She has
been one of the best pastry chefs I know and her baking skills are her
superpower! We worked together for a couple of years and that’s when I got to
know her on a personal level too. She is a lady who puts her heart and
soul in all she does always learning the latest in her profession and she is a
Cordon Bleu Chef. She was stylish and knew a lot about personal grooming and
fashion; saw many people seeking her advice. In fact I was one of them, I
hardly experiment but she would coerce me to.
Her cakes and chocolates were
equally amazing- that being my topmost weakness, one can imagine what she meant
to me. She took up other assignments then as moved on; as a fellow Gemini I
know very well that we are filled with creativity and we need outlets to
express. We hate routine and things that are mundane don’t interest us. She did
some exciting work; she travelled around the globe and shared her
travelogues. The work and her life looked picture perfect!
She
was back in Mumbai and that’s when I connected with her and I learnt that she
was doing something quite different yet again and that’s Image consulting. I
congratulated her as I feel that she is a natural at it. Something that she was
doing all through could now be offered professionally and it was giving her
another challenging career a break from baking. I am certain she’d continue
with bother her passions. Here’s IWH in conversation with Chef Veena
Picardo, freelance trainer, an entrepreneur and a blogger.
IWH:
Tell us something about you, your growing up years, and life through School
College etc.
Veena
Picardo: Growing up life in school was pretty
uneventful I guess I blossomed after I joined DY Patil HMCT may be that’s why
to this date just recalling those days with my batch mates cheers me up.
The memories of attending food production practicals, the mischief we used to
make, the events we conducted have formed a Deep rooted base of whatever I am
today.
IWH:
What made you select Hospitality as a career? Was it easy to make that
decision?
Veena
Picardo: I found I was naturally attracted to
everything about food right from my childhood days therefore taking up
hospitality as a career choice was an automatic decision.
IWH:
Tell us something about you, your growing up years, and life through School
College etc.
Veena
Picardo: Growing upl; life in school was pretty
uneventful I guess I blossomed after I joined DY Patil College of Hotel
Management and Catering Technology. May be that’s why to this date just
recalling those days with my batch mates cheers me up. The memories of
attending food production practicals, the mischief we used to make, the events
we conducted have formed a Deep rooted base of whatever I am today.
IWH:
What made you select Hospitality as a career? Was it easy to make that
decision?
Veena
Picardo: I found I was naturally attracted to
everything about food right from my childhood days therefore taking up
hospitality as a career choice was an automatic decision.
IWH:
What is your current role?
Veena
Picardo: That’s a tricky question over the years I
have taken up many diverse roles there is not just one particular role that I
have restricted myself to. Right now I am a freelance trainer, an entrepreneur
and a blogger.
IWH: How was your Hospitality
journey been so far? Pros, Cons etc…
Veena
Picardo: This will be quiet a lengthy reply.
It’s been 20 years that I am a part of Hospitality industry and cherish each
and every moment of it. I am very passionate about food but funnily
enough I never really took the traditional path of joining the Hotel
Industry instead I went along the parallel lines of being a chef trainer and I
think that was best decision of my life. Teaching students and being associated
with young minds was something wasn’t just another means to livelihood for me
but something I am extremely passionate about. I just love to see the
young generation evolve, the way they innovate and come up with new
possibilities in the field of hospitality.
Cons: I feel there not enough
research and documentation in the Indian culinary world. The world is
opening up to the joys of Indian food however we haven’t showcased even 1/4th of
that is to offer from our cuisine. There is lot we can do there.
IWH:
Who has been your Mentor or a role model? In what way has that person helped
you?
Veena
Picardo: In my 20 years of being in this industry I
have diversified a lot therefore it will be difficult to point out any one
person with being a role model however I would like to thank all my teachers
and friends who have constantly encouraged me to be what I am today.
IWH:
What have been the high point of your career?
Veena
Picardo: In my diverse career I have had quite a few
high points in my career.
I still remember the day 10
years back waiting for a bus to arrive and suddenly making a very impromptu
decision of resigning from much secured teaching job with DY Patil University
and going to the UK to take up course in Baking from Le Cordon bleu. At
that point I dint have any money or a plan but just a thought that I want
something more from life and that was the biggest turning point in my life so
at the age of 30 were for the first time I sat in a plane or
travelled abroad. I embarked on a journey after which I never really looked
back in life.
All the hospitality schools I
have been associated with from Dr.Dy Patil University ,Apeejay Institute
of Hospitaity , ITM Hospitality school to Auro University have been a huge
career turning point in the advancement of my career.
Next high point was when I
started my own entrepreneurial venture of starting a Cake shop Picardo’s That
again was an adventurous journey but I am proud to say that it’s been a
successful venture.
Along the way I also I started
a baking blog called bakinginthehills.com which I feel very happy to be
associated with.After which I joined MARS as a personal chef to Mr Sanjay
Narang my time there was very different to all I had been doing so far it
was a lot of fun with tremendous learning. I got a good understanding of how
the elite live, understanding nuances of the luxury industry.
And now I am going through
another turning point that has to do with Image building and soft skills
training being in the teaching industry for so long has opened up a new
possibility of soft skill trainer. Being also associated with Hospitality
industry I found there is a lot I can offer as a soft skill trainer as being in
hospitality we automatically trained in conducting ourselves with good
manners & etiquettes.
IWH:
What Challenges have you faced as a woman in the industry? How did you deal
with them?
Veena
Picardo: I guess the biggest challenge I faced with
being a women is to live in prejudiced society that just because I am women I
will be needing that extra help. Time and again I had to prove myself
that if not better I am equally good with my work as any men in my field I
don’t need the extra help, nor support. I am what I am because I want to be.
IWH:
If there was anything that you could change about your life or career what
would that be?
Veena
Picardo: I love and cherish each and every moment of
my life I have been fortunate to be blessed with great places I have worked for
to fantastic colleagues I had the good fortune to work with and the not
so great moments were the lessons I learnt from which only helped to uplift my
life.
IWH:
What do you think of IWH?
Veena
Picardo: IWH is a fantastic and much needed
initiative in the field of hospitality. There is a lot we women can offer
in the field of hospitality I am really proud to be associated with it and hope
I can contribute in any way possible for the upliftment and growth of this
forum. A big thumps up to Ms Laxmi Todiwan to take up this challenge and taking
up this far!
IWH:
Your Advice to the young professionals and students?
Veena
Picardo: My advice to the young professionals would
be that Hospitality does not just mean being associated with Hotels the
curriculum does not just teach you to work with the hotel industry but also
teaches you so many thing for e.g. How to behave, how to dress, etiquettes,
manners and these skills are much more in demand nowadays therefore explore
your possibilities in other industries like the airlines, marketing, retail
sector etc.
What a lovely conversation we
had with this multifaceted lady. The readers especially the young professionals
will take many lessons and tips from the inspirational journey of Chef Picardo.
Read full
story at: http://www.theiwh.com/create-your-own-superpower-ms-veena-picardo/
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