October 10, 2025 • 47 mins
Chef Abhi Sukul, the esteemed owner of Lajawab Indian Cuisine, embodies the essence of culinary dedication, having transformed his passion for cooking into a thriving endeavor in St. Petersburg, Florida. Born in Kolkata, a city renowned for its vibrant food culture, Chef Abhi's culinary journey began in his mother's kitchen, where he learned that cooking is an art requiring both patience and passion. In this enlightening discourse, we delve into his remarkable odyssey, from navigating the global hospitality landscape with Marriott to overcoming the adversities posed by the pandemic, which initially threatened to derail his ambitions. Chef Abhi's unwavering spirit led him to rebuild, ultimately establishing Lajawab, where he meticulously crafts dishes that not only reflect the rich tapestry of Indian cuisine but also aim to evoke joy in every guest. Join us as we explore the intersection of tradition and innovation through the lens of a chef who ardently believes that every dish should leave a lasting impression, not merely of satisfaction but of sheer delight.
Lajawab - Authentic Indian Cuisine
Lajawab Indian Cuisine (@lajawab4u) • Instagram photos and videos
Takeaways:
- Chef Abhi Sukul emphasizes the significance of patience and passion in culinary arts, which he first learned in his mother's kitchen.
- The chef's journey from Kolkata to global experiences showcases the universality of hospitality in the culinary field.
- Chef Sukul's dedication to authentic Indian cuisine is reflected in his meticulous preparation of dishes, such as his signature butter chicken and coconut mushroom curry.
- The story of overcoming adversity during the pandemic illustrates the resilience of entrepreneurs in the restaurant industry.
- Abhi Sukul's commitment to mentorship in the culinary arts highlights the importance of passing on knowledge to future generations of chefs.
- The chef's culinary philosophy centers around the joy of cooking and the profound impact that food can have on people's happiness.
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Mentioned in this episode:
Aussie Select - Fully cooked, premium Australian lamb
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:31):
You've just stepped inside thewalk and Talk, podcast number one
in the nation for food lovers,chefs and storytellers.
I'm Carl Fiadini, your host,shining a light on the flavor, the
hustle, and the heart of the industry.
We're the official podcast forthe New York, California and Florida
restaurant shows, the PizzaTomorrow Summit, the US Culinary
Open at Napham, and the NorthAmerican media platform for the Burnt
(00:53):
Chef project, recorded at IbisImages Studios, where food photography
comes alive and I get thefirst bite.
Find out moreinfo@thewalkandtalk.com every great
chef carries a story, one thatsimmers longer than any sauce.
In St. Petersburg, Florida,that story belongs to chef Abi Sukul.
(01:14):
Born and raised in Kolkata,the city.
Of Joy, ABHI grew upsurrounded by.
Spice, sound, and theheartbeat of Indian street food.
His first lessons came fromhis mother's kitchen, where he learned
that cooking is equal partspatience and passion.
After hotel school, ABHI spentyears traveling the world with Marriott,
Dubai, Singapore, Australia,mastering flavors and learning that
(01:37):
true hospitality is auniversal language.
When the pandemic forced himto close his first restaurant in
Dallas, he didn't quit.
He rebuilt.
He moved to Florida, openedkitchens for others, and finally
created his own space, Lajuab.
Indian cuisine in St. Petetoday is.
Sauces simmer for eight hours.
His food tells the story ofKolkata crafted with modern precision
(02:00):
and deep emotion.
Chef Abi Sekul believes thatfresh food speaks the best and that
every dish should leave aguest not just full, but joyful.
This is the story of the chefwho carried the taste of home across
oceans, turned setbacks intostrength, and found his joy again,
one plate at a time.
Chef, welcome to the program.
(02:21):
Hi, Carl.
I mean, we did some stuff today.
Definitely royalty.
Thank you.
I ate like royalty.
And you, you really did somestuff today.
Like, I'm so impressed.
Thank you, thank you.
Thank you so much, Carlo, forhaving me here.
Pleasure is ours.
(02:44):
First thing we need to do istalk about what you, what you cooked
up here in the studio.
Well, you know the most famousbutter chicken, which is like a significant
trademark of Indian dish.
We cooked butter chicken todayand one of my signature dish that
(03:05):
I came up, it's called coconutmushroom curry.
And the fun fact of that dishis that it's completely vegan, coconut
based, and it has little spiceand kick to it, fresh mushroom in
it, coconut flecks in it.
And vegan people loves that.
(03:25):
I mean, the, the communitythat I or my restaurant is in, a
lot of vegan people out there.
And so there's a little storyto that dish too.
And that dish is full of joyand happiness into that dish.
(03:50):
That satisfies me a lot.
The freshness of theingredients and then the variety
of spices.
John, the studio, the aromathat was permeating through the entire
place, I mean, even into the studio.
Amazing.
(04:10):
Shaking your head.
I love it.
Okay.
Yeah.
I'm super impressed, man.
So the butter chicken, youknow, I've had.
We've talked about this.
So while I have experiencedIndian cuisine, I've never experienced
it like this.
This was as authentic and realas I've ever had it.
And I appreciate it becauseyou can tell the difference.
(04:34):
You can feel, see, smell, andtaste the difference.
So I appreciate that.
Absolutely, absolutely.
So, yeah, definitely this isthe authentic butter chicken that
I cooked today.
And you had experienced itjust not only by taste, but visually.
(04:55):
And the aroma while cookingthat dish, the love and the simmering
sauce that the tomato based,simmered sauce that goes to this
dish is the real deal.
And people improvised butterchicken in other ways.
But this is the authenticbutter chicken that you had today.
(05:19):
That's for sure.
So growing up in Calcutta, youcome from a family that cooks in
India.
The regions, the religion, thefood, culture, it's all different.
Talk about that and how youbrought it here to the States.
Yeah, absolutely.
(05:39):
First of all, the city that Iborn and raised is called Calcutta,
you're right.
And it is also known as Cityof Joy.
And there is a reason why itis called City of Joy because the
food scene and the culinaryscene, culture, language, community,
everything is so joyful andrich that they had to name it as
(06:03):
a City of Joy.
And eventually I saw my momcooking really delicious food.
And I always been a helpinghand for her.
She has been a big inspirationin terms of cooking scene in my life.
How long have you been cooking?
I've been cooking for 16 years now.
(06:25):
Are there lessons that you'velearned from your mother that help
you in a professional kitchen?
100%.
100%.
There are very attention todetails that I picked up from my
mom's cooking.
And that has helped me notonly in my personal restaurant business,
(06:47):
rather in my professional lifewhen I used to work with the hotels
too.
I had that opportunity to usethat attention to detail, especially
the right time of putting theright spice.
The amount and.
And the significance ofputting that spice is very, very
(07:09):
important lesson which wastaught by my mother during the cooking.
And she used to test me too.
It's not just like I justlearned it or saw it or she.
She she just taught me that.
But she used to take that testfrom me that whether I have paid
that attention.
(07:29):
And even down the line lateron when I used to share my stories
with her, she used to ask me,did you apply that the method that
I taught when you were like wewere cooking that same dish in our
home kitchen.
And definitely that has helpedme a lot and I'm really grateful
(07:52):
that where I am today, justbecause of her.
You have a unique perspectivefrom food because you come from that
culture and you learned a lotfrom your mom.
But then you got with Marriottand that took you around the world.
If you were going to connectthe dots from your, from your town,
(08:14):
from your city and then youtake that to Singapore, Australia,
again, Dubai, all over.
How did your Indian foodculture connect within the Marriott
Corporation?
Well, first of all, Marriottis a phenomenal and a great brand
to work with.
They keep their stars.
(08:35):
They don't call themselves theworkers or the chefs as a employee
or chef, they considerthemselves as a star.
