Chef Vernon Coelho: Remembering the ‘Master’ Chef

The culinary gem and the ‘master’ chef for the many chefs across the country and the world,  Chef Vernon Coelho passed away aged 64, on November 26, 2020. 

A man of principles with a voracious intellectual appetite, Chef Coelho recognised all his students by their names and knew their career desires even without having a vocal conversation with them. A rare quality for a teacher mentoring over hundreds of students each day. 

Chef Coelho devoted most of his culinary career to teaching and mentoring the budding kitchen stars, for he believed that sharing knowledge and training more and more aspirants is for the greater benefit of society. 

Over 30 years of teaching and mentoring students, Chef Coelho retired from IHM Mumbai or the popularly know Dadar Catering College as the Head of Culinary. But he did not retire from his mentoring.

His Bandra residence in Mumbai was the temple for his students seeking solutions whenever they got stuck with something. His teachings still echo vividly when his students recall his wise words – Prepare a dish wholeheartedly and treat your team with respect, irrespective of the results! 

One can also find his teachings in the brilliantly prepared roast chicken in mushroom sauce. How? The chef who prepared it will tell you how Chef Coelho ingrained in minds, the complexities of different foods while simplifying the basics. How to keep a sauce free of lumps and to keep each grain of rice detached from the other, Chef Coelho’s crystal-clear vision and execution of culinary skills could be seldom put into words. 

In the 1990s, 50 non-beef eating students learnt how to cook a beef steak perfectly under his tutorship. That was the culinary flair of Chef Coelho.

Not to sit on his laurels, Chef Coelho joined hands with fellow chefs to found the Western India Culinary Association (WICA) to represent and recognise the hidden professional culinary gems in the region. The all-smiles man never backed out of any event of the association, despite his frail health. 

From having mentored the best of the chefs in the city, from Kainaz Messman to Farrokh Khambata, to travelling to various destinations where his students needed his guidance, Chef Coelho’s contribution to the Indian culinary sphere is truly unparalleled. 

A true ‘master’ chef much ahead of his times. Rest in peace Chef.