Deepak Mishra

Conversation with a chef: Hi Deepak, it is so nice to meet you. It was so nice to drive over to Williamstown. I live in Port Melbourne, so it’s very quick to get here. It probably took longer to find a car park than it did to drive over.

Yes, with the weather heating up, there are people everywhere. People are loving the bay, the restaurants and the pubs around here.

It’s so beautiful. I parked a few blocks back, and even when you’re away from the sea in Williamstown, it’s so pretty. It’s got that really old-world feel with the little cottages and so on.

That’s one of the main reasons we chose this venue. It’s got the character, the heritage, it’s got a story, and the bay. You can’t find anything better.

I wanted to hear a little more about your background. You grew up in eastern India. What role did food play in your family, and who was doing the cooking?

Food is an important part of an eastern Indian family. Every occasion, everything starts and ends with food. My mum did the cooking, with my granny, aunts and everyone. I remember it started with charcoal and wood-fired stoves, all those things which are getting quite popular at the moment. But that’s how we grew up, with wood-fired cooking. I grew up in eastern India, in a state called Odisha. That’s where the food I grew up with comes from. And now, having spent 30 years in Melbourne, it’s a mix of cultures, from eastern India and other parts of India, and Australia as well.

Did you always know you wanted to be a chef?

I always knew I wanted to be a chef. My dad and brother are both highly educated engineers. I was studying economics when I said to my dad that I wanted to become a chef, and he was not at all happy. In those days, back in India, being a chef wasn’t seen as an elite profession. I had grandparents who were doctors, and uncles and aunts. Growing up in India, you either became a doctor or an engineer. There was nothing else. So when I said I wanted to become a chef, it didn’t go down well. But I wanted to do it. My elder brother, who is my mentor, supported me completely. That’s when I got the opportunity to come to Melbourne to study cooking.

What was it about being a chef and the hospitality life that drew you in, do you think?

Back in those days, when I used to see the chefs on television in their white jackets, I was always fascinated. The white jackets, the flair, and looking at the five-star hotels completely motivated me. It started with the chef’s uniform, which was very appealing to me.

It’s a big decision to come to Melbourne. Why Melbourne for study?

I was looking at going to Switzerland or the Culinary Institute of America, but I bumped into a few people who spoke about William Angliss and the structure of cooking there. The produce in Australia was also something people always talked about. After coming out of hotel school, I wanted to further my studies in European cooking. That’s when I felt Melbourne was going to be the place where I would learn cooking. I came to William Angliss in the late 90s and started cooking. I was always very determined to work with the best chefs and learn the best of European cooking. I just followed my dream.

What was it like in Melbourne’s hospitality scene in the 90s?

It was intense. You had hatted restaurants within hotels, like Radii at the Park Hyatt. The Windsor’s Grand Ballroom was one of the top ten, and the high teas and restaurants had very high standards. There were long hours, and all the who’s who, names like Tom Milligan, Philippe Mouchel and Jacques Reymond. These legends were leading the industry. It was really great, and hospitality was absolutely booming in terms of food.

That’s when I started my studies and then joined my mentor, Tom Milligan, at the Windsor. He had worked with Raymond Blanc and at a hotel in Adelaide. He represented Australia in the Bocuse d’Or. My application to work with him was rejected three times, but I never gave up. I kept trying, and finally I got an opportunity. I stayed nearly eight or nine years, learning from him. Then he said, “Now you have to move out and do your own thing. You’re ready.” That’s when I started travelling the world.

You must have really loved hotel life, or working in a hotel, as opposed to a standalone restaurant.

That’s correct. I always loved the luxury part of hotels, the guest interaction and, having studied at hotel school, you learn much more than just the kitchen. You learn how to run a hotel, all the departments, finance, the business aspect and the guest aspect as well. In those days, the go-to places for dining were five-star luxury hotels. I loved the luxury and the guest interaction, and that’s something I’ve always followed. I never confined myself to the kitchen. Meeting guests, cooking and serving, and taking feedback, that’s the part I enjoyed. That’s how I grew as an executive chef and a director of food and beverage, running large operations. Now I’m trying to use all the learning I’ve gathered over three decades at Bungalow.

You have to be an excellent leader first. Then your qualities as a chef and the technical aspects come in. People work for people. That’s what I believe, and I’ve always followed people before their skills. You learn the attributes of why you want to work with a leader, their people skills and their management skills.
My brother, who was a skipper in the merchant navy, mentioned to me many years ago; “When there is no radar on the ship, how do we sail? We just follow the shooting star, and we map out where we want to go.” So if you want to grow, you follow someone you want to be like. That’s what I did, and that’s what leadership is all about. Then your technical skills come in. They complement your leadership skills.

