple strudel with a crème brûlée parfait, as it is warm, flakey and involves a complex way of cooking the apples to get that butterscotch flavour. The strudel works around his personality in all its simplicity.
What's your favourite place around town?
Although I've been to a few places, I'm still new to Dubai, so it's hard to say.
After cooking all day, do you cook at home too?
Yes, I do cook at home, as that's what I really like to do for my family - they appreciate every bit of it too, so that's a bonus!

You're asked to invent an unusual dish. What would it be?
It would be an Indo-Western dessert: a motichur melon seed base, saffron cheesecake, studded with gulab jamun topped with bursting chocolate pops.
Who do you admire most in the culinary world, and why?
Ronald Neubauer and Anil Rohira are two of the finest pastry chefs I have worked with who have inspired me so much and share the same passion for pastry as I have. They are also great leaders who always treated their team with respect, ensuring that they passed on their passion for cooking and creativity to whoever they worked with.
Favourite comfort food?
My favourite comfort food is a flavourful beef stew in a bowl with butter toasted baguette.
One ingredient/dish you can't stand.
After all these years of being a chef, travelling and trying new cuisines, I've come to realise that there is a beauty in every dish - and, when prepared correctly, even the worst ingredient can stand out as the very best. However, it needs to be handled carefully and in the right proportion.
If you could choose a last meal, what would it be?
An amazing chicken biryani with garlic raita.
Your favourite culinary destination?
Switzerland - the land of chocolate!
The strangest ingredient you've ever used in a dessert?
I once created a Wasabi Mascarpone Fruit Cheese Tart - this definitely raised a few eyebrows!
Where can we find you, if not in the kitchen?
Probably ballroom dancing - you will mostly always find me on the dance floor! I enjoy spending time with my family too and, when the weather is good, I will be out riding a bike.
- Staff reporter