As the chef behind the Anglo-Indian offerings at Rajasthan Rifles, which takes its inspiration from the rambunctious mess halls of the British Indian Army in the 1920s, Kumaran Balaji knows a thing or two about keeping on a strict, regimented schedule. “We are an amazing brigade of soldiers,” he says of his restaurant team, “and I am delighted every day to be part of the regiment and to lead the front line.”
His day starts early, a little past 7am, and mornings are spent enjoying family time before donning his gear and joining his comrades-in-arms atop The Peak. Lunch and dinner service go by in a blur, punctuated by team briefings, ingredient sourcing, planning for events, and a family meal that even consists of a quintessential tea service. Below, Chef Kumaran takes us through his typical workday.
7:15am: My first alarm starts buzzing; I hit snooze for some bonus sleep.
7:30am: My second alarm is ringing, and this one I don’t ignore as I want to spend some quality time with my son, Vedh, who is almost 2 years old.
8:30am: During breakfast with my wife Nisha and my son, I opt for a South Indian filter coffee. I like to take this on our balcony, enjoying the amazing views of the Lantau landscapes and the airport (I live in Tung Chung).
9am: I’m ready to go in my gear, to make it in time for the 9:30 bus. Still, I never miss doing a 5-minute morning prayer.
9:45am: It’s a good 25 minutes’ journey on the bus; I always try to find a corner seat to rest my head for a bit. I pop in AirPods and one of the first things I do is to check the reservations for the day: Black Listers, VIPs, guests of note, and dietary requirements. I write down everything on a small note pad to brief the team. Check my emails and note down priorities accordingly.
10:20am: Another 20 minutes on a mini bus up to the restaurant, with music on and a quick power nap.
11am: My young barista greets me with a smile and an Americano and the parade starts. I start sanitising and setting up the sections and checking on the day’s deliveries. The team is in, we greet each other and they start checking their respective sections and writing down to-do lists.
11:30am: Briefing time. All the things I have noted down will be communicated to the team. We discuss any takeaways from the previous day’s service, as we always try to make improvements where we can.
11:45am: Small meet and greet with my lovely front-of-house team. We cross-check the reservations and I try to get some extra insights about the guests visiting us for the day.
12pm: Doors are open and lunch service is on.
3pm: Service slows down a bit. I check the reservations and events for the following days and start ordering the deliveries, which need to be ordered before 4pm.
3:30pm: Admin work! I respond to emails and follow-up on costing and menu planning for events. Everything which needs to be done and dusted.
4pm: Team meal. At Rajasthan Rifles we have tea service too, so all the team members can enjoy the family meal together. I also make time to video call my son and wife – something I cannot miss!
4:30pm: Start setting up the stations for dinner service. We do an evening briefing talking about the guests and the real essence of RR: the “Hospitality” that is central to everything we do.
5pm: Dinner service starts and I try my best to meet most of the guests and enhance their dinner experiences in any possible way.
9pm: Service winds down and the ordering of perishables and groceries happens.
9:30pm: I usually have a debriefing with the FOH team and follow up on guest satisfaction.
10pm: Kitchen is closed, and I start the trek back to Tung Chung.
11:30pm: At home, I have a late dinner with my family. My son will be half awake, just to say goodnight. If he is not sleepy, then we might go for a short walk for ice cream.
12-12:30am: Time to get those ‘zzz’s.
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Craving more? Read more ‘Day In The Life’ stories here and here to find out what our teams do to make that Black Sheep magic happen every day.
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