Written By : ILISAPECI MARAMA. Check this out! An Indo-Fijian as head chef in a Japanese restaurant! And winning praise from, yes, the Japanese.
Meet Krishna Murti, originally from Sigatoka. He has been working at the Hamacho Restaurant in Nadi for the past 11 years. Now he’s running the kitchen.
How did he end up there?
Mr Murti had qualifications from the Tourism and Hospitality School. He honed his skills in years working at the old Reef resort at Korotogo and then the Castaway Island resort.
His Japanese cooking expertise came at the Hamachi. He learnt through working under the intense tutelage of the Japanese chef who then ran the Hamachi kitchen.
Mr Murti learnt well. So well that he was eventually promoted to head chef himself.
That really is no surprise. Mr Murti has a passion for what he does.
Since his early cooking days at the Reef Resort, Mr Murti has loved to cook. He also loves it when people appreciate his efforts cooking delicious meals.
He said: “I believe the great thing about cooking is to know what you are doing and at the same time love and have a lot of passion for it. For me cooking comes with a lot of enthusiasm and I know I look after my customers well by cooking them a good meal every day I cook.
“Hamacho has offered me a different experience altogether from my previous experiences. The way of cooking and dining year is totally different and exciting every day,” he said.
Mr Murti names such dishes as Teppanyaki among his favourites that he loves to prepare. This is as he gets the opportunity to actually dice up all recipies and cook in front of his guests just the way they love their meal to be.
Teppanyaki grills are used to cook food in front of customers. They are designed to be suitable for even smaller ingredients, such as rice, egg, and finely chopped vegetables.
Mr Murti said: “The use of different types of sauces and spices can sometimes be a problem to diners as some like it light while some heavy. When you cook in front of your guests, it gives you that inner satisfaction as you get to spice up a meal that you are sure will be just right for your customer.”
Another dish he loves is Shabu-shabu, a Japanese style hot pot. “Many Japanese food lovers love this dish as it includes meat plus vegetables cooked right in front of them,” he said.
When asked about how does it feel to be a head chef for a renowned Japanese Restaurant, Mr Murti said it takes a lot of endurance and determination.
“Many of our customers are tourists. As long as I have been here, there has been no complaints and most of our customers have recommended the food from our restaurant to their friends and families overseas so when they visit Fiji they come to Hamachi for Japanese food.”
According to Mr Murti a good chef is someone who is a team player, loves his job and at the same time passes down knowledge to those working for him.
And his special recommendation? Mr Murti recommends what he calls hamacho, a full course meal that takes about one and a half hours to complete.
He said: “I love preparing hamachos for customers … and while I spend time cooking in front of my customers, I also get time to know them and at the same time prepare the right type of meal for them.”