By Mewati Sitaram
After cooking up legendary dishes for decades in various hotels, Sofitel Mumbai BKC’s Star Chef Sidney D’Cunha finally hung up his chefs’ coat, as he is promoted to the position of Director of Food & Beverage and Culinary. This is a dual responsibility for him to oversee kitchen operations as well as food and beverage operations.
At Sofitel, Sidney is instrumental in developing the hotel’s robust culinary offerings, soon after his joining in 2022. He lined up a series of unique food festivals, visits by a variety of guest chefs, and an immense interest in progressively enhancing the hotel’s restaurants and bars. He and his team have enjoyed numerous accolades for the hotel’s outlets, bestowed by some of the country’s finest publications and reputed organizations. He has played an instrumental role in carving a niche for Sofitel Mumbai BKC on Mumbai’s innovative restaurant scene.
Sidney, A hardcore Mumbaikar, studied in Mumbai’s prestigious St. Andrews School and St. Xaviers College. To pursue his dream occupation of hospitality, he joined IHM Mumbai. His thirst for further specialization propelled him to pursue Food Service Management from Cornell University (ECornell, 2011), Hospitality Management (ECornell, 2012), and Food Safety: Managing with HACCP System from American Hotel & Lodging Education Institute (2012).
Having worked with some of the leading Michelin star venues in New York, under celebrity Chefs such as Michel Roux Snr, Floyd Cardoz, and Hemant Oberoi in India, Sidney brings close to two decades of experience in the culinary space. He recently bagged the third position in Power 25 Culinary, 2022 by Hoteliers Web.
Sidney began his culinary stint from hotels like ITC Grand Maratha Sheraton and The Oberoi Mumbai. Later he joined the Taj Management Training (TMT) Program. During this period, he worked at Taj hotels in Delhi and Chennai. Later, he joined The Taj Mahal Palace Mumbai as Junior Sous Chef. This was followed by a year spent at The Taj Pierre New York and The Taj Boston. Here, he introduced Indian food to the hotel menus, as a specialty Indian chef. In 2008, D’Cunha returned to The Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai.
To enhance his culinary, management skills and professional growth, he joined The Ritz Carlton, Bangalore as CDC during pre-opening. He was quickly promoted to the role of Executive Sous Chef. In 2015, he moved to Pune and the JW Marriott Hotel as Executive Sous Chef. He then joined the brand’s Mumbai property from 2017-2019.
Throughout his career, he developed rich culinary experience and the ability to cater to both Indian and international palates. He also brings with him a deep knowledge of structuring culinary teams, launching new culinary concepts, and working with large-scale banqueting, all while keeping an eye on the bottom line.
Sidney has also played a crucial role in the hotel’s adoption of Winnow, a food waste management solutions company which develops AI tools to help chefs run more profitable, sustainable kitchens, by cutting food waste in half.
When not in the kitchens of Sofitel Mumbai BKC, Sidney is often seen engaging with his guests and entertaining them with his stories from across the seas. During his downtime, he likes catching football matches and spending time with his family.
Editor in Chief : Mewati SItaram
