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When asked why he switched careers, former marine engineer Alborze Irani, based in Poona, counters: "I did not switch. Those who have sailed with me will vouch that in the good old days of shipping we had many parties on the ship and I would always take care of the cooking. My interest in cooking ran parallel to my career in the merchant navy. Also, we had a small tea restaurant in Poona which I converted into a take away place called Pik-A-Meal, specializing in Parsi snacks and a tiffin service. When I crossed the age of 60, I started dabbling in small-time party catering.”

 "Pik-A-Meal was being run by my daughter Karishma. She received a call from Khodu Irani, who owns a pub called Hi Spirits, inquiring whether we would be able to serve Parsi festive food on Navroz, using the pub’s kitchen and working with their staff. I believe one of our customers had recommended us. Karishma asked me whether we could handle the job as it entailed cooking for a crowd of over 400. She was enthusiastic, and we successfully catered the Navroz lunch. We cooked practically all the festive dishes; the food was much appreciated. Since then Hi Spirits has been inviting me to do their catering twice a year, on Khordad Sal and Jamshedi Navroz.

The chef has also been invited to cater for clients abroad. "During the pandemic, a couple from Nairobi was invited by a friend for dinner. They loved my berry pulao with dal. The lady, a well-known event manager in Nairobi, said one of her Zoroastrian clients wanted Parsi food served to 300 people at a wedding. I teamed up with my friend Ervad Ardaviraf Sinor, also a food lover, and we were flown to Nairobi for two weeks to cater for the wedding feast. I cooked Parsi festive dishes in a seven star golf resort hotel with an entirely Kenyan staff for the engagement lunch and wedding dinner. It was a challenge, but the food was appreciated by the guests who had flown in from all over the world.”

Karishma moved to Canada after her marriage but returned to Poona to celebrate her son’s first birthday. During this period, Alborze’s close friend since his engineering days Rutton Ratansha, was visiting Poona and was invited for dinner. He had tasted Alborze’s food earlier. "I was to return with my daughter to Canada to assist her with her son during the long flight. My friend invited me to stop over at his place in Holland. He asked whether I would be able to cook biryani there for 40 guests. I confidently replied, ‘Of course.’ He and I improvised, preparing chicken biryani in an induction pot which we purchased locally while the dum biryani was cooked on a barbeque. His friends of all nationalities enjoyed the food,” Alborze recounted.

As a result, the chef’s confidence grew. "I can cook with any type of equipment for anyone.” Realizing that improvisation was the key, he used his experience as a marine engineer which had trained him to think out of the box to cater by understanding the conditions and ingredients, the staff and equipment available.

When his friend, on his annual visit to Poona, was staying at the Marriott Suites in Poona, he invited Alborze for breakfast. "When I joined him at his table, I was introduced to the executive chef Praduman Singh. We talked about food and cooking. March being around the corner, the idea of a Parsi food festival for Jamshedi Navroz was born. The chef asked me to cater for a three-day Navroz food festival at Marriott Suites. It was a grand success and much appreciated,” said Alborze.

As of today, Sinor and he are a team and they can easily cater for as many as 500.

Seventy-year-old Alborze, was born to Gool and Peshotan and attended Sardar Dastur Hoshang Boys High School in Poona. Married to Mani (née Ghamat), besides Karishma, they have three sons, Taronish, Piran and Anaoshak. "I was always heavier than the average kid. During my college days, I was active in various sports and represented my college in boxing (silver medalist, Pune University), shot put and hockey (Shivaji University). I also won fitness competitions for 50+ for three years in a row, conducted by the Bombay Parsee Association, after which the competition was stopped. So I tried power bench press. I won that in the 60 years+ category for three years. This too was stopped subsequently so I moved to arm wrestling, where I won, besting the reigning champion.”

A practicing Zoroastrian, Alborze has tremendous faith in our religion and prayers. Those of us who have sailed with him have often seen him wearing a sudreh and kusti, with his blue cap and a prayer book in his hand.