Vaibhav Vishen, owner and chef of Chaat Street, grew up within a matriarchal dynamic where women of society were expected to cook. He inculcated the duty himself to be inspired and prosperous.
Born in Kashmir, India, with a computer science background, Vishen took the leap from his pragmatic skills in the tech world to the expeditious kitchen. He carried his problem-solving skills to management and recipe development through his past experience and education at Le Cordon Bleu, New Zealand.
Vishen takes the aesthete approach to his culinary role, where his major inspirations and interests in food are idiosyncratic yet evolve with a change of heart. He tends not to stick to a particular style of cuisine, the common denominator to all his creations is that of simplicity and substance. Particularly how simple ingredients can evolve into something of awe, such as the smell of the food being cooked and the tactility of holding bread nostalgic to his childhood.
The Physiology of Taste by Brillat Savarin is what inspired Vishen to see food from a different perspective from a young age.
“I was reading a book called Les Diners De Gala by Salvador Dali it got me to think how fine food/haute cuisine moved on from being full of grandiosity, abundance and richness to what we now see as simplicity, minimalism and approachability of food.”
Vishen has taken his industrious ethics to renowned establishments where he was formally head chef of Mr. Go’s and the Spring Kitchen at the Double Tree by Hilton in Wellington.
“Look down and work your ass off. When you are new to any industry, especially hospitality, work to learn, not to earn.”
His next steps are to venture out of New Zealand and take Chaat Street to New York City.