And taking into that account,Marriott gives the opportunity every
quarterly, I would say everythree months to present a dish from
(08:57):
your culture.
Well, Marriott is a verydiversified culture.
Employees are there, there area lot of other people from different,
different countries workingfor Marriott and they have this policy
where they give you anopportunity to present your dish
(09:19):
in front of those executive chefs.
And I am privileged and I, Ihad that opportunity to present my
Indian cuisine or the othercity or the authentic Calcuttin food
to be plated in front of thosebig chefs.
That, that's a very, very bigplatform that I got not only in States
(09:44):
but in Singapore and Dubai as well.
And they appreciate thedifferent kind of food culture and
they want to know how talentedor what is the passion behind those
stars are.
And they utilize that passionand that quality in their business
(10:10):
too.
They place those particular,you know, particular star for a particular
event that is coming up in the Marriott.
So they use it so wisely anddelicately that they are trying to
get their job done into somuch perfection.
(10:33):
Suppose an event is coming upfor a Indian wedding coming up and
they know that they have starswho are from India and they give
you give that opportunity,come on, let's have a three course
menu, put it on the table.
And eventually they aregetting two jobs done with just one
(10:55):
arrow.
That's phenomenal.
That's also a major confidence booster.
That's for you as a chef.
Learning, growing, absolutely.
Getting a platform or youknow, presenting yourself in front
of those world class chefs isprivileged and you don't you won't
(11:15):
find better opportunities thanthat to, you know, use that opportunity
to grow in future in your career.
Let's get to the Dallas chapter.
You came to the States, youopened a restaurant in Texas and
that was just right around thetime of COVID You could have lost
everything.
How did that moment transformyour mindset?
(11:36):
That's a very interestingstory, Carl.
So I was working with Marriottand I was having plans to quit hotels
and jump into the restaurantindustry to make my own venture.
And I took a very bold step, Iwould say this is mid of 2019 and
(12:00):
I took a very bold step and Iquit Marriott Hotels in Dallas, Texas
and opened up my own venture.
And COVID 19 hit, you know,and it was a very, apparently it
was a very new restaurant.
(12:20):
It was just six months old.
And still we were trying tobuild the clientele still the boards
were going out in the market,you know, so there's a saying the
first two years is the majoryear for any restaurant industry
to get their name out and havea set of clientele.
(12:42):
And COVID 19 hit.
It was pandemic.
I was pretty nervous.
I was thinking, I don't knowwhich way to go.
You know, the office isclosed, the people are quarantined.
You know, people are notgetting out from their house even
(13:04):
for to go orders.
I mean the health guidelineswere like, you can't have a to go
order right away until it issitting outside or isolated for the
to go bags.
I mean to say even isolatedfor six or seven hours and then you
can, you can, you know, touchit or open it, you know, so the numbers
(13:28):
went down, real down.
That scared me.
I, I gave everything in my, I,I gave everything, what, what was
there in my pocket.
I had accumulated debt to.
I won't, I won't tell the,tell the numbers.
Those are not small numbersthough, you know.
(13:50):
But still I didn't lose hope.
I didn't lose hope at all.
And it definitely takes a lotof courage, support and dedication.
And finally when things weregetting out of control, you know,
(14:12):
getting more debts was not awise decision, was not a wise, wise
idea to keep on accumulating debt.
I decided to close the doorfor that restaurant.
It was tough decision, but you didn't.
Lose your entrepreneurial spirit.
Absolutely not.
Absolutely not.
(14:32):
So a failure is a pillar of success.
That's what I have alwaysbelieved and that has, that was always
taught by my parents.
If you don't fail, if youdon't experience fail failure, you
won't enjoy the success.
(14:53):
So Never, ever thatentrepreneurship or the entrepreneur
mind, thought or mindset wasalways there, despite Covid or I
had to close a restaurant.
I had to give a fresh start or whatever.
It didn't die inside.
When Covid happened, actually,that's where Walk and Talk media
(15:15):
was born from.
Obviously around the countryhere, many of.
I mean, the food industry justhit the wall, and it was worse in
other countries.
We were still doing a lot onvideo at the time.
Heavy video.
No, there wasn't a podcast yet.
And my inbox was filled withpeople from Asia, India, everywhere
(15:41):
asking, begging for work.
And I'm like, literallyhundreds of people.
Chefs, sous chefs, underlings,line cook.
Everybody from the business inother countries were reaching out
to me specifically for work.
(16:03):
And I was like, I can't help you.
I wish that I could.
Especially as we were comingout of the lockdowns nationwide.
In Florida, we didn't have itso bad.
But the fact is there were allthese people that wanted to work,
and they're sending meresumes, and they're sending me photos
(16:24):
and videos, and there'sbeautiful foods and all these things
that they're making.
And I wished there was a wayfor me to bring them to work, because
at that time, a lot of theindustry here decided that, hey,
we're done.
We're not working in theindustry anymore.
Right.
We're done with food.
(16:44):
It was a really hard time.
It was very hard, Verypathetic time.
It was pathetic.
And then here you are in your story.
That's a lot of money to lose.
Oh, yes.
Oh, yes.
And just not only money, youknow, but you need to have that emotional
thing to be strong enough tojust not to recover from the situation.
(17:07):
But you have to figure out theway that.
Which way you want to go, justnot, you know, you want to pay off
your debt and take an easy wayto have a job and take care of things.
But the main point of beingentrepreneur is that you never lose
hope.
(17:28):
And.
And that was always in theback of my mind.
Yeah, I have to get my debtout, but at the same time, that entrepreneurship
needs to stay in me to grow infuture, whether it's Florida, Texas,
California, or wherever.
But entrepreneur is always an entrepreneur.
(17:49):
He's.
He's going to find a way.
So you're also a consultant,and you've done quite a bit of work
here in Florida, in this area.
Talk a little bit about that.
As soon I decided that I wantto close down the restaurant.
So even before consulting,consult, starting consulting in Florida,
I was in.
(18:09):
When I was In Texas byparallel working with Marriott.
I used to do that consultancyin Texas too and open up quite few
restaurants in Texas for other people.
So when I decided I want toclose the door and I have to get
a better opportunity to clearout all my debts and grow more, I
(18:34):
had a very close boss.
He was the director of GaylordHotels, Food and beverage director
of Gaylord Hotels.
Mr. Mark.
And I reached him out and Itold him that Chef, I'm looking for
a job.
(18:55):
He was surprised, but youknow, entire hospitality market at
that time was crashed out and,but still Florida had that opportunity.
It was not as bad as otherstates, but Florida had still had
that opportunity during thatpandemic time.
And he said, I'll hook you upin Tampa.
(19:18):
Are you, are you willing tomove to Florida?
I'm like, yeah, I'm down, I'mdown to move anywhere to you know,
have a better life now, you know.
And he hooked me up to Tampa,Tampa region.
And I have never been toFlorida before that.
And I came down to Florida, Ijoined the hotel.
(19:41):
But you know, like I said thatentrepreneurial skills or that fact
won't let it go from me.
And it, it pulled me all the,all the way.
And I'm like no, I'm notworking in hotels.
And I went back consultingfor, as a full time consulting for
(20:05):
others, you know, becausestill the Florida market was open.
I see in Tampa people are people.
It's not Covid, it's not pandemic.
You know, people are going outin summertime, beach beaches are
full, you know, in, in, inwintertime I see snowbirds here and
you know, they are having funand stuff like that.
(20:26):
So I made, I incorporated acompany called Cater for you and
I started that consultancy andspread out the word in the community,
especially people who needhelp for their restaurants who are
having issues with food cost,labor cost or operations or somebody
(20:48):
who is willing to open a new,new set of restaurant, how they would
start.
And that's how I started.
I advertised myself as a, justnot as an individual, but I advertise
myself as a restaurant consultant.
