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Chef Selvam Kandasamy |
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I was born in a small village not far from Madras in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. My father still grows rice and grazes buffalo there. After school I would walk to my grandparents’ house and help Grandmother with her cooking. It was in her kitchen that I learnt how to make curd from fresh buffalo milk and, most importantly, where I was introduced to the spices of Southern India and how to blend different spices for aromatic flavours. |
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After finishing school, I studied hotel and catering management at the University of Madras. It was during this time that my passion for cooking developed and I began to experiment and compile my own recipes. On completing my degree I won a position at the ITC Park Sheraton Hotel in the Management Trainee Chef program. While working at the Sheraton I specialised in Southern Indian, Northern Indian and Tandoori cuisine. |
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Although I’d also received offers to work in England and the US, I decided to come to Australia. It was here in Darwin that I met my Aussie wife, Joanna. I have been in Australia for nearly 8 years now and am proud to be an Australian citizen. I’ve lived and worked all of those 8 years here in Darwin, have held positions of Head Chef in some of Darwin’s leading restaurants and have won several gold plates. I have written recipes for columns in local, interstate and overseas newspapers and have featured in magazines such as Australian Table, Gourmet Traveller and Scoop Traveller. In 2004 I was selected as one of Australia’s Top 100 chefs and featured in the Coast Cookbook. |
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It was with great excitement that I opened Saffrron. I get a lot of satisfaction from designing healthy food with flavour and it pleases me greatly to see people enjoying my food. |
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I would like to thank my family in India and my mother and father in-law, Sue and David Thom, for their encouragement and support. |
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