The journey of Suresh Pillai from a security guard to the ambassador of Kerala’s rich culinary culture wasn’t an easy one
“I was around 16-17 years old when I started working as a security guard. I was doing night shifts also, it was a very difficult job. I was wandering in streets of Kollam looking for other jobs.
At that time, I went to a restaurant and asked the manager for work and was offered a waiter’s job”
That job was Suresh’s entry into the culinary world
“There was a chef Liju who I used to assist at night after my job.Then Liju identified my skill in chopping onions and said that I should come and work in the kitchen. I told the manager that in the morning I’ll work as a waiter and then at night will assist in the kitchen. That way I was getting both incomes. It was a hard job as I used to work 90 hours per week”
After he got the hang of it, Suresh worked in many restaurants in Kerala and Bengaluru including Leela Palace. Suresh then got an opportunity to work at the famous Veeraswamy restaurant in London. From there he went on to work with Michelin-star restaurants
Now all set to open his flagship restaurant in Kodaikanal, the chef says he is happy that he was able to open 15 restaurants in just 2 years
Read full story here
Report: Saraswathy Nagarajan
Video: Sreejith R Kumar
Production : Gayatri Menon
Voiceover: Gopika KP
Published - January 23, 2024 05:29 pm IST
