Rajeev Menon

Rajeev Menon has a diverse and extensive work experience in the culinary industry. Rajeev began their career as a Chef Trainee at The Leela Palaces & Resorts in 1994, followed by a role as a Junior Sous Chef at Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces from 1996 to 1999. Rajeev then joined Jumeirah Group / Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts and served as a Junior Sous Chef at Emirates Towers Hotel from 2000 to 2003, and later at Mina A Salam from 2003 to 2004. In 2005, Rajeev worked as a Chef De Partie at The Landmark London.

Continuing their career progression, Rajeev held the position of Sous Chef at The Savoy from 2006 to 2010, where they were Second in command in a brigade of 20 chefs. Rajeev then became a Sous Chef at Double Tree By Hilton Tower of London from 2010 to 2012, overseeing a brigade of 23 chefs.

In 2012, Rajeev joined InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG®) as the Director of Food and Beverage/Executive Chef. Rajeev was involved in the pre-opening team of a brand-new hotel and was responsible for leading and developing a team of 140 employees. During their tenure, Rajeev achieved a high performance score and excelled in budgeting and forecasting for the department.

Following this role, Rajeev became the Corporate Chef/R&D Chef at Choice Group from 2017 to 2020, where they developed ready-to-eat frozen meal kits and appetizers for the US market. Under their leadership, the production capacity and profitability of the division significantly increased.

Most recently, Rajeev worked at Foodcoach from 2020 to 2022 as a Culinary Consultant/Product Development Chef. In this role, they headed the kitchen operation and product development at Dabbadrop, a South Asian Vegan delivery subscription service.

Currently, Rajeev holds the position of Head Chef Events at The Savoy, starting in 2022.

Rajeev Menon began their education in 1984, attending Sainik School Kazhakootam, where they completed their secondary education in the CBSE curriculum. Rajeev then pursued a degree in Hotel Management from the Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition in Mumbai from 1993 to 1996. During their time there, they studied food production, food and beverage service, and management.

In terms of additional certifications, Rajeev obtained a certification in Transformation of Global Food System from Københavns Universitet - University of Copenhagen in January 2022. Rajeev also has a Level 3 certification in Supervising Food Safety in Catering from High Speed Training, which was obtained in October 2021. Furthermore, Rajeev has completed courses on entrepreneurship through Coursera Course Certificates, specifically "Entrepreneurship 2: Launching your Start-Up" in January 2019 and "Entrepreneurship 1: Developing the Opportunity" in November 2018. Additionally, they hold a certification as a Mental Health Champion from Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) England, although the obtained month and year are not specified.