22-year-old Sahil Essani is embarking on a promising career in the hospitality industry as a management trainee currently based in Delhi. An alumnus of V. M. Salgaocar Institute of International Hospitality Education (VMSIIHE), one of the best hospitality institutes in India, Sahil looks back at his time at the institute and lessons learned during the three-year programme. An achievement he holds closest to his heart is winning the Outstanding Student of the Year for 2016-2019, a personal goal he had set for himself when he joined the institute.
Sahil speaks candidly about life on campus, his passion for bartending, life lessons learned while on the job and his love for football.
Sahil, tell us a bit about yourself
I come from a family of mixed cultures, but my heart belongs to Goa. I was born and raised in the beautiful state of Goa. My mother hails from Maharashtra while my father is from Goa however we have roots in Gujarat too so it’s a melange of cultures in our home. I have a younger sister.
My family and I are ardent football fans and especially of FC Goa and Manchester United. My sister is also a part of the FC Goa fan club, Gaur Army, so yes, my household screams football every now and then. If I’m in Goa, I make sure to head to the beach on Sundays for a game of beach football.
Looking back at the 3 years spent at VMSIIHE, how has it helped you to where you are today?
Apart from the world-class facilities, a holistic curriculum and supportive mentors present at the institution, I feel the most valuable aspect for me was the strong inculcation of discipline and a high level of ethics and integrity. This is something that stood out for me. I was told by several people at various points of my progression in the institute about how I was turning into a polished professional with each progressing day. This factor begins paying its dividends the moment you step into the industry as a professional. From the little experience I have had, I observed that interpersonal skills and how you carry yourself can be as important to your career growth as performance and hard work can be.
How did your professional journey begin after graduating from VMSIIHE?
Just after graduating from VMSIIHE, I had a couple of months to myself before joining the Hotelier Development Program at IHCL. I decided to utilize the time to gain skills and knowledge in a niche that had my interest – Bars and Beverages. I decided to contact someone I met at a cocktail competition of whom I had heard good things but had no clue that this person would turn out to be a career-changing mentor to me. They took me onboard to train with a beverage consulting team called Muddle and Shuffle that oversaw beverage programs for various projects, most notably Firefly Bar as well as Cazulo Premium Feni. Working with them opened up a whole new network as well as an in-depth perspective of beverages in all aspects beyond theoretical learning.
Tell us about your present role at the IHCL group
Presently, my role at the company is that of a Management Trainee as part of the Hotelier Development Program at IHCL. As part of this program, we take on multiple roles in various properties across the country. Presently I am on the verge of transitioning to my final phase in the program and will graduate as a manager and be placed at one of our outlets. My short-term goal is to graduate as a bar manager upon completion of the programme.
Beverages certainly have your interest. You were the first place winner at the Cocktail Challenge at the 7th annual Goa Food and Hospitality expo. Tell us a little about that.
Working with Muddle and Shuffle took my passion to another level and I fell in love with the world of cocktails. I first heard about the competition through my colleagues in the Muddle and Shuffle team. I did want to visit the competition but had no intentions of participating in it as I felt that the skills and experience of my colleagues were way ahead of mine. However, my mentor, Karl Fernandes insisted that I participate in the competition regardless of the results as it would be a great learning experience. I decided to give it a shot. To train for it, I made several trips to Firefly to make the team try my cocktail creations and get their feedback on them which really helped me improve.
On the day of the competition, I was really intimidated as there were many seasoned veterans who came from Goa and beyond to participate in the contest. When it was my turn to perform, my colleagues reassured me that I would do great and boosted my confidence. I decided to have a little fun with the crowd and told a story while making my drink which the judges really appreciated. They also loved the fact that my drink expressed my ingredients with balance which won me first place in the contest. When the host called out my name as the first-place winner, I was overwhelmed and excited as it was the first cocktail competition I had participated in.
As part of the IHCL group, you visited Jamshedpur on a CSR programme. What did you bring home from it?
I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I was one of the two people in the batch selected to join the team traveling to Jamshedpur to work on a very interesting CSR project of IHCL in collaboration with Tata Steel. It was a conclave called Samvaad with a focus on the tribal community. The project included connecting with home cooks belonging to 26 tribes from all over the country, documenting 125+ recipes and the best practices adopted by communities living across geographies. There are endless stories and memories to talk about however here are three of my favorites. One was being able to design a creative dining space that celebrated the culture of the tribal community and seeing it come to life. The second was planning curated lunches which were attended by senior members of the leadership team at the Tata Group including Mr. TV Narendran, CEO and Managing Director of Tata Steel as well as some of the most popular food bloggers in the country including Kalyan Karmakar of The Finely Chopped blog. And finally selling out the food our team of tribal home cooks prepared. It was a wonderful learning experience.
How did VMSIIHE play an important role in combining theoretical knowledge and on-field experience, to help you in your career today?
The fact that VMSIIHE is designed to replicate a hotel with not just operational but ancillary aspects made it relatively easy for us to navigate through the initial days at work as they were aware of how a hotel operates. At VMSIIHE, a lot of emphases is placed on practicals and efficiency is something that we are encouraged to imbibe along with practical know-how. This aspect really helped me gain the respect of my colleagues at the properties that I worked at and once they realize that we understand how operations work, it allows an opportunity for oneself to take on responsibilities that will facilitate higher-level learning.
Tell us about some of your achievements
One of my recent achievements is being selected as one of the youngest members of IHCL’s Centre of Excellence: Bars. It’s an area of operation which I hold dear. However, the achievement that I hold closest to my heart is winning the Outstanding Student of the Year for 2016-2019 at VMSIIHE. I had set this goal for myself when I joined the institute. It was challenging as not only did I have to excel in academics but also in extra-curricular activities and the leadership program. The habits and mindset that I embraced still help me to this day and I’m very grateful.
What are some of your interests outside of work?
When I’m not working behind the bar, I love experimenting with beverages and creating cocktails for my friends to sample at the little bar I have set up at my home. There I turn into a mad scientist who is constantly trying ingredients and techniques learned over the past years. I often end up making a mess but it brings me happiness to work with flavours and techniques. I love backpacking and exploring the food and culture of places where I am posted at. When I’m in Goa, I love hanging out with my friends and relaxing by the beach with a chilled beer in hand.
