When Chris Gayle Got Bowled Over by Suresh Pillai's Culinary Charm
Text:Sabinos
Chris Gayle, the man who is renowned for his thundering shots on ground fell flat in the culinary crease laid by Suresh Pillai, the Corporate Head and Executive Chef of Raviz group of hotels.
Chris Gayle, who was on a short vacation with his family at the God’s own country, was craving to enjoy the ultimate experience of backwaters during his stay at Raviz, Kollam. What he had in store was memories for a life time. The scrumptious Karimeen Porichathu (Pearl spot deep fried in a home-style marinate and garnished with fresh herbs and special coconut crumble), Alleppey Meen Curry (a special delicacy from the region), King fish fried in fresh turmeric, Kanambu (Mullet), Chempalli (Red Snapper) Crab Roast, Mutton Kabab, Beef Pepper Fry were few of the delicacies served to him by Suresh, list which thoroughly stumped Gayle down. Chris Gayle is just one among the celebrities besides Roger Federer, Kumara Sangakkara, Mammotty, Prabhu Deva and many more who has savoured the unforgettable classic delicacies of the chef .
Suresh Pillai created history when he made it to BBC MasterChef TV series competitive cooking show in 2017. He was one of the very few Indians to participate in the prestigious show. The winning dish, Pan fried Hake with green mango and coconut sauce with curry leaves, potatoes with samphire and coriander oil was a perfect fusion of East and West. This is prepared by making a sauce of mackerel cooked with mango in coconut milk, spiced up with chilli and turmeric, served on a bed of potato with curry leaves and garnished with Hake fish which is available in Britain along with samphire (a sea plant) salad and coriander oil. Interestingly, this is a typical Kerala delicacy improvised with appropriate ingredients to conquer the hearts of world class chefs.
Suresh started his career as waiter in a small restaurant in his home town, Kollam. His call for cooking pulled him into the culinary world. With selfconfidence as his only asset, he left to Kozhikode and worked in many restaurants as a chef. This experience moulded him to become an expert chef in Malabar dishes.
Suresh knew he wanted more in life. He moved to Bangalore for better opportunities. His rise from an unrecognized cook in a small restaurant to a celebrated chef happened during those years in the start-up city. He got to know of the vacancy for a chef in the popular 5 Star Property, Leela Palace. That was a turning point in his life. He came out triumphant in the interview but still was expelled from the role citing he didn’t possess any professional qualification for adorning the post of their Chef. Nevertheless, they were reluctant to send him back as they had sensed a magical spell in every dish he prepared for them. They requested Suresh to take up the post of a cook. Though initially Suresh was hesitant to climb down the career ladder, he was ready to make a compromise on the very thought of the endless possibilities Leela could offer. His decision turned right and since then, his career has been growing at a phenomenal pace. He became the master chef of Leela within a very short span of time.
He was working at Kumarakom Lake Resort while the authorities of Veeraswami Restaurant in Britain 
visited the property. He surprised them with shrimp, duck and variety fish dishes prepared in typical Kerala style. The magical flavours conspired in the immigration of Suresh to Britain. They took Suresh with them on their way back. He worked as a chef for around 14 years in various restaurants of the country. Everywhere there was an influx of food loving multitude, making him popular far and wide. Meanwhile his family also joined him and became permanent citizens of Britain.
Today he is the brand ambassador of the ethnic dishes and tastes of Kerala. He believes that it is his mission and purpose of life to make these incomparable tastes popular all around the world. He doubts whether the tourist who comes to our land could really enjoy the unique dishes of Kerala which could entrap anyone in wonder. That was the very reason why he came back to his country when renowned business magnet Ravi Pillai invited him to take up the position of corporate chef of speciality cuisine in his famous Raviz Group of Hotels.
He wonders whether there is any other corner in the world which has rich food varieties as we have.... even if we enlist the fish varieties.. it’s innumerable...from the north end to the south end of Kerala ...meen puliyila, meen thoran …etc are a few dishes which are yet to get acclaim. He believes many talented cooks and chefs amidst his fraternity are not identified. It is high time we introduced our diverse food culture to the world.
Suresh has travelled far and wide and was a distinguished invitee for a lecture series on cooking at theBahamas Unversity. He reveals Kerala’s typical cuisines were received with great honour by the people in the country. Even though Bahamas is rich in mango groves, tamarinds and drumsticks they had never thought these could be used to prepare some amazing dishes. Suresh created for them an unparalleled seafood experience by using these locally available resources along with fresh fish in the typical naadan style of Kerala.
The culinary wizard believes his mother deserves all credit for the numerous appreciations he has received for his dishes, for he inherited the skills from his mother. He is proud to confess it is her exclusive recipes and spice mixes which he has employed in his cooking to impress the world over. He is confident to discover many more authentic flavours in the village kitchens of the God’s own country. And so, Suresh Pillai continues to be on his wild journey, exploring the unexplored tastes of Kerala.
