“I knew where the kitchen was in my house but that was all.” As a boy growing up in a privileged household in India, Gaurav Navin never learned how to cook at home. “I’m not very good cooking Indian food,” Chef Navin confesses, although such an admission is not necessary. The 32-year-old Executive Chef of Shawnee Inn’s River Room has no problems with succulent Confit of Duck, Grilled Lamb Chops with Moroccan Spices, and I doubt his interpretation of Shrimp Tandoori would raise any eyebrows at home.

Home in India

Chef Navin grew up north of Delhi but received his B.A. in International Hospitality Management from Bangalore University, 1,200 miles south. “I can’t speak 80% of the languages in India. I had to learn the language (of Bangalore). Everything changes – soil, vegetation, food, recipes. They use coconut all the time in south India but not in the north, even in their coffee.” His university training included cooking, management and languages.

After graduation he worked in the kitchens of the five star Ashok Hotel Group as an assistant cook. To learn the secret of the Executive Chef’s famed fritters, “I massaged his feet, bought him whiskey. On my last day he handed me a piece of paper. The secret was the ajwain seed – a small ordinary seed but bursting with flavor.” It’s those little things, the attention to detail, that breeds success.