Shahnawaz revealed his restaurant will offer fusion food and the menu will be modified in accordance with seasonal food. PHOTO: PUBLICITY
Having established a name for himself in the culinary circle of Lahore and with 15 years of experience on his plate, chef Shahnawaz Khan is rapt with plans to venture into starting his own eatery.
With the hopes of keeping his project under the wraps for now, he shares his restaurant will offer fusion food, primarily using local ingredients, while the menu will be regularly modified in accordance with the seasonal produce.
“I always wanted to open a restaurant here but didn’t know if people were ready for the food I imagined or whether I was ready for it myself,” he said. Not a fan of extended menus, Shahnawaz feels that not everyone will be pleased with what his restaurant will offer. “It will be an educational experience for customers as they’ll learn how local produce can be taken a few notches up and the different things that can be done with it,” he stated. Shahnawaz shared his restaurant will only offer dinner with prior reservation required.
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The chef’s fondness towards cooking is rooted in the experiences he gained while growing up and his exposure to different cultures. Soon after graduating from school, Shahnawaz interned at the Avari Hotel in 2000 and became familiar with cooking skills. He later joined the École Supérieure de Cuisine Française (ESCF), the Higher School of French Cuisine at Ferrandi in Paris, where he received a diploma in ‘Perfecting French Gastronomy’. The institute’s courses are fashioned in the spirit of Escoffier, a French chef, restaurateur and culinary writer, who categorised French cuisine as we know it today.
Shahnawaz’s culinary know-how spans across different countries, starting from Michelin Star restaurants in Paris to the Grand Hyatt in Dubai. Speaking of his experience with the latter, Shahnawaz shared, “I didn’t particularly like working in a hotel because there was too much mass production of food. One could not pick up on things easily and that’s why I prefer smaller restaurants.”
He spread his culinary talent to New York in 2006, where he got the opportunity to work with David Bouley as a sous chef. “He was like a second father to me. Big on farming and organic things, Bouley was way ahead of his time,” he said. After feeling the need to take a break from working at fine-dining restaurants, he began working at Andrew Carmellini’s restaurant called Dutch and was on the opening team in the year the restaurant was rated as one of the best in New York.
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The tail end of 2012 saw Shahnawaz flying to his hometown in Lahore where he started to work at the Polo Lounge. “This is when I started to learn about Lahore and tried to adjust from the high density work life in New York.” Perhaps, his greatest contribution to Polo Lounge was the brunch menu, which he proudly calls “his own food”. The new menu included classic Eggs Benedict and omelettes, among others, which quickly became customers’ hot favourites.
On what he has learnt through the years about local cuisine, he shared, “Over the years, people have mastered cooking techniques according to the produce they get. For instance, the entire meat is braised and we cook the meat with bones until it’s absolutely tender. But meat should ideally be had with salt and pepper.”
Kitchen secrets
Shahnawaz is currently teaching a Home Pro course at SCAFA, a culinary and finishing arts school in Lahore. “I like being associated with SCAFA because they know what they’re doing unlike other culinary institutions in Lahore,” he shared. “I like teaching and am not afraid of people stealing my recipes because I can always come up with new ones.”
On the side, Shahnawaz is also working with his brother to launch a French bakery that will specialise in bread.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 12th, 2015.
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