The chef reveals tips and tricks, as well as his favourite dish to cook
Abu Dhabi is teeming with fabulous restaurants, all headed by chefs concocting dishes to die for.
One such chef is Kushan Perera, Executive Chef of The St. Regis Abu Dhabi, who shares his culinary journey with Team Yalla.
How long have you lived in Abu Dhabi?
I left my homeland of Sri Lanka 22 years ago and came to work in Abu Dhabi’s only revolving restaurant at what was then called the Forte Grand, which is today Le Royal Méridien Abu Dhabi. In 2011, I moved to the Marriott brand and was part of the grand opening of The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort.
On 1 June of this year, I headed to The St. Regis Abu Dhabi where I am now the Executive Chef of this revered property that is, among other things, renowned for its culinary greatness.
Who or what inspired you to become a chef?
That’s an easy question; I’m from a family that has a background in hospitality. My father is a hotelier and worked as the Chief Engineer of the property.
We actually resided in the hotel itself and I lived and breathed it as I grew up. Although I was never allowed in the hotel kitchen, I often thought to myself that one of these days I am going to don a white jacket.
As soon as I was able to, I enrolled in a hotel school where I discovered that I was not overly keen on the housekeeping elements of the course, but I fell deeply in love with the culinary aspect of the course.
I trained in the Hilton Colombo and conducted internships in the high-class resorts in the south of Sri Lanka.
What would you say is your own personal signature dish?
Personally, and true to my home country, I love to cook fish. I particularly adore cooking garlic prawns, a simple dish of fresh prawns, butter and crushed garlic. While it is a simple dish, one needs to know the correct method for the best results, which is to heat the pan, placing in a small amount of butter, and before it caramelises, add the crushed garlic to flavour the butter prior to adding the prawns.
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Talk us through the process of conceptualising your menus.
Obviously, it depends on the actual hotel restaurant, but generally speaking, I always approach my chefs first. Keeping the restaurant type in mind, such as if it is fine dining and so on, as well as the diners in mind too, which is an extremely important part of the process. There are, of course, several tasting sessions prior to us all agreeing on a new menu.
Do your personal preferences influence the menu at all?
Undoubtedly, Abu Dhabi is a city of food and the people who dine here are well versed in the delights of great cuisine, especially at The St. Regis Abu Dhabi. Therefore, my preference is to provide value for money, in terms of the dishes that we serve live up to their expectations. I like to feed people well and with generosity.
How would you describe your cooking style?
I simply adore Mediterranean-style cooking since it is a huge part of my background. My cooking style is simple, and I am not into prolonged cooking, but rather keeping the flavour and freshness through simple searing and grilling methods.
What sustainable practices do you use in the kitchen?
We are scaling waste at The St. Regis Abu Dhabi. For example, during a buffet, we look at trends in consumption and control the food accordingly for the next buffet. We also focus on reusable plastics. At Cabana, the ice cream cups are made from recycled paper. We also source as many ingredients as we can locally, such as using Dibba oysters.
As a chef, do you have a favourite time of year that you look forward to working?
Definitely. You have come at the right time, since we have begun already to work on the festive season, which I really love. We are working on the festive menus and what to sell at the forthcoming festive market.
What makes a good chef great?
A great chef has a team that is as good as the chef; you cannot do anything on an induvial level. It is very important to have a great team behind you and your ideas must come through them. You must train and educate the team, create product awareness, and fundamentally create curiosity.
What is your favourite ingredient in the kitchen?
I don’t have one particular favourite ingredient. I believe that all ingredients must be respected, and it is how you handle them that counts. I believe less is more, and that the uniqueness of ingredients should be allowed to shine through in any dish.
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Do you have a favourite piece of kitchen equipment?
I fell in love with the hand blender. It is not a traditional piece of equipment per se, but it is a brilliant time-saving tool, especially when blending soups, making mayonnaises and sauces, and so on.
What would you be doing if you were not a chef?
I cannot honestly imagine doing anything else. My mum always talked to me about going into engineering, which I think is boring, but if had have done that, it still would have been in hospitality.
What would you say is your favourite dish to cook at home?
Honestly speaking, it is my wife who cooks at home, and she cooks simple family food, such as curry and rice. However, should pasta be on the menu, then my kids think that a chef should cook that, so it is over to me.
Where can we find you when you are not at work?
You’ll find me going to culinary competitions, judging and so on. I love to visit culinary fairs as often as I can.
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