Being a product of mixed parentage both Maharashtrian and Guajarati, I grew up in a household where both cuisines were enjoyed and relished equally. Add to that an ex-army foodie father making constant demands of my mother to produce foods he loved, be it a chutney pomfret or a vegetable au gratin, or a devilled chicken we thus became a truly versatile household foodwise. By the time my brother and I were teenagers my mother’s Baby Belling electric oven had probably logged thousands of hours of baking and yet kept manfully chugging along for many more years till it could finally take no more.
Being a hotelier by training in my early adulthood meant an even wider exposure to the cuisines around India and the world during my education as well as postings in Food and Beverages Departments in several metros around the country. After shifting careers to marketing combined with a stint in sales, I had the opportunity to travel to over two hundred towns and cities all over India and as well as many countries overseas. For many of my colleagues touring was drudgery, with me however it was an opportunity to discover the wonderful and varied cuisines of our country, from Mud crabs in dhabas around Chilka lake, Chainapoda in Bhubaneshwar to Meat Chilly fry and Meen curry in Kerala, to Litties in Patna and lychees from Muffafarpur, Laal Maas in Rajasthan, Macher Jhol in Bengal, Chole in Amritsar or the delicious vegetarian fare served by Jain dhabas in the Punjab and so on.
Dealer conferences and advertising shoots abroad opened a world of Oysters, Tex Mex barbeques, Singapore Chilli crab among others.
To make matters even more complex, I am married to a Kashmiri Pandit, a gifted cook herself who later went on to qualify as a cordon bleu pâtissier. This made the Yakhni’s and Rogan Jhosh’s of the world a household affair besides a continuous stream of delicious baked goodies.
In my very late forties, I discovered scuba diving and the fabulous undersea world combined with foodie escapes in Australia, South East Asia, the Red Sea and beyond
Now having mostly retired from a professional life of 42 years, I hope to share my experiences from the wonderful world of food with an expectation that readers will explore the fantastic cuisine of India and other countries to become gastronomically enlightened citizens of the world. As for me, I would like to keep chugging along as long as possible much like my mother’s Baby Belling oven.
Seasoned Marketeer and Advertising professional with a track record of launching and building powerful brands that are today household names like Venkys chicken, Futura pressure cookers and cookware, Dr. Fixit and most recently Polycab. He has also worked closely on brands like Raymond and VISA. He however, started his career as a management trainee with ITC hotels with stints in the Maurya Kitchens, and F&B at Chola Sheraton and Searock Sheraton. Before turning independent consultant in 2017, he was COO at the advertising firm RKSWAMY BBDO. In all the intervening years he has never lost his passion for food and cooking. Extensive travel in India and overseas has only helped in expanding his foodie horizons. After lockdown Shailen hopes to get back to his other passion Scuba Diving while continuing to share his foodie experiences on this network.
