He started as a dishwasher, now this Kiwi-Indian chef is representing NZ

“Don't be in too much of a hurry to reach the top,” 28-year-old chef Arinut Sachdeva has a message for young people finding their feet in the hospitality industry.

Sachdeva first walked into a New Zealand kitchen in 2015, not as a chef, but as a dishwasher. He had arrived from Dehradun, India, and found himself fascinated by the chefs working around him.

He watched, asked questions and absorbed everything he could.

More than a decade later, Sachdeva is Executive Sous Chef at the New Zealand International Convention Centre, a journey that has taught him what it takes to climb the kitchen ladder through patience and hard work.

He says, “every stage of the kitchen teaches you something that you'll eventually need.”

And for Sachdeva, every stage did.

What began with a simple suggestion from a friend, who encouraged him to cook, eventually turned into a career that has now taken him to an international culinary stage.

Sachdeva has been selected as one of the Pacific Regional Finalists for the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition in Sydney, representing New Zealand alongside young chefs from across the region.

“For me, it is a huge personal milestone because of where my culinary journey started,” Sachdeva told The Indian Weekender.

 Learning from the kitchen up

Sachdeva’s early stint at Sidart taught him “humility” and “appreciation for every role in a kitchen”. From there, he went on to work at The French Café and Cassia.

Over the past 11 years, he has worked with some of the industry’s leading names, including Sid Sahrawat, Lesley Chandra and Michael Meredith. Sachdeva says they had a “big influence” on the way he came to understand food as a discipline.

When asked him to define his own cooking, and the answer is not straightforward.

“I find it difficult to put my cooking into one category,” Sachdeva said.

His Indian roots remain an important part of his culinary identity, but growing professionally in New Zealand has also shaped the way he cooks.

Sachdeva said he is “influenced by Pacific ingredients and flavours”.

“I enjoy contemporary cooking where technique is important, but where the food still has a story and an emotional connection behind it.”

That philosophy sits right at the heart of the dish he has created for the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition, named as “Coastal Hapuka with Spiced Crab, Crispy Stuffed Squid & Harissa Coconut Emulsion.”

Combining New Zealand hāpuka with crab, squid, prawn, coconut and spices, the dish brings together influences from two places that have shaped Sachdeva as a chef. “It's essentially a reflection of my journey between India and New Zealand,” he explains the dish.

It is, in many ways, his story on a plate, where he comes from, what he has learnt and the influences he has picked up along the way.

“My Indian background is one of the foundations of how I think about flavour.”

Indian core, New Zealand ingredients

Sachdeva grew up in North India, where seafood was not part of his everyday meals. Yet the inspiration behind his competition dish reaches back to memories from his childhood.

His father would travel across different parts of India and return home with stories and flavours from the places he had visited.

“I remember the aromas of seafood cooking at home, particularly prawn curry with ginger, garlic, spices and coconut. Those memories stayed with me,” he told The Indian Weekender.

But Sachdeva does not want his food to simply "recreate traditional Indian dishes exactly.”

Instead, he says, he takes those memories and flavours and “evolve through the ingredients and techniques” he has learnt in New Zealand.

That combination has gradually become part of his identity in the kitchen.

Starting at the bottom

From dishwasher to Commis Chef, Chef de Partie and Sous Chef, Sachdev continued moving through different kitchens before eventually stepping into Head Chef positions.

One of the biggest milestones came at Metita, where he led a team and further developed his understanding of Pacific flavours and New Zealand produce.

There, his team also “achieved Best New Restaurant, two Cuisine Hats and Oceania's Best New Hotel Restaurant, and Metita was also recognised as MICHELIN Selected in the inaugural MICHELIN Guide New Zealand.”

“When I look back, the biggest thing for me is that I started at the dish pit and just kept saying yes to opportunities to learn,” he shared.

The climb, however, has not always been easy.

The hospitality industry, he says, comes with long hours, pressure and “plenty of moments where you question yourself.”

“What helped me was staying curious and being willing to learn. I never wanted to believe that any job was beneath me,” Sachdeva added.

It is perhaps why his advice to younger chefs is rooted less in chasing titles and more in making the most of every stage along the way.

Sachdeva eventually hopes to open his own restaurant, describing its as a space where he can tell the stories of India and New Zealand through the food he puts on the plate.

For now, his attention is on October and the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition, where his goal is to represent “New Zealand with pride, and let the result take care of itself”.