Nilesh Limaye () is an Indian celebrity chef. He has successfully worked as a tv host, author and contributor to various magazines and a restaurant consultant. He is nicknamed "Sindbad the Chef" owing to his frequent travels. He manages his own entrepreneurial venture "All 'Bout Cooking" providing food and everage solutions to new entrants, entrepreneurs or existing restaurateurs. Zikomo (

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

), Trikaya (Pune), Gypsy Chinese (

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

) and Tenzo Temple (

Thane Thane (; previously known as Thana, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city located on the northwestern side of the list of Indian states, state of Maharashtra in India and on ...

) are among the restaurant brands that he works with.

Early life

Born in a Marathi family in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, he spent his childhood and college days in

. He is an alumnus from MSHIMCT,

Training

After working at a hotel for two years, he resolved to make cooking his career. He trained under Grande Chef Emeritus, Hemant Oberoi, at the Taj Hotels. He worked with chef Sanjay Malkani and chef Satish Arora. Along with his expertise in Maharashtrian,

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabis, Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a ...

Mangalorean Mangaloreans ( Tulu: ''Kudladaklu''; Kannada: ''Mangaloorinavaruu''; Konkani: ''Kodialkar''; Beary: ''Maikaltanga''; Urdu: ''Kaudalvale'') are a collection of diverse ethnic groups that hail from the historical locales of South Canara ( Tuluna ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

and North Indian food, he is expert in

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

, Thai,

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

, and

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

cuisines. He trained in various kitchen setups, from fine dining to large scale buffets. He worked with the flight catering unit of Taj Air Caterers and handled the kitchen for the Hiranandani hospital. He credits a lot of his learning to travel. He managed kitchens at Hawar, a small resort owned by Emir of Bahrain on the Island of Hawar. He traveled to Norway, Funiculor, the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

, the tribes on a

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

island,

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

, and

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

allowed him to explore the richness of cuisine.

Career

Cooking

His training in the Taj Mahal Hotel under Grande Chef Emeritus Hemant Oberoi was followed by his stint at Hawar Resorts in

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

. While setting up a hotel, Limaye worked with Chef Sanjay Malkani to learn about kitchen design, supplier negotiations, festival menus, food costing, etc. He later worked with Taj Air Caterers and various cruises. He led teams of Chefs churning out food at restaurants from a coffee shop to fine dining to northwestern frontier cuisine and a lounge bar.

Restaurants

As a chef he associated with many restaurants including Taj Mahal hotel, Hawar Resorts, Intercontinental, Gordan House Suites, Rodas, The Orchid, TAJ SATS, and Hiranandani Hospital. He has worked with many restaurants as a consultant/technical partner offering his expertise in issues including kitchen design, menu planning and enhancements, and cost control. The list includes: * Indraprastha Restaurant and Food plaza, Pune, which specializes in Maharashtrian food * Zikomo, Pune, which serves contemporary Western International food along with regional Indian dishes * Trikaya, Pune, winner of the Times Good Food Guide "Best Pan Asian Restaurant" twice in its first three years of operation * Gypsy Chinese, Dubai, which specializes in Chinese and Thai cuisine. * Tenzo Temple, Thane, a multi-cuisine restaurant.

Books

Nilesh is the author of successful culinary books. His breakfast cookbook ''Good Morning Cookbook'' along with ''Good Morning Nyahari'' and ''Chaupati food'' authored in Marathi are popular among food enthusiasts.

Television

He was a consultant chef and host to one of the weekly episodes in TV show ''Amhi Sare Khawaiye''. ''Amhi Saare Khavvaiyye'' (We all Gourmet) is a popular cooking show on Zee Marathi (an Indian regional channel). He was the Host Judge of ''

Mallika-E-Kitchen ''Mallia-E-Kitchen'' is an Indian cookery television series that premiered on Colors TV on 12 July 2009. The first season of series is hosted by Shruti Seth and is sponsored by LG Corp. Format Each episode consists of a cookery competition bet ...

'' show on Colors.

Philanthropy

He is a member of Western India Chefs Association affiliated to the Indian Federation of Culinary Arts. Limaye actively participated in various community welfare programs during the Culinary Congress held in 2007. He organized a charity luncheon and Blood Donation Camp on International Chefs Day. He was the tastemaker for the Shiv Vada Pav concept. The Shiv Vada Pav scheme was

Shiv Sena Shiv Sena (1966–2022) (; ; SS) was a right-wing Marathi regionalist Hindutva-based political party in India founded in 1966 by Bal Thackeray, who was later succeeded by Uddhav Thackeray. The party is split into two parties: the Uddha ...

's ambitious project to globalise the city's trademark dish, while providing employment to Marathi youth.

External links

Nilesh's WebsiteWork at Trikaya, PuneOfficial Facebook Page Chef's Blog

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Limaye, Nilesh 1972 births Living people Indian television chefs Artists from Mumbai