Sofitel Mumbai BKC, the elegant, luxury hotel in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex, introduces Maharaj Pratap Swami as the new Chef at Tuskers.
The all-vegetarian specialty restaurant, serving traditional local cuisine, will benefit from Maharaj Swami’s expertise, including his deep-seated knowledge of Marwari, Punjabi and Gujrati cuisines.
Maharaj Pratap spent the bulk of his professional career with the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Colaba, cooking for their Indian restaurants and banqueting events, especially weddings. He began learning cooking techniques and recipes from an early age from his father, who was also a Maharaj. He was also a part of the outdoor catering teams for a number of the Taj Group’s most prolific events, to places across the globe including Switzerland, Dubai and Morocco.
Born and raised in Pali, Rajasthan, Maharaj Pratap has always been greatly inspired by cuisine from his native region. His fondness for Rajasthani food has extended to other Indian regional cuisines, making him an expert in local cooking and recipes. His long-time inspiration has been Chef Hemant Oberoi, with whom he was fortunate to work closely, across many events both in the hotel and internationally. A keen learner, Maharaj Pratap would observe the curation of each event’s menus by the head chefs, and then try his hand at executing the dishes.
Maharaj Pratap’s repertoire of regional and local recipes will be an immediate added advantage to Tuskers, where the menus are inspired by thoughtful, home-style cooking with an emphasis on purity and simplicity.
In his free time, Maharaj Pratap enjoys watching cricket and soccer, the latter of which he used to play in his youth. He is married, with three children.
