Executive chef – Hilton Marco Island
Asif is the Executive Chef at the Sandcastles Restaurant at the Hilton Marco Island Beach Resort. He completed his training at the Marco Island Marriott (Resort) and also in Europe and India. He has a bachelor’s degree in hotel management and catering technology. I graduated in ’96 and since then, I’ve worked in three different countries. My specialty is Fusion food, because I came from India and Indian cuisine is very vast. It has different flavors and spices. I really try to infuse some of the flavors in my cuisine, I’m very good at Caribbean and, that is one of my specialty. Cilantro, mint, ginger, garlic and garam masala are some of the spices that are my favorite. And I love cooking food with wines. I would say the biggest challenge is to satisfy each and every guest because so many come from all around the world and everyone has different tastes. It’s very tough to make everyone happy, but I try my best. I really have a passion for cooking. And I feel very happy when the guest is happy. When a guest compliments me, for a chef that is a reward. I feel happy and satisfied at the end of the day when you work very hard