Executive Chef Mohammad Sameer Living A Foodie’s Dream With His Gorgeous Creations

When you think of a pastry chef, all sorts of yummy goodies float before your eyes, enticing you with all the sweet flavours in the world. But do you ever stop, while savoring the baked delights, and think about that man (or the woman) behind those visually appealing goods? You may or may not have. However, the chefs, particularly known as pastry chefs, lest they be misrepresented, continue to work tirelessly, in the kitchens of restaurants, bakeries, hotels, and other establishments, imagining, then creating, the desserts, which bring down the curtain on every good meal. One such man is Executive Pastry Chef Mohammad Sameer.
Chef Sameer started his professional journey in the hallowed halls of The Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi where he developed a passion for the aromas and ingredients of F&B production. After having begun his journey in several five-star hotels and with top leading brands in the country like Taj hotels (IHCL), Hyatt hotels, and many more, Chef Sameer soon became "one of the youngest pastry chefs" in the industry. In this journey, he also won several awards, became part of jury member for many completions, and eventually got featured in the FHRAI Magazine 2023, featuring his top skills and hospitality industry experience for everyone to see.

It was while working against the rigors of a five-star kitchen space that Chef Sameer discovered his love for spoons and spatulas more than other equipment used around. He realized that he was not just comfortable wielding these tools but was getting more and more creative while doing so.

However, with time, his vision went beyond just pastry-art. He also gained excellence in another area of hospitality management, which was the development and curation of pre-opening restaurants and hotels. Whoever is familiar with the hospitality world realises the importance of a pre-opening menu. Pre-opening, also known as a soft opening, is a massive undertaking as it expresses your establishment's personality. The menu for this occasion not just depicts the whole establishment but also garners customer feedback, bringing in valuable suggestions to be incorporated. It is within this highly-charged atmosphere that Chef Sameer dares to venture with his pre-opening menu skills, which involve developing the Ayurvedic and Indian spice blends to creating desserts for the menu. Talking about this challenge, he says, "It is a whole different ball game altogether. It is full of varied challenges and highly satisfying at the same time. I am not only well-known for my flavours, techniques, and expertise in Indian desserts, but also for my creative food presentations. I am also known for my unique style of incorporating the unusual Ayurvedic- spice blends I specifically invent for Indian desserts."

He further adds, "I differentiate spices by their cooling, warming, baking, and digestive natures. Each and every spice blend has a different note and reaction when it comes to pairing with different ingredients and cooking techniques."

Chef Sameer has worked as a pre-opening chef for Hyatt hotels, the Taj hotels, 'Andaz' by Hyatt, Hyatt Regency Hotel, Lucknow, and several restaurants overseas. A word of advice from the maestro himself, "In the pre-opening phase, you must work from ground zero and build the entire kitchen from scratch. From wall dimensions, picking the latest equipment, to hiring the whole team, you need to work with a vision so that you can immaculately plan it all for the future." Such wealth of wisdom is a result of years spent learning from the best at the American Hotel Lodging & Educational Institute, USA as well as at HTMI, Switzerland, Hotel management from the RIG Institute of Hotel Management, Greater Noida. He has also completed upskilling courses in Kitchen Engineering & Designing and Menu Development, which further established him as an expert in the pre-opening circuit.

It is this perseverance and passion that saw him build nine restaurants in the Middle East, where he moved to in order to hone his skills amidst an international audience. At present, he is the Executive Pastry Chef for Vanguard Company/Modern Dish Company. His role involves managing seven different restaurants and planning the launch of three more upcoming restaurants.

Chef Sameer is also an expert in chocolate-based desserts while his gelatos are talk of the town as well. Therefore, it was an obvious shift for him to decide to give a modern twist to traditional Indian sweets and put it out there for international connoisseurs. He also wants to bring alive the forgotten Indian flavours and use age-old ingredients to revive the art of traditional Indian cuisine.

However, what is the closest to his heart are the two roles - pastry chef and pre-opening chef. He believes both involve a huge amount of learning and hard work. And since he is always looking for innovation in whatever he does, these two fields provide him with limitless opportunities to outshine each time.