(21:11):
And by God grace, peoplestarted reaching me out, you know.
And at that time and duringthat pandemic time, you know, people
had no jobs.
A lot of people couldn't getthe right jobs on other states they
want.
People were pouring intoFlorida but at the same time people
were not skillful enough orthey did not have that right experience
(21:36):
to run the business and theyneeded help.
And that's how I started myconsultancy and couple of Projects.
I got in and made my name inTampa Bay region area.
It's almost like you want tosay, don't call it a comeback.
You've been here for years,but the reality is you never stop.
(21:57):
You never stopped doing the work.
And you, you followed thebreadcrumbs wherever they led you.
You stayed focused, and youwere preparing yourself to pounce
when the opportunity came up.
Segue into Lajuab.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
There is.
I did not waste, I would say,as soon as I landed to Tampa, Florida,
(22:21):
I have not wasted a singleminute to just not only explore and
understand the food scene orthe culinary scene in just not only
Tampa, I would say Tampa,Orlando, Sarasota, Miami, Jacksonville,
Fort Lardell.
So I, I, I did a lot of research.
(22:42):
Not only just doing research.
I personally, I went, I wentto those restaurants, hotels, and
try to understand the foodscene and try to understand the gap
that is still there.
You know, you want to fix aproblem, you have to find the problem.
(23:04):
So I was looking for thatproblem, and I know how to fix the
problem.
So I scoped each and every bitof Indian cuisine all over Florida
and understand the problem sothat when I am gonna jump into the
(23:27):
market or when I am gonna havemy own venture again, there won't
be a single slip or a mistake.
And that helped me a lot.
And the key to that successwas being very patient and keeping
(23:48):
your hopes high.
You know, back of your mind,you have that, oh, my God, you are
recovering from pandemic, butyou have to be emotionally very,
very strong for that.
You mentioned patience.
So it's not just for slowcooked sauces or long simmering times.
(24:10):
What does patience and timingactually teach you about cooking
and leadership?
Oh, that was a really goodquestion, Carl.
Thank you.
But it's very important,especially for Indian cooking.
I would vouch to all theentrepreneurs and the chefs out there,
(24:33):
you know, Indian cooking needsa lot of patience.
Not only, like you said, notonly just for sauce, but you have
to have that right time andright moment.
You have to figure that out,the right time and right moment to
blend in your spices in sothat when that dish comes in the
(24:58):
final product, there is no mistake.
There is no mistake.
And shortcuts are not gonnahelp you out at all.
Shortcuts are actually longcuts, which is gonna hurt you eventually
later on.
Maybe at that moment, you'reenjoying that.
(25:20):
But down the long run, it'snot gonna work out.
And trust me, I haveexperienced and experimented that
to see, to understand, and toget that knowledge that what happens?
And those red results are not,not good results.
(25:41):
You won't like it.
And after you do it, youyourself gonna realize it.
Ah, I shouldn't have takenthat shortcut.
Nobody likes a shortcut.
And the reality is everybodytries to take them.
And that's the truth.
But patience comes in the formof mentorship and building up the
(26:03):
next generation.
Whether it's the nextgeneration in general for the industry
or the up and comers in yourrestaurant, in your building, who's
going to take over certain roles.
How are you approaching mentorship?
Okay, now everybody has thismisconception that, you know, only
an Indian can cook Indian food.
(26:25):
I have trained ample of peoplewho can, who is not an Indian, but
he knows the right method to cook.
And he's a chef.
He is a chef and he's cookingIndian food.
And down the line even I amtrying to collaborate with local
(26:48):
culinary schools where theyare willing to send those students
as an intern program forlearning Indian cooking.
It has to be.
Cooking is, I believe cookingis a science if you know the right
(27:09):
method and you have to havethat willingness to learn.
I have trained more than ahundred people, I would say, and
they don't know nothing aboutIndian cooking.
Some of them are tandoor chef,some of them are appetizer chef.
(27:31):
Even some, some of the chefs,they know how to make those sauces
and they are doing well.
I'm still in Dutch with themand some of them, they are in Texas,
some of them, they're inColorado and they are happy where
they are and they remember me.
(27:51):
That's, that's the other thingthat they, they remember me.
And there, there's like, thankyou chef.
I'm like, come on, it's not athank you that you had the willingness
to learn.
That's why you learn.
So I even, I have a very, veryclose, I wouldn't say a friend, but
he's a close buddy.
To me I would say we don't talk.
(28:11):
He's from Trinidad.
He's from Trinidad.
And Trinidadian food,Caribbean food and Indian food is
very similar, but in tastewise, Indian food is little different.
But they have, you know,Caribbean have curries and stuff
like that.
(28:32):
He's a chef.
He's a full flesh K chef of arestaurant in Tampa, Florida.
Generally speaking, yourviewpoint on that matter, it's not
usual, is it?
No, no, no, no, not at all.
I mean, people have thisperception still that, you know,
if I train somebody, they,they have that fear to lose their
(28:53):
job.
They're, they're, they'relike, oh, no, I, I, I can't train
him or, or, or I can't givehim all the secrets.
I mean, there is no secret.
There is no secret you cantrain somebody.
But if you people still, thereare a lot of chefs these days, I
mean, you will come acrossthat they are not ready to teach
(29:13):
the next generation hand in hand.
He's like, if I teach them, myjob is gone.
I mean, nobody is going totake your job until, unless you are
really messing things up.
Is it accepted that an Indianchef to teach non Indians how to
cook that cuisine?
No, I mean, people, peopledon't do that.
People don't do that.
(29:33):
You, you really, you reallyhave to.
Well, this, this cominggeneration is different.
And I mean, maybe out of youwill have a one by ten probability,
but this coming generation hasmore, more desire to pass on that
legacy.
(29:54):
But generally, you won't finda lot of people that they want to
teach a non Indian person topursue that culinary art.
You know, you're an anomalythen a.
Little bit you can say that,you can say that.
Well, because it's, well, thewhole industry, and I guess it's
(30:15):
not just here in the States,there is a push to be more human,
to be more open to, to not,you know, push people to work 80
hours a week and underpaidand, you know, die on the line.
That's kind of the trend here.
And it sounds like it may bestarting to trend elsewhere.
(30:36):
I mean, yeah, I mean, peopleare like that right now these days.
It's, it's trending.
You're right.
Absolutely right.
You're right.
But at the same time, thingsneeds to evolve.
Like, like how technology iscoming up with so much of development
and new, new things.
Even people or person has toevolve with this generation.
(30:58):
And, and they should pass onthat legacy and teach other people
too.
There is nothing wrong in it.
At the end of the day, you canteach somebody, train somebody.
Nobody's gonna take your faith.
Let's go beyond the spice mytha little bit.
A lot of people out therethink Indian food equals heat, spice,
(31:22):
heavy fire.
How do you introduce guests tothe depth and balance of authentic
Indian flavor?
Indian food is spiced.
Yes, absolutely, but not hot.
So there is a differencebetween spiced and hot.
Hot is more which is gonna hityour palate right away.
(31:44):
Whereas spice is somethingwhich is the aftertaste that you
gonna feel it after you have aspoon or two.
So Indian food is not hot at all.
It is the blend of spices, theblend of cinnamon, garlic, ginger,
(32:05):
you know, green cardamom.
We.
We use a lot of whole spices,and one of them.
One of.
One of the important spicesthat we use the most is turmeric,
which is.
Which has a very significantvalue for human body.
And.
And even we don't use paprika.
(32:27):
We say dry red chilies, whichgives a little heat to it.
And Indian food is not hot.
I really, really.
Whenever whoever comes in tomy restaurant and they say, oh, I'm
the first timer trying Indianfood, I heard that it's very spicy,
(32:48):
very hot.
I'm like, no, it's not hot.
