Feel The Pride
Surjan Singh Jolly
Surjan Singh Jolly aka Chef Jolly started out his career with Taj Palace Intercontinental Hotel , New Delhi in 1993 . In 2000 he joined the Marriott group of hotels as a Sous Chef at Goa Marriott Resort . He later on became the Head Chef of an Indian Speciality Restaurant , Saffron , at JW Marriott in Mumabi . Surjan Singh Jolly has also worked with some of the finest restaurants and hotels in the world such as Sheraton Dubai Creek , Quality Inn Southern and Starwood Hotels and Resorts among many others . But it all started from a young age . Chef jolly was interested in culinary arts and loved experimenting with food . Surjan Singh Jolly graduated from the National Council of Hotel Management Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition , Jaipur . He graduated with a Hotel Management Degree . Surjan Singh Jolly also hold an MBA in Marketing . In his longstanding career spanning over two decades , Chef Surjan Singh Jolly has worked with many world renown chefs . Some of them include , Sriji Arvind Singh Mewar of Udaipur Royalty and Nawab Mehboob Alam Khan , Ustaad of Hyderabadi Cuisine . He has also tried out his skills in the by-lanes of Lucknow and perfected the kulchas in Amritsari dhabas . Chef Surjan Singh Jolly has received the prestigious global Marriott Hotels & Resorts ‘Chef of the Year Award for Culinary Excellence’. He is also a member of the Culinary Tourism Board and travels annually to Nova Scotia and Canada to spread awareness of adding Indian flavors to their local products . It doesn’t stop here . Chef Surjan Singh Jolly is also a member of renowned programs such as Regional Culinary Board for Marriott Asia Pacific , Culinary Board Worldwide Marriott , International Culinary Guide of Chefs UK and Executive Committee Member for WICA ( Western Indian Culinary Association ) . He has also worked at the ‘The Club’ in Mumbai where he was the chef in charge of all the elite activities organized at the club from A list parties to Bollywood celebrity weddings . He became immensely famous when he became a judge alongside Chef Vikas Khanna and Chef Kunal Kapoor in ‘MasterChef Juior Swaad ke Ustaad’ . Soon he also had his own show on Zee Khana Khazana titled ‘Ab Har Koi Chef’ . Surjan Singh Jolly was chosen as the head chef for Paris Hilton when she visited India . Currently , chef Jolly has joined JW Marriott , Bengaluru as the executive chef . Besides being a Chef , Surjan Singh Jolly indulges in activities like camping , biking and jet skying . He also has a keen interest in traveling. , arts and photography .
Kunal Kapoor
Born into a Punjabi family in Delhi , Chef Kunal Kapoor started cooking at home as a young kid . He always had the passion for food and loved experimenting with his food . Kunal Kapoor joined the Institue of Hotel Management , Chandigarh to pursue his dreams while getting ready to be a banker . He began his career at Taj Group of Hotels . Thereafter he worked in many luxurious hotels across the country . Kunal Kapoor has been awarded for many of his endeavors and even set a record to his name . Some of his achievements include , ‘Gourmet Guru Award’ by Food and Nightlife magazine , Silver medal at ‘Aahar’ and a bronze medal in ‘HORECA’ , Kuwait . Kunal Kapoor was also awarded the prestigious , ‘Sir Edmund Hillary Fellowship’ in the field of Food & Beverage by the Government of New Zealand . He is one of the main chefs at restaurant , ‘Diya’ , Leela Kempinski. The restaurant has won the ‘Best Indian restaurant award’ three times in a row in Gurgaon for the years 2009-2012 by Times Food Guide . Kunal Kapoor also has a record in the famous Limca Book of Records to his name for creating India’s largest chocolate tower . As far as television appearances are concerned , Kunal Kapoor was invited as a guest judge on one of the episodes of season 2 of MasterChef USA . He was also a guest judge in one of the episodes of ‘Chef Pankaj ka Zayka’ on Star Plus Television . But Kunal Kapoor rose to fame and became a household name in India only when he hosted and judged , ‘MasterChef India’ Season 1 on Star Plus Television . He went on to be the host and judge in ‘MasterChef India’ for season 2 and 3 as well . Currently he is hosting ‘MasterChef Junior Swaad Ke Ustad’ alongside Chef Vikas Khanna and Chef Jolly and is the Executive Chef at the Leela Kempinski in Guraon . In an interview chef Kunal Kapoor says that the food industry in India is growing by leaps and bounds . There are new food channels coming up along with new food shows . Kids who were earlier engrossed with dancing and singing due to the television are now exposed to this art as well . Generally with the television exposure the new generation is much more exposed to the food industry . Food shows have become means of entertainment for many . He goes on saying that the food industry is growing by thousands of crores each year and contributes a good chunk of the economy . Kunal Kapoor says that this is partly due to the growing demands of people across the country . People now pay much more attention to their food and are much more conscious when making decisions regarding their food . They are no more satisfied with the simple food and want to explore more . When asked about his favorite type food , Kunal Kapoor says he generally loves all kinds of food but he still prefers his Desi food and loves to experiment with it . Apart from being engrossed with food , Kunal Kapoor is a big movie buff and loves watching Hindi and English movies every week .
Harpal Singh Sokhi
Famous for hosting the show , ‘Turban Tadka’ , Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi became a name to reckon with in the hotel industry due to his fusion of Indian food with International cuisines . Harpal Singh Sokhi is a music lover and can speak fluently in English , Punjabi , Hindi , Bengali , Oriya and Telugu . He grew up with two elder sisters and a brother and was inspired by his parents in terms of cooking . His mother was a house wife and his dad was an Indian Railways worker . Harpal Singh Sokhi’s dad used to travel a lot during work and was culturally aware . He wanted his kids to know about the different cultures and the different foods of each culture . Harpal Singh Sokhi’s interest in culinary arts grew and it was in 1987 that he went on to complete his Catering Diploma from the Institute of Hotel Management in Bhubaneswar . He set out to be a chef and follow his passion . Harpal Singh Sokhi grew as a chef when he worked with an old time Ustad , Ustad Habib Pasha in Hyderabad . He learnt the intricacies of Hyderabadi cuisine from him and also Begum Mumtaz Khan who was an authority figure in Hyderabadi cuisine . Harpal Singh Sokhi claims that his love for cookery and food is mainly because it tells you a lot about other cultures and educates you about different types of food . After working in Hyderabad he went on to work for several famous restaurants and hotels . Some of them include , Vintage (Hyderabadi speciality restaurant) , Centaur Hotel (Juhu Beach) , The Oberoi (Bhubaneswar) , Vidarbha (Mumbai) and The Regent (Mumbai) . At hotel ,The Regent in Mumbai Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi had the privilege to develop the concepts for the restaurant and showcase his skills with a bigger responsibility . Currently Harpal Singh Sokhi has collaborated with Khana Khazana fame Chef Sanjeev Kapoor and together they share the dream of making Indian cuisine the number one in the world . He is hosting the much popular cookery show ‘Turban Tadka’ on Sanjeev Kapoor’s ‘Food Food’ Channel . He is also hosting the show ‘Sirf Tees Minute’ . Harpal Singh Sokhi also participated in the world gourmet summit in Beijing . He is also currently active in developing reedy to eat gourmet chutneys and pickles for the ‘Khazana’ brand . Concurrently he is developing various book contents for Sanjeev Kapoor . Harpal Singh Sokhi’s partnership with Sanjeev Kapoor dates back all the way to the first ever episode of ‘Khana Khazana’ in 1993 which Sokhi hosted himself .