A plate is a canvas for Arvindsingam Jeyaratnam – better known as Chef Arvind – to channel his artistic expression.
The demi chef de partie of the RuMa Hotel pushes creative boundaries and showcases his food creations, which are visually beautiful and at the same time, a feast for all the other senses.
Influenced by French culinary art, Arvind’s mission is to serve an innovative and delicious dish which would stay in the memory of the diner, for a long time.
“It’s about creating a moment to remember,” said Arvind, who has been a part of many competitions and was the double bronze medallist at Ika Culinary Olympics 2020 at Stuttgart, Germany.
When the Covid-19 virus started to spread last year, Arvind decided to venture into the online food business. He went back to his roots to create mouth-watering authentic briyani on a part-time basis.
Currently, Arvind has been roped into a new situation. He is working part-time at PPV KLCC.
He is a part of a team preparing and cooking meals for the front liners, who are working around the clock ceaselessy.
Share with us your authentic homemade briyani and what motivated you to open the business?
I started making authentic biryani at the end of MCO when the Covid-19 pandemic first hit. It was a very sudden plan to start selling briyani to survive the bad patch.
At that time, my mother was craving prawn briyani and she requested for me to cook it at home. Then, I took a picture of my briyani on a banana leaf and posted it on my social media.
Many of my friends were asking if I were open to orders for briyani. When I told my mother, she was like – Why not? Just try and see what happens.
At that moment, I made up my mind to sell briyani.
In the beginning, it was a very hard decision as I did not have any experience with online business but I tried to learn on the job how to handle an online food service.
Surprisingly, it hit the market very well and I am really thankful to all my beloved customers, family and friends for their support. My briyani business was - “On and Off” due to the fact I was still working as a chef at The RuMa Hotel and Residences.
I was doing briyani as my part-time business during this pandemic as most authentic briyani was closed for orders due to low demand.
To survive this pandemic, I have also started working at PPV KLCC.
Tell us about your experience and challenges while cooking for front liners at PPV KLCC?
Definitely, it’s a different experience cooking for the front liners in the current situation.
As a chef at a fine dining restaurant, usually I would cook for 30-40 guests and now, it has changed to cooking for 1,200 to 1,300 persons each day. It’s a huge difference for myself as a chef and it’s very challenging.
Basically, we are cooking full daily meals for the front liners from breakfast to dinner.
The most challenging part is the packaging of the dishes as it should be really fast and the food must be delivered hot to the hardworking front liners.
What are your future plans?
I am different from other chefs because I love participating in culinary competitions. My plan is to participate in the three most prestigious competitions; the Culinary World Cup, IKA Culinary Olympics and Bocuse D’or. At the same time, I hope to open a restaurant of my own which focuses mainly on briyani.