Deepak Mishra, Bungalow 147 By the Bay

When you left the Windsor Hotel, what was your position?

I started as a chef de partie, then became executive sous chef. In those days, it was owned by a leading luxury hotel group from India called Oberoi Hotels. I moved up to executive sous chef, then became the acting executive chef after Tom left. With his recommendation, I led the team for a while. When Oberoi sold the property, I was offered the opportunity to continue with Oberoi. That’s when I went to Oberoi Rajvilas to lead the team there. It was one of the most luxurious hotels in India and ended up becoming one of the top luxury hotels in the world, according to Condé Nast Traveler.

Are there challenges working in hotel settings?

There are a lot of challenges. You’re not only managing the restaurant, you have massive event spaces and banqueting. You have in-room dining, which we call room service, and a large number of rooms. When I was at the Langham, it was close to 400 rooms, around 380. When I was at Pan Pacific, it was close to 400 rooms. At Pullman, there were a massive number of rooms as well, and the event spaces were huge. So you’re managing quite a lot. There are massive teams, massive turnover and big budgets as well. The owners and management companies have their bottom lines and budgets to achieve. Yes, there were challenges, but it was fun. That was really fun.

And with luxury hotels, do you feel pressure? I know you have to be consistent in whatever you’re doing, but when you’re working at that luxury end of food, is there pressure on you?

Absolutely. There is pressure because you have the who’s who coming in. When I was at Oberoi Rajvilas, we had top Bollywood actors and actresses coming in incognito. You’d see names you’d always seen on the screen. And you had big names like Bill Gates and all these giants coming in as well. The expectations were always very high because the guests paid top dollar to stay there. They came with expectations, and you had to live up to them.

It’s not only food. Service plays a major part as well. Making people feel at home, making them feel special and relaxed. That all comes together through the service, food and beverage, the environment and the ambience.

Were you cooking Indian food or Western European food at the Oberoi?

We had a massive number of European guests. One of the great things about hotels is that you have many restaurants offering different cuisines. That’s the best opportunity to learn different types of cooking. You have Indian, French, Italian, Japanese and Chinese. When I was at the Fairmont Hotel in Dubai, we had ten restaurants, and I was the executive chef there. In Singapore, we also had many different cuisines. And when I was in India leading a couple of luxury hotels, we had multiple restaurants.

My background is European cuisine, having trained at hotel school and William Angliss and being an Australian-qualified chef. But you’re definitely exposed to various cuisines because Australia itself is a multicultural country. It was quite easy to pick up those different styles of cooking. European cooking is my forte, but I can definitely contribute to different cuisines. Indian cooking is something I grew up with. I think it’s in my genes.

And being an excellent chef, does that always translate to being an excellent leader?

You have to be an excellent leader first. Then your qualities as a chef and the technical aspects come in. People work for people. That’s what I believe, and I’ve always followed people before their skills. You learn the attributes of why you want to work with a leader, their people skills and their management skills.

My brother, who was a skipper in the merchant navy, mentioned to me many years ago, “When there is no radar on the ship, how do we sail? We just follow the shooting star, and we map out where we want to go.” So if you want to grow, you follow someone you want to be like. That’s what I did, and that’s what leadership is all about. Then your technical skills come in. They complement your leadership skills.

That’s amazing. What a lovely description. How many countries did you live in?

I’ve lived in many countries. I’ve lived in Dubai and Singapore. I grew up in India, but I went back as an expatriate chef to open two luxury hotels and to be part of Oberoi Hotels. Twice I went from Australia to work in India. I’ve travelled extensively. I was part of Fairmont Hotels, which took me to London during the relaunch of the Savoy after its renovation. We did some work there, and at Swissôtel as well.

Then I went quite a few times to Switzerland to learn Swiss cuisine when I was working for the Fairmont Raffles hotel group. I also did a lot of stages in Europe. France, definitely, being a French-trained chef, going around France and seeing the food there. And Asia, different countries. I would say for 12 to 14 years of my career I travelled extensively in and out of Australia.

It’s amazing. When you step into a new kitchen or a new hotel, how long does it take before you feel at home or comfortable there?

It depends. I was part of the pre-opening and opening team at Hotel Chadstone. I was the culinary director and then became the food and beverage director there. Recently, I’ve also gone back to do some consulting. We were part of the pre-opening team when nothing was there. You plan everything, every aspect of the hotel. You don’t know how it’s going to shape up. It takes nearly a year before you open the hotel. Then you start to see how things are going. You don’t know how the business will develop or what the guests will be like. You learn, and by the time you settle down, it’s been a year and a half.