It has a kick to it, but ifyou want it spicier, we can do it
spicier.
But it's not.
It's not at all like.
You had butter chicken today.
Tell me about butter chicken.
Does butter chicken give you agood, good kick to it?
(33:08):
Everything you made today waswithin my skull field range.
Okay.
There was nothing too special.
I do like a little bit of heat.
I don't like hot hot.
You know, like, I can live outof four or five on heat, but yours
was like two.
Right.
Maybe.
Right.
There you go.
So that's the misconception.
So people have Indian food.
(33:30):
Oh, I'm going to.
Let's go to Indian food.
No, no, no, no.
Indian food is very hot.
I can't deal hard.
No, come on, come try, B. Iwould really request all the first
timers come try Indian foodand get the misconception out.
Indian food is not hard.
I can't disagree with that.
(33:52):
I think he's going to be realgentle with you people.
So go there.
Check them out at la Joab inSt. Pete.
So I have to say, this studio,the aromas and the smell that permeated
this whole place were just awesome.
Thank you.
Yes.
It was really great.
(34:12):
And it doesn't take away fromFrench cuisine or Italian or Spanish
or whatever, because they allsmell great and they all have their
attributes, but this is such adifferent, unique blend of spices
and flavors, and it just is different.
Yeah, it is, it is.
Indian food is way different.
I mean, with aroma.
(34:33):
See, there are common spicesthat even other cuisine use it.
Like, even a lot of garlic isused in Latino cuisines or Mexican
cuisines.
You know, a lot of red chiliesare used in Mexican cuisines.
You know, bell peppers areused in.
Yes.
But Mexican food specificallyis hot.
(34:55):
It is hot.
It is.
Can be.
I mean, yeah, obviously there's.
There's different dishes andwhatever, but you're gonna get your
heat.
Yeah, Yeah.
I consider Mexican food ismore harder than Indian food.
Yes.
You know, I mean, if somebodysay I love Mexican food, but I am
scared to try Indian food.
No, no.
If you say you love Mexicanfood or you like Mexican heat, then
(35:21):
you can handle Indian food as well.
And another thing about Indiancuisine is that Indian cuisine is
such a vast cuisine that it isvery difficult for one restaurant
to get all the regions of food.
It is impossible.
It's next to impossible thatyou can, one single restaurant can
(35:44):
cover all Indian cuisine.
Not possible.
It's hard to wrap your brainaround the fact that in India not
everybody eats the same stuff.
You just automatically assumethat's what's happening.
Right.
But the palates are completelydifferent from the different areas.
So talk a little bit about that.
Absolutely.
(36:06):
So in India, if we break downthe region from north, south, east
and west, I come from the citycalled east, it's called Calcutta.
It's the east part of India.
Right.
And our food, east side of thefood and the northern side of Indian
food is very similar.
The flavors, I'm talking aboutflavors, I'm not just talking about
(36:30):
the same dishes, but the flavors.
We have the very similarpalette from north side of India
and east side of India.
Whereas if you go to more westside of India, there is a big time
population of consumingvegetarian food.
(36:52):
They don't eat meat at all.
They are staple diets.
Everyday diet is only, only vegetarian.
And you know, human body needs protein.
They, they eat a lot ofsoybean, they eat lot of lentils.
Those are natural protein, you know.
(37:14):
And even you will be surprisedthat west part of India, the population,
there are some population inwest part of India that they don't
even consume onion and garlic.
I don't even know how to thinklike that.
Exactly.
So there are, I'm, I'm not kidding.
There are, there are somerequests that people call in to my
(37:39):
restaurant and ask me that,can you cook something without onion,
without garlic?
And we do, we do.
That particular community iscalled Jain community.
They don't consume onion and garlic.
Or rather I would, I wouldtell you like this, that they don't
consume anything which isbeing produced under the soil, so
(38:04):
they will never consume that.
So when you're talking aboutvegans in India, that's, there's
a religious basis to that, right?
100%.
100%.
Like there are communitiesthat they, they consider cows as
an image of God, but becausecow gives milk, mother gives milk
(38:31):
to their child and they arenot ready, or they have this philosophical
thought that's a God image.
Cows are the God image andthey don't consume beef or any cow
product.
How does everyone get along?
(38:52):
Well, there are a lot of options.
There are a lot.
And just not only, not only,I'm talking about options on meat.
I mean vegetarian, the crop.
So India is very rich growingcrops from rice to wheat to onions,
all fresh vegetables.
(39:13):
Like India doesn't importanything in terms of farm.
Indian climate is suchEcuadorial climate that all farming
is done in house.
In India we don't get anyproduce or anything imported from
(39:36):
other countries.
So, you know, the soil is sofertile that you put in any crop,
it's gonna give you gold.
You've said your biggest joyis seeing guests leave with a smile.
What defines hospitality inyour eyes?
Hospitality is always thesatisfaction of your guest leaving
(40:05):
out from your restaurant orhotel or any hospitality industry
at their most satisfaction.
And that smile tells you, orthat's the tip.
I would say that they havecherished and enjoyed the moment
(40:26):
that they were in, in your premises.
That's what is the main.
I mean, I'm, I'm here, I'mhere just to give the bestest hospitality
and the experience to my guests.
Cooking the most authentic food.
And they're joyful whenthey're leaving the restaurant.
(40:48):
When they're leaving my doors,they are smiling.
They're having a biggest smileon their face while they're stepping
out from that door.
And another thing is anothertip or another example is that when
they have their to go boxeswith them, carrying it out to their
(41:11):
houses.
I mean, I have even I havethis couple of guests called me next
day.
I know that they had dined inday before yesterday and they called
me and said, hey, can I orderjust a naan bread?
And I'm like, you don't wantany curry or anything else?
(41:32):
Honestly, I have someleftovers from your restaurant from
other day.
I just want the bread.
You know, that is whathospitality is, you know, that makes
you feel.
Yes, you have accomplishedsomething, you know.
Before people leave, what arethey getting for dessert?
There are good choices of desserts.
So there are some choices.
(41:53):
Like one of the most famousdesert that we sell a lot is called
mango mousse with rasa malai.
Rasa malai is a dumpling madefrom concentrated milk.
So what we do is like we boilthe milk and as soon as the milk
(42:18):
is boiled, we squeeze a lemonand it turns into cheese, right?
We take the cheese out, wemake a flat, flat ball and then we
sear it in the pan and we soakit on A sugar syrup overnight.
(42:42):
So that entire sugar syrupgoes inside that cheese balls and
it has been served to the customer.
Topping with mango mousse withrose petals and cashew nuts on top.
Okay.
So the next time that you comeout, you're going to bring the bread,
you're going to bring the dessert.
(43:03):
100%.
Okay.
Okay.
I want to make sure that we're.
Clear on that 100%.
I'm not going to miss.
I'm not going to let you missthat for sure.
You see how we offer?
Yeah, absolutely.
Absolutely.
And I'm happy to do that foryou all.
I am the piper.
Right.
And I get paid in dessert.
Avi, I think you're clearing apath with Lajawab Indian cuisine.
(43:27):
Where do you see your culture,your food heading into the future?
The end goal is it's a highhope, you know, and the end result
or the end goal is to gettingfeatured in Michelin Guide.
Having some Michelin stars.
Definitely.
(43:47):
And there are some restaurantsupstate New York, they are getting
Michelin recommended andMichelin Guide, Michelin stars as
well.
So.
And there's a saying by myfather is that if you target the
stars, you're going to reachthe sky.
Definitely.
(44:08):
So I want to set up that bar.
And that's my whole goal, isto get recognized as an Indian, Indian
cuisine, Indo, Michelin guide.
Do you have the service chopsto do it?
I mean, obviously it's notjust you in the kitchen.
It's your whole team.
It's the front of the house.
Absolutely, absolutely.
