Sid Sahrawat, director and executive chef of Sidart, Cassia and Sid at The French Cafe, grew up in Chandigarh, India. There, he trained at the SRM Institute of Science and Technology in Chennai before doing his apprenticeships in Oman, the Middle East.
After moving to New Zealand in 2000, Sahrawat worked at high-end establishments such as Non Solo Pizza, Totos and The Grove. In 2009 Sahrawat and his wife opened Sidart, followed by Cassia in 2014. Most recently the couple acquired The French Cafe and renamed it Sid at The French Cafe.
From day one Sahrawat knew he didn’t want to be in the front-of-house.
“I loved watching people enjoy something I had created during my training at tech. I immediately knew I belonged in the kitchen and haven’t looked back,” he said.
Since then, Sahrawat has let produce and his own palate guide the food he creates.
“I work with seasonal ingredients, and ones I like to eat,” he said.
A typical day for Sahrawat begins with looking at the reservations and staff levels of each restaurant to determine where he is needed most.
“I will greet the staff, check-in with the head chef and manager before prepping in the kitchen with the service team.
“Between lunch and dinner service I try to catch up on admin, and also the management team. At 4 pm I sit down and have lunch with the team.
“Before dinner service, I brief the team to discuss every detail of the service. Then I am at the pass plating with the team until the last course goes out.”
Sahrawat has recently released a range of curry sauces, Cassia at Home, for those who want to bring that professional touch of Cassia to their home curries. Cassia at Home curry sauces are shelf-stable, gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan.
This is Sahrawat’s most recent achievement, adding to Chef of the Year winnings, Sidart winning Cuisine Restaurant of the Year in 2014 and 2019, and Cassia winning Restaurant of the Year with Metro in 2016 and 2017.
“The love for all our restaurants and how well they are received by customers though, is the best accomplishment for me,” he added.
Being put into lockdown suddenly is hard for everyone, and the hospitality industry has taken an especially tough blow since Covid began.
“It’s hard for our teams as they lose motivation and it’s not great for anyone’s mental and economic wellbeing,” said Sahrawat.
“But I think Hospo as an industry is made of passionate and resilient people and we will bounce back.”
With the issues that have risen to the surface in hospitality, Sahrawat thinks that engaging the next generation into thinking of hospitality as a rewarding career will be challenging.
“There is room to keep growing in this industry,” he said.
“You may start at the bottom like any other industry but if you keep at it, keep learning and researching, there is no stopping passionate and creative people.”
Sahrawat adds that seeing chefs and managers pass through his kitchens to become entrepreneurs in their own right is the most rewarding aspect of his job.
“Attracting and retaining staff, educating consumers on their role in supporting businesses by changing the ‘deal’ mentality so employers can provide better working conditions like living wages will help secure a better future for the industry.”
Cooking from home during level 4, Sahrawat loves his NEFF slide and hide oven.
“The door slides away which is really cool, but you can also cook sous vide in it, as well as use steam to create fluffy cakes and succulent roasts.
“The best feature is the built-in meat thermometer so you can tell exactly when the meat has reached its best internal cooking temperature and turn off the oven remotely using wifi.”
Sahrawat is about to hand over Sidart to its head chef Lesley Chandra, which will give him some more time on his hands.
“I want to expand our Cassia at Home sauce range. Handing over Sidart will free me up a bit, so perhaps a cookbook is on the cards too.”
