This young chef is building own food brand

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, June 20

While students across the country are stressing about ‘Plan B’ after the global pandemic played a spoilsport, some of them have already worked out their alternatives.

Chef Karanveer Singh (21), who was earlier aspiring to work in the hotel industry after his graduation, is now working to set up his own home catering business. Hailing from a family of home chefs, Karanveer is pursuing BSc in hospitality and hotel management from New Delhi. He had finished his internship with ITC, Maurya, when the pandemic struck.

I do not think that I have been pushed towards something too early as having my own food catering brand is my ultimate goal. So, the lockdown has given me an opportunity. —Karanveer Singh, Chef

“I was hoping to finish my graduation this year and begin working with one of the prestigious hotel chains as an intern. I want to make a career in culinary arts, but this pandemic has been brutal to the hospitality and tourism industry. I feel that it is really going to be a challenge for many to survive in the field,” says Karanveer, who had won a gold at the International Hospitality Expo last year.

With his final year examinations stalled and stagnant job possibility, Karanveer spent his lockdown working on his own niche home catering business with his father Arundeeep Singh, who is also a chef.

“I do not think that I have been pushed towards something too early as having my own food catering brand is my ultimate goal. So, the lockdown has given me an opportunity to start early, though I was looking to gain some industry experience working in professional kitchens,” he says.

An optimist, Karanveer has been taking food orders for house parties and niche gatherings now. “I will now focus all my energy into building my brand here and learn by first-hand experience. In my line of work, practical experience matters the most,” he says.