This hospitality camp is not aone man army show.
(44:30):
It's the whole team which putsall their effort in and make it a
grand success.
(45:10):
All right, well, we're herefor this and I think John and I are
probably going to make a trekover to your place in St. Pete.
First of all, I appreciate youcoming out.
Thank you.
Carl.
What you did was special today.
How do people find you?
Go to Instagram.
(45:31):
Follow us on garnished bow.
Garnishbow or Lajawab.
L A J a W a B, number 4 letterU. Lajivab for you is the same name
on Instagram and Facebook.
And our website is Lajawab.
L A J a W A B. Lajawab cuisine.
(45:54):
Com.
I'm going to make sure to putthat in the descriptions.
John, again today.
You did it with the picture.
How was this guy's photography?
Oh, my God.
John is phenomenal.
Thank you so much, John.
I mean, I can go.
I mean, when it comes to John,there a He is the best.
All right with that.
Thank you, my brother.
(46:15):
We are out.
You've just stepped inside thewalk and Talk, podcast number one
in the nation for food lovers,chefs and storytellers.
I'm Carl Fiadini, your host,shining a light on the flavor, the
hustle, and the heart of the industry.
We're the official podcast forthe New York, California and Florida
restaurant shows, the PizzaTomorrow Summit, the US Culinary
Open at Napham, and the NorthAmerican media platform for the Burnt
(00:53):
Chef project, recorded at IbisImages Studios, where food photography
comes alive and I get thefirst bite.
Find out moreinfo@thewalkandtalk.com every great
chef carries a story, one thatsimmers longer than any sauce.
In St. Petersburg, Florida,that story belongs to chef Abi Sukul.
(01:14):
Born and raised in Kolkata,the city.
Of Joy, ABHI grew upsurrounded by.
Spice, sound, and theheartbeat of Indian street food.
His first lessons came fromhis mother's kitchen, where he learned
that cooking is equal partspatience and passion.
After hotel school, ABHI spentyears traveling the world with Marriott,
Dubai, Singapore, Australia,mastering flavors and learning that
(01:37):
true hospitality is auniversal language.
When the pandemic forced himto close his first restaurant in
Dallas, he didn't quit.
He rebuilt.
He moved to Florida, openedkitchens for others, and finally
created his own space, Lajuab.
Indian cuisine in St. Petetoday is.
Sauces simmer for eight hours.
His food tells the story ofKolkata crafted with modern precision
(02:00):
and deep emotion.
Chef Abi Sekul believes thatfresh food speaks the best and that
every dish should leave aguest not just full, but joyful.
This is the story of the chefwho carried the taste of home across
oceans, turned setbacks intostrength, and found his joy again,
one plate at a time.
Chef, welcome to the program.
(02:21):
Hi, Carl.
I mean, we did some stuff today.
Definitely royalty.
Thank you.
I ate like royalty.
And you, you really did somestuff today.
Like, I'm so impressed.
Thank you, thank you.
Thank you so much, Carlo, forhaving me here.
Pleasure is ours.
(02:44):
First thing we need to do istalk about what you, what you cooked
up here in the studio.
Well, you know the most famousbutter chicken, which is like a significant
trademark of Indian dish.
We cooked butter chicken todayand one of my signature dish that
(03:05):
I came up, it's called coconutmushroom curry.
And the fun fact of that dishis that it's completely vegan, coconut
based, and it has little spiceand kick to it, fresh mushroom in
it, coconut flecks in it.
And vegan people loves that.
(03:25):
I mean, the, the communitythat I or my restaurant is in, a
lot of vegan people out there.
And so there's a little storyto that dish too.
And that dish is full of joyand happiness into that dish.
(03:50):
That satisfies me a lot.
The freshness of theingredients and then the variety
of spices.
John, the studio, the aromathat was permeating through the entire
place, I mean, even into the studio.
Amazing.
(04:10):
Shaking your head.
I love it.
Okay.
Yeah.
I'm super impressed, man.
So the butter chicken, youknow, I've had.
We've talked about this.
So while I have experiencedIndian cuisine, I've never experienced
it like this.
This was as authentic and realas I've ever had it.
And I appreciate it becauseyou can tell the difference.
(04:34):
You can feel, see, smell, andtaste the difference.
So I appreciate that.
Absolutely, absolutely.
So, yeah, definitely this isthe authentic butter chicken that
I cooked today.
And you had experienced itjust not only by taste, but visually.
(04:55):
And the aroma while cookingthat dish, the love and the simmering
sauce that the tomato based,simmered sauce that goes to this
dish is the real deal.
And people improvised butterchicken in other ways.
But this is the authenticbutter chicken that you had today.
(05:19):
That's for sure.
So growing up in Calcutta, youcome from a family that cooks in
India.
The regions, the religion, thefood, culture, it's all different.
Talk about that and how youbrought it here to the States.
Yeah, absolutely.
(05:39):
First of all, the city that Iborn and raised is called Calcutta,
you're right.
And it is also known as Cityof Joy.
And there is a reason why itis called City of Joy because the
food scene and the culinaryscene, culture, language, community,
everything is so joyful andrich that they had to name it as
(06:03):
a City of Joy.
And eventually I saw my momcooking really delicious food.
And I always been a helpinghand for her.
She has been a big inspirationin terms of cooking scene in my life.
How long have you been cooking?
I've been cooking for 16 years now.
(06:25):
Are there lessons that you'velearned from your mother that help
you in a professional kitchen?
100%.
100%.
There are very attention todetails that I picked up from my
mom's cooking.
And that has helped me notonly in my personal restaurant business,
(06:47):
rather in my professional lifewhen I used to work with the hotels
too.
I had that opportunity to usethat attention to detail, especially
the right time of putting theright spice.
The amount and.
And the significance ofputting that spice is very, very
(07:09):
important lesson which wastaught by my mother during the cooking.
And she used to test me too.
It's not just like I justlearned it or saw it or she.
She she just taught me that.
But she used to take that testfrom me that whether I have paid
that attention.
(07:29):
And even down the line lateron when I used to share my stories
with her, she used to ask me,did you apply that the method that
I taught when you were like wewere cooking that same dish in our
home kitchen.
And definitely that has helpedme a lot and I'm really grateful
(07:52):
that where I am today, justbecause of her.
You have a unique perspectivefrom food because you come from that
culture and you learned a lotfrom your mom.
But then you got with Marriottand that took you around the world.
If you were going to connectthe dots from your, from your town,
(08:14):
from your city and then youtake that to Singapore, Australia,
again, Dubai, all over.
How did your Indian foodculture connect within the Marriott
Corporation?
Well, first of all, Marriottis a phenomenal and a great brand
to work with.
They keep their stars.
(08:35):
They don't call themselves theworkers or the chefs as a employee
or chef, they considerthemselves as a star.
And taking into that account,Marriott gives the opportunity every
quarterly, I would say everythree months to present a dish from
(08:57):
your culture.
Well, Marriott is a verydiversified culture.
Employees are there, there area lot of other people from different,
different countries workingfor Marriott and they have this policy
where they give you anopportunity to present your dish
(09:19):
in front of those executive chefs.
And I am privileged and I, Ihad that opportunity to present my
Indian cuisine or the othercity or the authentic Calcuttin food
to be plated in front of thosebig chefs.
That, that's a very, very bigplatform that I got not only in States
(09:44):
but in Singapore and Dubai as well.
And they appreciate thedifferent kind of food culture and
they want to know how talentedor what is the passion behind those
stars are.
And they utilize that passionand that quality in their business
(10:10):
too.
They place those particular,you know, particular star for a particular
event that is coming up in the Marriott.
So they use it so wisely anddelicately that they are trying to
get their job done into somuch perfection.
