“I think it's true to say that time flies and it seems that I have just started few years back but it seems like now if I consider yes, it's two decade and it is a very difficult to digest that the spend two decades have been working. Being busy you don't see that how time is running and things are changing in life,” shared Chef Vaibhav Bhargava of Cho Vietnamese as a life is always in changing experience. When Vaibhav started 20 years back, the hospitality was very different and today the hospitality has changed totally, all thanks to the affluent customers these days who always want something new and innovating. “I think it is a journey which I am enjoying and learning. A lot of learning I have gain from various companies where I have worked whether it is internationally or nationally with hotels, with restaurants doing my own stuff and I think this is all what brings a great experience because it was always the joyful journey to run around, meeting so many new people and having great fun while cooking for some of the wonderful people in my life in all these years,” he remembered as for him becoming a chef was always accidental. Excerpts from the interview:

What inspired you to become a chef and then a chefpreneur starting your own restaurant?

After doing my hotel management, I was doing my internship and got a chance to see that there is a gap between a live interactive session with the chef & the guest and that’s when I felt that it is important to fill that experience while talking to the consumers, understanding their need and making it available as per their requirements. Apart from being just a chef you have to take each and every aspect of life and hospitality to look into it when you become an entrepreneur because it's not only just cooking but also the serving and taking part in different aspects whether it is front of the operations, marketing, sales, purchasing etc. So it’s very important to involve in all departments.

Chef, you have been in-charge of many popular properties including The Lalit, ITC to name a few, what made you partner with standalone restaurant owners and move out of the 5 star space?

Yes, I had been a part of many international chains and being a part of Hotels like ITC and many more, but coming out of Hotel chains and partnering with standalone restaurants gave me a  freedom to talk, to do things on my own and even the decision making is much faster in these outlets. Standalone always allows you to keep experimenting and it takes your creativity on next level and in no time. In Hotels there is a certain way of working as all the decisions takes a lot of time via higher management and I felt that's why most of the great chefs are moving towards the stand alone concepts. Also, there is a direct interaction with customers when you are into one to one game to customers.

We see that with time Asian cuisine has not just grown as Chinese and pan-asian but cuisines like Korean, Vietnamese etc have also got a good clientele in the market. Why so?

I think the food has always evolved from various countries. So, earlier people only knew about Chinese food but with various chefs or travellers bringing in a culture of Sushi from Japan or the culture of Burma, the Burmese cuisine so there are various chefs who have been working in various fields of different South Asian countries and bringing some great cuisine. I also learnt about Vietnamese cuisine Delhi as people are experimenting, travelling and want something new and they are moving towards more clean, healthy cuisines. So, I think there is a need of change required and chefs are becoming more aware of what people demand.

What was your idea coming up with a Vietnamese restaurant? Do you see any competition from places like Vietnom etc?

It's one of the lightest on tummy. When I was travelling to Vietnam and I did my research I felt that the cuisine is very different. I felt while travelling to Vietnam the cuisine itself is gluten free, use lot of rice and they use more of rice papers or the sheets and not cornflour. Also it's based on a lot of herbs which are good for health and they use lot of fruits. So, i think there is an opportunity for such kind of cuisine. That’s how we decided to Open CHO- Vietnamese Kitchen & Bar, New Delhi.

I don't see much competition coming in from Vietnom because a lot of learning that I have is from the Street food of Vietnam and obviously it has been adjusted according to Indian Palate.

Chef, if we look at your experiences, you have worked at restaurants like Noma. Any key learning that you introduce in your restaurants that you learnt there?

Yes, I got a chance to get trained in where I learnt on sustaining your own culture and stability. At CHO, we are also doing the something as we also source our ingredients locally and do a lot of farming with the different farmers in Delhi itself. Currently we are working with 728 farmers from different parts of Delhi which allow us to pull out a great flavour in our cuisine and give the freshness.

Also, it’s not just food at restaurant anymore, it’s about beverages too. How do you pair your cuisine with the finest beverages?

Yes absolutely, the guest comes in for an overall experience of the place whether it is the service, beverages or food. Vietnamese cuisine is not much about beverages as we focus on the health part of the drinks like coconut water based drinks or the probiotic like kombuchas. We create drinks which have clear base, a lot of avocado shakes or healthy drink base. So yes, we have a great cocktail menu which pairs well with the ingredients.

What’s your expansion plan?

We have been planning and going to do a huge expansion plan. In the next 2 - 3 years we are looking to expand in all major metro cities. Our next destination will be Chennai and then Mumbai followed by Gurgaon.

5 trends you foresee.

People are definitely going to focus on their health and they want to focus on farm concept where they know where the produces are coming up and what they are eating.

2.    I think the plant based food will be in Trend and people want to go in the direction as most of the people are turning themselves into vegetarian.

3.    I think a lot of new natural food colours will incorporate into the food and new creativity will be incorporated.

4.    I think another trend which I see is that people would be happy to overall experience in the food, I think a food like a Sizzlers will come back because that's a trend which is being out for a while

5.    I feel using a lot of healthy ingredients in terms of spices for example turmeric is being incorporated in various farms which also benefits to the body.