When I travel or join a hotel that’s already been running for many years, you give it a few weeks because the processes and procedures run in a similar way. You just go and settle in straight away. In many of my jobs, like when I was in Singapore, I put my luggage in my room and went straight downstairs to the kitchen. New country, new culture, new everything, but you start working straight away.

After a while, it becomes automatic. It’s like being a pilot. You know where the avionics and all the controls are, and you start flying. Or driving a car. You know the clutch, the brake and the steering wheel. You just ask the right questions, and there you go.

What about language? What’s the language in these kitchens? I imagine they’re quite international.

They’re quite international, but English is always the common language in hotels. It’s quite strict as well, having a uniform mode of communication within the hotel. One of the things about working in hotels is that people come through hotel schools where the language of education is English. I didn’t really find any difficulties. I’ve worked with French chefs and German chefs. On quite a few of my assignments, my bosses, the general managers, were European, from France, Germany, Austria and Holland, and from Singapore as well. I never had any challenges with language. Everybody was very comfortable with English.

And what made you stop travelling and settle down?

When we decided to start a family. My son was born in 2015, and that’s when we decided we needed to slow down.But slowing down never happened! I ended up travelling again, to Singapore, with a four-month-old baby. Then we had our second child, my daughter Anisha, who was born in 2021. That’s when the kids and the schools and everything started, and you start growing older as well. That’s when I decided it was time to settle down. Melbourne is always home now.

How old were you when you first arrived?

I was very young. Nearly 30 years ago. I would say in my early twenties, 19 or so. I’ve lived in Melbourne longer than I’ve lived in India.

What made you decide, after 30 years of working for other people, that you were ready to open your own business?

Actually, for the last year and a half I’ve been running my own business as a consultant. I’ve been managing a winery here, the kitchen operations at Avani Wines, opening bars, running restaurants and repositioning restaurants. I got into smaller operations and working with smaller business owners, restaurants and bars. It was completely different, and it was good learning as well, running a smaller business with smaller budgets. That’s when I thought, it’s not as bad as it’s portrayed. I know there are a lot of challenges in terms of smaller margins and all those things, but I quite enjoyed that part and the personal aspect of it. You’re doing literally most of the things yourself. After a year and a half of consulting and managing smaller businesses, and seeing the positive results of the strategies and concepts, I thought, why not do it for myself? That’s when Bungalow 147 came in.

Did you specifically look in Williamstown? Were you waiting for something to come up here, or was it just coincidence?

No, not at all. My business partners and I came for a cup of coffee. We were on Nelson Place having coffee, and we saw this place was for lease. We thought it was a great spot, so we called the agent. When we did the inspection, we loved the bones of the building, the heritage feel and the bay. This was what we were looking for. It was just the venue that excited us, and the venue happened to be in Williamstown. We never looked specifically in Williamstown. It was just that the venue was right for us.

Was this a hospitality venue before?

It used to be a hospitality venue a long time ago. It had been closed for many months. I don’t really know much about what was here before. It’s a building that’s more than 100 years old.

Was it a bank?

It was a bank, yes.

When you take on a place like this, and I know you’re leasing it, which I guess most people do with hospitality ventures, what are the rules around changing the decor?

There are a lot of rules you have to follow because it’s a heritage building. You can’t really change much. Every colour and everything you use has to be approved. To be honest, we don’t want to change a lot of the aesthetics of the place, just give it a refresh in terms of painting and polishing the floors. We definitely want guests to experience the heritage and the refined feel of the building, because I’ve always loved this colonial style of building.

Having worked in Calcutta myself, you see the British-style buildings there. When you’re in France and Switzerland, you see all the chalets, and in London as well. I’ve always loved that. And having spent many years at the Hotel Windsor and the Langham, which are known for their buildings and their character, I think it’s become part of me and my love for it.

High tea has always been very close to my heart. It works perfectly in this kind of environment, and that’s going to be one of our features, along with events and the restaurant.

Tell me about the food, and particularly high tea. Is there going to be an Indian touch, or are you not going in that direction?

Yes, there is going to be an Indian spin to it. It will have a British colonial feel and a very European take on high tea, with flavours from British colonial-style food. It will be very bespoke, very much a lifestyle experience, something you’ll love with a glass of champagne. It will have hints of Indian flavours which will go well with tea and drinks, but the presentation and the look of it will be very luxurious. You would have seen my high teas at the Langham, Hotel Chadstone and Pan Pacific. I would say I’m a maker of high teas!