(10:33):
Suppose an event is coming upfor a Indian wedding coming up and
they know that they have starswho are from India and they give
you give that opportunity,come on, let's have a three course
menu, put it on the table.
And eventually they aregetting two jobs done with just one
(10:55):
arrow.
That's phenomenal.
That's also a major confidence booster.
That's for you as a chef.
Learning, growing, absolutely.
Getting a platform or youknow, presenting yourself in front
of those world class chefs isprivileged and you don't you won't
(11:15):
find better opportunities thanthat to, you know, use that opportunity
to grow in future in your career.
Let's get to the Dallas chapter.
You came to the States, youopened a restaurant in Texas and
that was just right around thetime of COVID You could have lost
everything.
How did that moment transformyour mindset?
(11:36):
That's a very interestingstory, Carl.
So I was working with Marriottand I was having plans to quit hotels
and jump into the restaurantindustry to make my own venture.
And I took a very bold step, Iwould say this is mid of 2019 and
(12:00):
I took a very bold step and Iquit Marriott Hotels in Dallas, Texas
and opened up my own venture.
And COVID 19 hit, you know,and it was a very, apparently it
was a very new restaurant.
(12:20):
It was just six months old.
And still we were trying tobuild the clientele still the boards
were going out in the market,you know, so there's a saying the
first two years is the majoryear for any restaurant industry
to get their name out and havea set of clientele.
(12:42):
And COVID 19 hit.
It was pandemic.
I was pretty nervous.
I was thinking, I don't knowwhich way to go.
You know, the office isclosed, the people are quarantined.
You know, people are notgetting out from their house even
(13:04):
for to go orders.
I mean the health guidelineswere like, you can't have a to go
order right away until it issitting outside or isolated for the
to go bags.
I mean to say even isolatedfor six or seven hours and then you
can, you can, you know, touchit or open it, you know, so the numbers
(13:28):
went down, real down.
That scared me.
I, I gave everything in my, I,I gave everything, what, what was
there in my pocket.
I had accumulated debt to.
I won't, I won't tell the,tell the numbers.
Those are not small numbersthough, you know.
(13:50):
But still I didn't lose hope.
I didn't lose hope at all.
And it definitely takes a lotof courage, support and dedication.
And finally when things weregetting out of control, you know,
(14:12):
getting more debts was not awise decision, was not a wise, wise
idea to keep on accumulating debt.
I decided to close the doorfor that restaurant.
It was tough decision, but you didn't.
Lose your entrepreneurial spirit.
Absolutely not.
Absolutely not.
(14:32):
So a failure is a pillar of success.
That's what I have alwaysbelieved and that has, that was always
taught by my parents.
If you don't fail, if youdon't experience fail failure, you
won't enjoy the success.
(14:53):
So Never, ever thatentrepreneurship or the entrepreneur
mind, thought or mindset wasalways there, despite Covid or I
had to close a restaurant.
I had to give a fresh start or whatever.
It didn't die inside.
When Covid happened, actually,that's where Walk and Talk media
(15:15):
was born from.
Obviously around the countryhere, many of.
I mean, the food industry justhit the wall, and it was worse in
other countries.
We were still doing a lot onvideo at the time.
Heavy video.
No, there wasn't a podcast yet.
And my inbox was filled withpeople from Asia, India, everywhere
(15:41):
asking, begging for work.
And I'm like, literallyhundreds of people.
Chefs, sous chefs, underlings,line cook.
Everybody from the business inother countries were reaching out
to me specifically for work.
(16:03):
And I was like, I can't help you.
I wish that I could.
Especially as we were comingout of the lockdowns nationwide.
In Florida, we didn't have itso bad.
But the fact is there were allthese people that wanted to work,
and they're sending meresumes, and they're sending me photos
(16:24):
and videos, and there'sbeautiful foods and all these things
that they're making.
And I wished there was a wayfor me to bring them to work, because
at that time, a lot of theindustry here decided that, hey,
we're done.
We're not working in theindustry anymore.
Right.
We're done with food.
(16:44):
It was a really hard time.
It was very hard, Verypathetic time.
It was pathetic.
And then here you are in your story.
That's a lot of money to lose.
Oh, yes.
Oh, yes.
And just not only money, youknow, but you need to have that emotional
thing to be strong enough tojust not to recover from the situation.
(17:07):
But you have to figure out theway that.
Which way you want to go, justnot, you know, you want to pay off
your debt and take an easy wayto have a job and take care of things.
But the main point of beingentrepreneur is that you never lose
hope.
(17:28):
And.
And that was always in theback of my mind.
Yeah, I have to get my debtout, but at the same time, that entrepreneurship
needs to stay in me to grow infuture, whether it's Florida, Texas,
California, or wherever.
But entrepreneur is always an entrepreneur.
(17:49):
He's.
He's going to find a way.
So you're also a consultant,and you've done quite a bit of work
here in Florida, in this area.
Talk a little bit about that.
As soon I decided that I wantto close down the restaurant.
So even before consulting,consult, starting consulting in Florida,
I was in.
(18:09):
When I was In Texas byparallel working with Marriott.
I used to do that consultancyin Texas too and open up quite few
restaurants in Texas for other people.
So when I decided I want toclose the door and I have to get
a better opportunity to clearout all my debts and grow more, I
(18:34):
had a very close boss.
He was the director of GaylordHotels, Food and beverage director
of Gaylord Hotels.
Mr. Mark.
And I reached him out and Itold him that Chef, I'm looking for
a job.
(18:55):
He was surprised, but youknow, entire hospitality market at
that time was crashed out and,but still Florida had that opportunity.
It was not as bad as otherstates, but Florida had still had
that opportunity during thatpandemic time.
And he said, I'll hook you upin Tampa.
(19:18):
Are you, are you willing tomove to Florida?
I'm like, yeah, I'm down, I'mdown to move anywhere to you know,
have a better life now, you know.
And he hooked me up to Tampa,Tampa region.
And I have never been toFlorida before that.
And I came down to Florida, Ijoined the hotel.
(19:41):
But you know, like I said thatentrepreneurial skills or that fact
won't let it go from me.
And it, it pulled me all the,all the way.
And I'm like no, I'm notworking in hotels.
And I went back consultingfor, as a full time consulting for
(20:05):
others, you know, becausestill the Florida market was open.
I see in Tampa people are people.
It's not Covid, it's not pandemic.
You know, people are going outin summertime, beach beaches are
full, you know, in, in, inwintertime I see snowbirds here and
you know, they are having funand stuff like that.
(20:26):
So I made, I incorporated acompany called Cater for you and
I started that consultancy andspread out the word in the community,
especially people who needhelp for their restaurants who are
having issues with food cost,labor cost or operations or somebody
(20:48):
who is willing to open a new,new set of restaurant, how they would
start.
And that's how I started.
I advertised myself as a, justnot as an individual, but I advertise
myself as a restaurant consultant.
(21:11):
And by God grace, peoplestarted reaching me out, you know.
And at that time and duringthat pandemic time, you know, people
had no jobs.
A lot of people couldn't getthe right jobs on other states they
want.
People were pouring intoFlorida but at the same time people
were not skillful enough orthey did not have that right experience
(21:36):
to run the business and theyneeded help.
And that's how I started myconsultancy and couple of Projects.
I got in and made my name inTampa Bay region area.
It's almost like you want tosay, don't call it a comeback.
You've been here for years,but the reality is you never stop.
(21:57):
You never stopped doing the work.
And you, you followed thebreadcrumbs wherever they led you.
You stayed focused, and youwere preparing yourself to pounce
when the opportunity came up.
Segue into Lajuab.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
There is.
I did not waste, I would say,as soon as I landed to Tampa, Florida,
(22:21):
I have not wasted a singleminute to just not only explore and
understand the food scene orthe culinary scene in just not only
Tampa, I would say Tampa,Orlando, Sarasota, Miami, Jacksonville,
Fort Lardell.
