"Boy, was I an ambitious child," says Indian-born chef Daman Shrivastav of India @ Q by DDs Kitchen in Melbourne. "When I was in year 11 or 12, I wanted to work in a five-star hotel. I thought it was so glamorous."
Aside from the glamour that Shrivastav went on to experience, he also went through the chaos of war and experiences of feeding both the disadvantaged and royalty.
War and peace
With a cooking apprenticeship under his belt, Shrivastav found his love of food working at the Al Rasheed Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq, in the early 1980s. Then, with the help of his father, Shrivastav went to London where he studied a Diploma of Professional Cookery from Westminster College while working part-time in places such as Le Gavroche and The Savoy Hotel.
His mother's illness and eventual passing led him back to India. He worked in hotels there for several years, then he got an opportunity to go back to the Al Rasheed Hotel, just before the Gulf War erupted.
"Our general manager told me, 'You were here in the 80s and you went for higher studies and came back. Now you have a great career. So, just get out of this place. But I refused to go."
Shrivastav didn't want to abandon the country he'd come to know. "My thinking was when Iraq was doing well, everybody wanted to come here. The people here used to eat caviar and foie gras, and now they're eating from the garbage bins, why should I leave them?"
It was during this time that he helped Mother Teresa while she was opening a church with a group of nuns.
"She said that she heard about my work and said, 'Son, come help me'. So I did. I helped her feed the people in the church."
Everyone needs food
After eventually leaving Iraq, the kindness of a stranger lead to an exciting adventure in Jordan. The stranger paid for his hotel room, which led him to the fruit farm of a relative of Hussein bin Talal, the King of Jordan at that time.
"I was fruit picking when I told [the relative] my story and after proving myself and my skills, I ended up opening a French restaurant with him [called La Coquette]. The king used to eat there. He liked my filet mignon a lot."
The king used to eat there. He liked my filet mignon a lot.
After his career in the Middle East, Shrivastav landed in Australia in 1994. "I've worked in hotels like the Sheraton and in big corporate settings. But food for me is about connecting with people – no matter who they are. And when COVID hit, I reached out and fed the families who needed help. There are those that we still help today."
Serving Indian food
Shrivastav's restaurant, India @ Q by DDs Kitchen, is not only a testament to his unique life and career but also to the cuisine of his roots.
"I felt like something was lacking in Indian food here. It's not quite as authentic." But he wants to serve Indian food that is.
"For example, butter chicken is popular, but it shouldn't just be sweetened with sugar. It should be smoked and sweetened with honey. This is what it's supposed to be."
"In my restaurant, we do it the authentic way and make the food look good, of course."
He wants his food and service to be like a show. "If we bring out the food and the customer doesn't say 'wow', it means I didn't do my job."
234 High Street, Kew, Melbourne, Victoria
Tuesday-Sunday: 5:30pm-9pm
Monday: Closed
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