Venkatesh Bhat

Venkatesh Bhat Biography

Venkatesh Bhat, CEO of Accord Hotels and Resorts, is a renowned celebrity chef and has worked with some of the biggest brands in the hospitality industry. Having commanded the positions of both Chef and CEO of Billionsmiles Hospitality successfully he has earned an indisputable reputation in South Indian Cuisine circle by setting new quality standards. He is also known for his profound enhancement of human resources and development of new brand values. He is very popular amongst the masses, especially South Indian travellers from Singapore, Malaysia, etc. He is a top notch chef, who wears many hats and is one of the most recognized faces on Tamil TV, thanks to his presence in the Kitchen Superstar series on Star Vijay. This cooking contest is now in its fifth season and Venkatesh Bhatt’s screen presence and amiable nature certainly contributes to the TRPs. This show is all about his mastery over South Indian cuisine and the contributions he has made.

Holding two crucial portfolios General management and Kitchen management is an advantage for anybody seriously into the food business. But, when he stepped into the kitchens of Hotel Chola Sheraton in 1994, Mr. Venkatesh Bhat never dreamt he would one day be the CEO of a three-hotel chain — the flagship Accord Hotels and Resorts, a five-star property in Chennai, became his second home in 2012. The stint at Chola Sheraton lasted two years and Venkatesh moved to Taj Coromandel as a management trainee in hotel operations and kitchen management and later on became a Sous Chef.
After studying catering at Asan Memorial, following it up with a graduate degree from Cornell University through Nanyang University, Singapore, he completed his majors in general management.

After that he started working at Leela Palace in 2001 as Executive Sous Chef and by 2004 became corporate chef. In 2007, he officially became an entrepreneur. He belongs to the Udupi-Mangalore belt and is a strict vegetarian. He cashed in on his food habits and started running his own chain of dining outlets- South Indies, a brand of fine dining restaurants and Up South, a Quick Service Restaurant and Bon South a fine dining non-vegetarian restaurant. The success of these three brands can be gauged by the fact that these can be seen at 14 outlets across Bangalore, Pune, Udaipur and Ahmedabad and plan to open one in Chennai too.

Around this time, he came under the radar of the owners of Accord Hotels and Resorts. The hotel was constantly evolving, but not really in the five-star league. He signed up with Accord Metropolitan with the added responsibility of Accord Puducherry, another five-star hotel, and Accord Highland Hotel, Ooty. Venkatesh comfortably wears two hats during his 13-hour-six-day week. During the day he is the ultra-professional CEO, driving his team of dedicated staff with encouraging words and firm instructions. Despite being a vegetarian, Venkatesh is an expert at non-vegetarian cooking.
Venkatesh Bhat promises he will continue to don the hat of a chef and entrepreneur for his fans. What a delight it will be to watch him toss up his unbeatable Kariveppilai Yera again!

Published: N/A

Updated: September 24, 2017