So I, I, I did a lot of research.
(22:42):
Not only just doing research.
I personally, I went, I wentto those restaurants, hotels, and
try to understand the foodscene and try to understand the gap
that is still there.
You know, you want to fix aproblem, you have to find the problem.
(23:04):
So I was looking for thatproblem, and I know how to fix the
problem.
So I scoped each and every bitof Indian cuisine all over Florida
and understand the problem sothat when I am gonna jump into the
(23:27):
market or when I am gonna havemy own venture again, there won't
be a single slip or a mistake.
And that helped me a lot.
And the key to that successwas being very patient and keeping
(23:48):
your hopes high.
You know, back of your mind,you have that, oh, my God, you are
recovering from pandemic, butyou have to be emotionally very,
very strong for that.
You mentioned patience.
So it's not just for slowcooked sauces or long simmering times.
(24:10):
What does patience and timingactually teach you about cooking
and leadership?
Oh, that was a really goodquestion, Carl.
Thank you.
But it's very important,especially for Indian cooking.
I would vouch to all theentrepreneurs and the chefs out there,
(24:33):
you know, Indian cooking needsa lot of patience.
Not only, like you said, notonly just for sauce, but you have
to have that right time andright moment.
You have to figure that out,the right time and right moment to
blend in your spices in sothat when that dish comes in the
(24:58):
final product, there is no mistake.
There is no mistake.
And shortcuts are not gonnahelp you out at all.
Shortcuts are actually longcuts, which is gonna hurt you eventually
later on.
Maybe at that moment, you'reenjoying that.
(25:20):
But down the long run, it'snot gonna work out.
And trust me, I haveexperienced and experimented that
to see, to understand, and toget that knowledge that what happens?
And those red results are not,not good results.
(25:41):
You won't like it.
And after you do it, youyourself gonna realize it.
Ah, I shouldn't have takenthat shortcut.
Nobody likes a shortcut.
And the reality is everybodytries to take them.
And that's the truth.
But patience comes in the formof mentorship and building up the
(26:03):
next generation.
Whether it's the nextgeneration in general for the industry
or the up and comers in yourrestaurant, in your building, who's
going to take over certain roles.
How are you approaching mentorship?
Okay, now everybody has thismisconception that, you know, only
an Indian can cook Indian food.
(26:25):
I have trained ample of peoplewho can, who is not an Indian, but
he knows the right method to cook.
And he's a chef.
He is a chef and he's cookingIndian food.
And down the line even I amtrying to collaborate with local
(26:48):
culinary schools where theyare willing to send those students
as an intern program forlearning Indian cooking.
It has to be.
Cooking is, I believe cookingis a science if you know the right
(27:09):
method and you have to havethat willingness to learn.
I have trained more than ahundred people, I would say, and
they don't know nothing aboutIndian cooking.
Some of them are tandoor chef,some of them are appetizer chef.
(27:31):
Even some, some of the chefs,they know how to make those sauces
and they are doing well.
I'm still in Dutch with themand some of them, they are in Texas,
some of them, they're inColorado and they are happy where
they are and they remember me.
(27:51):
That's, that's the other thingthat they, they remember me.
And there, there's like, thankyou chef.
I'm like, come on, it's not athank you that you had the willingness
to learn.
That's why you learn.
So I even, I have a very, veryclose, I wouldn't say a friend, but
he's a close buddy.
To me I would say we don't talk.
(28:11):
He's from Trinidad.
He's from Trinidad.
And Trinidadian food,Caribbean food and Indian food is
very similar, but in tastewise, Indian food is little different.
But they have, you know,Caribbean have curries and stuff
like that.
(28:32):
He's a chef.
He's a full flesh K chef of arestaurant in Tampa, Florida.
Generally speaking, yourviewpoint on that matter, it's not
usual, is it?
No, no, no, no, not at all.
I mean, people have thisperception still that, you know,
if I train somebody, they,they have that fear to lose their
(28:53):
job.
They're, they're, they'relike, oh, no, I, I, I can't train
him or, or, or I can't givehim all the secrets.
I mean, there is no secret.
There is no secret you cantrain somebody.
But if you people still, thereare a lot of chefs these days, I
mean, you will come acrossthat they are not ready to teach
(29:13):
the next generation hand in hand.
He's like, if I teach them, myjob is gone.
I mean, nobody is going totake your job until, unless you are
really messing things up.
Is it accepted that an Indianchef to teach non Indians how to
cook that cuisine?
No, I mean, people, peopledon't do that.
People don't do that.
(29:33):
You, you really, you reallyhave to.
Well, this, this cominggeneration is different.
And I mean, maybe out of youwill have a one by ten probability,
but this coming generation hasmore, more desire to pass on that
legacy.
(29:54):
But generally, you won't finda lot of people that they want to
teach a non Indian person topursue that culinary art.
You know, you're an anomalythen a.
Little bit you can say that,you can say that.
Well, because it's, well, thewhole industry, and I guess it's
(30:15):
not just here in the States,there is a push to be more human,
to be more open to, to not,you know, push people to work 80
hours a week and underpaidand, you know, die on the line.
That's kind of the trend here.
And it sounds like it may bestarting to trend elsewhere.
(30:36):
I mean, yeah, I mean, peopleare like that right now these days.
It's, it's trending.
You're right.
Absolutely right.
You're right.
But at the same time, thingsneeds to evolve.
Like, like how technology iscoming up with so much of development
and new, new things.
Even people or person has toevolve with this generation.
(30:58):
And, and they should pass onthat legacy and teach other people
too.
There is nothing wrong in it.
At the end of the day, you canteach somebody, train somebody.
Nobody's gonna take your faith.
Let's go beyond the spice mytha little bit.
A lot of people out therethink Indian food equals heat, spice,
(31:22):
heavy fire.
How do you introduce guests tothe depth and balance of authentic
Indian flavor?
Indian food is spiced.
Yes, absolutely, but not hot.
So there is a differencebetween spiced and hot.
Hot is more which is gonna hityour palate right away.
(31:44):
Whereas spice is somethingwhich is the aftertaste that you
gonna feel it after you have aspoon or two.
So Indian food is not hot at all.
It is the blend of spices, theblend of cinnamon, garlic, ginger,
(32:05):
you know, green cardamom.
We.
We use a lot of whole spices,and one of them.
One of.
One of the important spicesthat we use the most is turmeric,
which is.
Which has a very significantvalue for human body.
And.
And even we don't use paprika.
(32:27):
We say dry red chilies, whichgives a little heat to it.
And Indian food is not hot.
I really, really.
Whenever whoever comes in tomy restaurant and they say, oh, I'm
the first timer trying Indianfood, I heard that it's very spicy,
(32:48):
very hot.
I'm like, no, it's not hot.
It has a kick to it, but ifyou want it spicier, we can do it
spicier.
But it's not.
It's not at all like.
You had butter chicken today.
Tell me about butter chicken.
Does butter chicken give you agood, good kick to it?
(33:08):
Everything you made today waswithin my skull field range.
Okay.
There was nothing too special.
I do like a little bit of heat.
I don't like hot hot.
You know, like, I can live outof four or five on heat, but yours
was like two.
Right.
Maybe.
Right.
There you go.
So that's the misconception.
So people have Indian food.
(33:30):
Oh, I'm going to.
Let's go to Indian food.
No, no, no, no.
Indian food is very hot.
I can't deal hard.
No, come on, come try, B. Iwould really request all the first
timers come try Indian foodand get the misconception out.
Indian food is not hard.
I can't disagree with that.
(33:52):
I think he's going to be realgentle with you people.
So go there.
Check them out at la Joab inSt. Pete.
So I have to say, this studio,the aromas and the smell that permeated
this whole place were just awesome.