I have a friend, and we like to go to different high teas together, so this will be on our list. What else will be on the menu apart from high tea?

The restaurant will have a produce-driven menu with an Indian influence. Most of the produce I’ll pick from local Victoria, meat from Gippsland, burrata and cheese from Thomastown and produce from the Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula as well. I’m very much a fan of Australian native ingredients. I’ll be using quite a lot of native ingredients on the menu, like lemon myrtle, Kakadu plums, to complement the Indian flavours. You’ll have very refined Indian regional flavours, including many dishes from the eastern side of India, where I grew up. I’ll also be using European techniques, which are part of how I’ve been trained as a chef, to complement the dishes and create much more refined flavours. The sauces have to be refined. The presentation will be very bespoke, and the flavours will be very fine as well. Even the high tea will represent that elegance of cuisine.

For events, I’d like to serve restaurant-style food, rather than the typical kind of execution. Very much restaurant food for events. The produce is going to be the hero, the techniques are going to be the hero, and the flavours as well.

I read somewhere that you’re particularly interested in Odisha and Bengal food. What do they bring?

They bring a lot of seafood, and that works perfectly when we’re next to the bay. You can literally see the fresh fish shop in front of us, selling fresh fish, grilled fish and fish and chips. We’re big into seafood, and Bengali and Odishan food is very light and driven by freshly ground spices and spice pastes. It’s not a very heavy cuisine. It’s also very rich in vegetarian food because Odisha, where I come from, and Bhubaneswar, is known for its temples. Bhubaneswar is called the City of Temples. When you have temples, you have temple cuisine, which is extensive in vegetarian food, and not a lot of spices are used. Again, the produce is the hero, and that’s been my ethos as a chef as well. Bengal and Odishan food influence each other. Odisha and Bengal are next to each other, like sisters, and even the languages have similarities. You have a lot of fresh herb pastes and roasted spices going into the food. Lamb, goat and seafood are very popular in the cuisine. Bengal also has a sweet tooth. Bengali desserts are very popular. I’ll be having some Bengali flavours, but with a very European take, turning them into a crémeux, using chocolate, mousse and incorporating those flavours into ice creams. It’s about complementing the flavours and textures, but I’m not looking to change the main flavour of the cuisine.

And will you be open for lunch and dinner?

Yes. We’ll be opening for lunch during the weekend. At the moment, we’re thinking Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We’ll be doing a Sunday roast as well, a brunch featuring roasts and breakfast-style food during lunch. High tea will be served during the weekend as well, and we’ll be open for dinner at least five to six days a week.

You’re going to be so busy!

I hope so! We’re really looking forward to welcoming Melbourne, interstate visitors and local Williamstown guests.

When are you hoping to open?

We’re really hoping to open sometime in November. Like every project, you can only plan. When you’re dealing with a heritage building like this, there are a lot of things you don’t know until you open it up, and you get a lot of surprises. A one-day task becomes a three-day task. So we’re hoping for November, but as soon as we have a clear indication of the opening, I’ll definitely share it with you. As you can see, there’s a lot going on in the building now.

There certainly is. I’m also really interested because at the same time as all this, you’re mentoring a couple of chefs for the Bocuse d’Or. Do you ever sleep?

I’m the vice president of the Australian Bocuse d’Or team and a mentor coach as well. Unfortunately, for the coming Bocuse d’Or, we won’t be going to France because the timing was changed, and it’s just the busiest time of the year for the Melbourne industry. So we’ll skip this one, unfortunately, and we’ll make it to the next Bocuse d’Or. But we’ve already started training the team, and we’re in the process of finalising the team for the following Bocuse d’Or. I’ve been part of the Bocuse d’Or for more than a decade.

Why is it important to you to be part of that?

Bocuse d’Or is the highest level of chefs’ competition in the world, and supporting the Australian team on that platform is something I feel is giving back to the industry. It’s about showcasing Australia on the world stage. I always feel grateful working closely with the chefs and supporting them, doing whatever is needed to help them.

And what’s the advice you give to the chefs when you’re training them?

Be passionate, be grounded, be humble. There are always things to learn. The more you open yourself up, the more humble you are, and the less you let things go to your head, the more you’ll learn. There’s always something to learn, and you’ll shine.

Thank you. I can’t wait for Bungalow 147 to open. I’ll be back over the bridge!

Thank you so much for the opportunity to talk about Bungalow and my journey. Thank you.

Bungalow 147 By the Bay, 147 Nelson Place, Williamstown