The pitmaster!

interview

With changing lifestyle cooking is no more a woman’s domain. Well, we all know some of the best chefs in the world are men but now a great deal of regular men are also involved in cooking. For them cooking is their passion and a way of expressing their love for food. One of them is Mubashir Alam Khan who is an ardent cook. Though Mubashir is a banker by profession, his interest in culinary art led him to start his small venture ‘Black Tie Smokehouse’ in Karachi some two years ago. In a candid interview with You! magazine Mubashir talks about his venture and his fascination with barbecue cooking …

You! When did you first get involved in cooking?

Mubashir Alam Khan: I have always loved cooking, and remember stealing frozen items as a kid from my grandma’s freezer and setting the stove on fire and cooking it all myself. It amazes me to think that a 9-year-old boy could’ve done that. I have spent ample time since childhood experimenting with different flavours, my own concoctions, often successful and often thrown out by my mother. When I lived in Canada attending university, I missed home and started cooking properly or at least trying to replicate all the dishes I loved back in Pakistan. It picked up from there.

You! Who taught you cooking?

MAK: I have not had any professional training or courses. The internet is your biggest institute in itself for self-learning if you know how to research and filter out the right information. I learnt cooking from late night sessions from when my uncle would come home late at night hungry and wanting to cook. He used simple recipes that always stood out from the excessive masala-driven world we live in today. You would be surprised how few ingredients can actually bring out all the right flavours where you can actually taste the item itself may it be meat or a vegetable.

You! What inspired you to come up with your own venture?

MAK: I have been working as a pitmaster (a person who oversees the cooking done in a barbecue pit) for over two and a half years now. What I do is more of managing a smoker & live fire. (metal contraption comprising of a metal cook chamber like a round oil drum attached to another smaller drum where only wood burns).

Black Tie Smokehouse started as a passion project trying to re-create what Franklin Barbecue did in Texas. The idea started with a small scene in a movie called, ‘Chef’ where the cook visits Franklin Barbecue, a very famous barbecue joint in Texas who resurrected the brisket meat in Texas again. I was inspired and had never seen food being cooked using smoke. This led me to explore miniseries on YouTube called, ‘BBQ with Franklin’. I watched the series at least a good 50 times at least, dreaming of what it would be like to have a joint on my own. Ever since it became an obsession to smoke a perfect brisket. My uncle built me a smoker in his factory and I started experimenting right away. I must have gone through countless days, hours, thousands of rupees to perfect the brisket, ribs and chicken. However, those immeasurable hours of taking myself through that process helped me understand difference in good meat versus bad meat, good smoke versus acrid smoke, troubleshooting at different stages of the cooking process, wet wood versus dry wood and the list continues, it may seem simple but it’s not that simple at all, far from it. From there with the help of my family, I jumped into taking orders and I remember the first day my orders went out.

You! What kind of food you offer at Black Tie Smokehouse?

MAK: We offer smoked meats, brisket, ribs and chicken. We recently introduced sausages and seafood platters. We are working on getting some lamb meat out there as well. We operate once a week; orders have to be placed in advance to ensure we get time to fully prep and make it an exciting experience for our customers. Orders are placed via WhatsApp or via our Facebook page (by the same name).

You! How would you define your style of cooking?

MAK: Low and slow barbecue.

You! What is your feature flavour these days?

MAK: Our honey pepper rub on the ribs is our feature flavour these days.

You! Your greatest culinary influence?

MAK: Mr Franklin.

You! What do you like most about your job?

MAK: It’s very exciting, quite laborious but the smell of wood is just oxygen to my mind and fuel to my influence. Knowing how the meats will eventually turn out really I love the part where I have to stoke the fires, check the meats, feeling a sense of accomplishment over the years knowing what I can do turns out to be.

You! An ingredient you can't live without?

MAK: Salt & pepper.

You! Who is your favourite chef?

MAK: Mr Lewis from Lewis BBQ, he is also someone who has imparted a wealth of knowledge through his articles and video.

You! What is your favourite Pakistani food?

MAK: Daal masoor with onions and homemade roti.

You! Are you guys expensive?

MAK: I would not say we are expensive but yes we are slightly on the edge of steep; for the sole reason that some of our ingredients are procured internationally due to similar quality being unavailable in Pakistan.

You! What are your hobbies, spare time interests?

MAK: I love all forms of physical activities, so on my days off from work and cooking, walking and cycling. I also read books to unwind.

You! What do you think are the main ingredients to become a good chef?

MAK: The key ingredient is learning to take criticism. And also your passion to keep evolving each time you cook.

You! What sort of people have you cooked for during your career?

MAK: I have cooked for anyone and everyone. However, when people, who own restaurants, order from me and give me good feedback that is definitely very satisfying.

You! How do you keep balance between family life and work?

MAK: Well to be honest, I have been very lucky in that department. Not only does my family help out during my events, caterings, weekly cooks but they have been great support in me pursuing my passion.

You! Do you face competition in the local market?

MAK: Competition is definitely healthy, but I enjoy a niche so to speak because of the flavours/textures I bring to the table.

You! What is your food philosophy?

MAK: Food should taste good and make you roll your eyes back with each bite.

You! What’s next in your agenda?

MAK: We are working on a couple of new items to add to the dish, we have been belting out pretty much the same menu since the last two years, but want to evolve from where we are now.