Thank you.
Yes.
It was really great.
(34:12):
And it doesn't take away fromFrench cuisine or Italian or Spanish
or whatever, because they allsmell great and they all have their
attributes, but this is such adifferent, unique blend of spices
and flavors, and it just is different.
Yeah, it is, it is.
Indian food is way different.
I mean, with aroma.
(34:33):
See, there are common spicesthat even other cuisine use it.
Like, even a lot of garlic isused in Latino cuisines or Mexican
cuisines.
You know, a lot of red chiliesare used in Mexican cuisines.
You know, bell peppers areused in.
Yes.
But Mexican food specificallyis hot.
(34:55):
It is hot.
It is.
Can be.
I mean, yeah, obviously there's.
There's different dishes andwhatever, but you're gonna get your
heat.
Yeah, Yeah.
I consider Mexican food ismore harder than Indian food.
Yes.
You know, I mean, if somebodysay I love Mexican food, but I am
scared to try Indian food.
No, no.
If you say you love Mexicanfood or you like Mexican heat, then
(35:21):
you can handle Indian food as well.
And another thing about Indiancuisine is that Indian cuisine is
such a vast cuisine that it isvery difficult for one restaurant
to get all the regions of food.
It is impossible.
It's next to impossible thatyou can, one single restaurant can
(35:44):
cover all Indian cuisine.
Not possible.
It's hard to wrap your brainaround the fact that in India not
everybody eats the same stuff.
You just automatically assumethat's what's happening.
Right.
But the palates are completelydifferent from the different areas.
So talk a little bit about that.
Absolutely.
(36:06):
So in India, if we break downthe region from north, south, east
and west, I come from the citycalled east, it's called Calcutta.
It's the east part of India.
Right.
And our food, east side of thefood and the northern side of Indian
food is very similar.
The flavors, I'm talking aboutflavors, I'm not just talking about
(36:30):
the same dishes, but the flavors.
We have the very similarpalette from north side of India
and east side of India.
Whereas if you go to more westside of India, there is a big time
population of consumingvegetarian food.
(36:52):
They don't eat meat at all.
They are staple diets.
Everyday diet is only, only vegetarian.
And you know, human body needs protein.
They, they eat a lot ofsoybean, they eat lot of lentils.
Those are natural protein, you know.
(37:14):
And even you will be surprisedthat west part of India, the population,
there are some population inwest part of India that they don't
even consume onion and garlic.
I don't even know how to thinklike that.
Exactly.
So there are, I'm, I'm not kidding.
There are, there are somerequests that people call in to my
(37:39):
restaurant and ask me that,can you cook something without onion,
without garlic?
And we do, we do.
That particular community iscalled Jain community.
They don't consume onion and garlic.
Or rather I would, I wouldtell you like this, that they don't
consume anything which isbeing produced under the soil, so
(38:04):
they will never consume that.
So when you're talking aboutvegans in India, that's, there's
a religious basis to that, right?
100%.
100%.
Like there are communitiesthat they, they consider cows as
an image of God, but becausecow gives milk, mother gives milk
(38:31):
to their child and they arenot ready, or they have this philosophical
thought that's a God image.
Cows are the God image andthey don't consume beef or any cow
product.
How does everyone get along?
(38:52):
Well, there are a lot of options.
There are a lot.
And just not only, not only,I'm talking about options on meat.
I mean vegetarian, the crop.
So India is very rich growingcrops from rice to wheat to onions,
all fresh vegetables.
(39:13):
Like India doesn't importanything in terms of farm.
Indian climate is suchEcuadorial climate that all farming
is done in house.
In India we don't get anyproduce or anything imported from
(39:36):
other countries.
So, you know, the soil is sofertile that you put in any crop,
it's gonna give you gold.
You've said your biggest joyis seeing guests leave with a smile.
What defines hospitality inyour eyes?
Hospitality is always thesatisfaction of your guest leaving
(40:05):
out from your restaurant orhotel or any hospitality industry
at their most satisfaction.
And that smile tells you, orthat's the tip.
I would say that they havecherished and enjoyed the moment
(40:26):
that they were in, in your premises.
That's what is the main.
I mean, I'm, I'm here, I'mhere just to give the bestest hospitality
and the experience to my guests.
Cooking the most authentic food.
And they're joyful whenthey're leaving the restaurant.
(40:48):
When they're leaving my doors,they are smiling.
They're having a biggest smileon their face while they're stepping
out from that door.
And another thing is anothertip or another example is that when
they have their to go boxeswith them, carrying it out to their
(41:11):
houses.
I mean, I have even I havethis couple of guests called me next
day.
I know that they had dined inday before yesterday and they called
me and said, hey, can I orderjust a naan bread?
And I'm like, you don't wantany curry or anything else?
(41:32):
Honestly, I have someleftovers from your restaurant from
other day.
I just want the bread.
You know, that is whathospitality is, you know, that makes
you feel.
Yes, you have accomplishedsomething, you know.
Before people leave, what arethey getting for dessert?
There are good choices of desserts.
So there are some choices.
(41:53):
Like one of the most famousdesert that we sell a lot is called
mango mousse with rasa malai.
Rasa malai is a dumpling madefrom concentrated milk.
So what we do is like we boilthe milk and as soon as the milk
(42:18):
is boiled, we squeeze a lemonand it turns into cheese, right?
We take the cheese out, wemake a flat, flat ball and then we
sear it in the pan and we soakit on A sugar syrup overnight.
(42:42):
So that entire sugar syrupgoes inside that cheese balls and
it has been served to the customer.
Topping with mango mousse withrose petals and cashew nuts on top.
Okay.
So the next time that you comeout, you're going to bring the bread,
you're going to bring the dessert.
(43:03):
100%.
Okay.
Okay.
I want to make sure that we're.
Clear on that 100%.
I'm not going to miss.
I'm not going to let you missthat for sure.
You see how we offer?
Yeah, absolutely.
Absolutely.
And I'm happy to do that foryou all.
I am the piper.
Right.
And I get paid in dessert.
Avi, I think you're clearing apath with Lajawab Indian cuisine.
(43:27):
Where do you see your culture,your food heading into the future?
The end goal is it's a highhope, you know, and the end result
or the end goal is to gettingfeatured in Michelin Guide.
Having some Michelin stars.
Definitely.
(43:47):
And there are some restaurantsupstate New York, they are getting
Michelin recommended andMichelin Guide, Michelin stars as
well.
So.
And there's a saying by myfather is that if you target the
stars, you're going to reachthe sky.
Definitely.
(44:08):
So I want to set up that bar.
And that's my whole goal, isto get recognized as an Indian, Indian
cuisine, Indo, Michelin guide.
Do you have the service chopsto do it?
I mean, obviously it's notjust you in the kitchen.
It's your whole team.
It's the front of the house.
Absolutely, absolutely.
This hospitality camp is not aone man army show.
(44:30):
It's the whole team which putsall their effort in and make it a
grand success.
(45:10):
All right, well, we're herefor this and I think John and I are
probably going to make a trekover to your place in St. Pete.
First of all, I appreciate youcoming out.
Thank you.
Carl.
What you did was special today.
How do people find you?
Go to Instagram.
(45:31):
Follow us on garnished bow.
Garnishbow or Lajawab.
L A J a W a B, number 4 letterU. Lajivab for you is the same name
on Instagram and Facebook.
And our website is Lajawab.
L A J a W A B. Lajawab cuisine.
(45:54):
Com.
I'm going to make sure to putthat in the descriptions.
John, again today.
You did it with the picture.
How was this guy's photography?
Oh, my God.
John is phenomenal.
Thank you so much, John.
I mean, I can go.
I mean, when it comes to John,there a He is the best.
All right with that.
Thank you, my brother.
(46:15):
We are out.
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