Sugam Gera, the chef who cooks to make people happy 

For Sugam Gera, known to friends and colleagues as Sugi, cooking did not begin with a culinary school, a professional kitchen, or a carefully planned career.

It began on weekends, when he cooked for friends and family while he was still at university. Preparing food for people he cared about brought him a sense of joy, peace and happiness, and what began as something he simply enjoyed gradually became something he wanted to pursue seriously.

In 2019, Sugi made a decision that would change the direction of his working life. He left his full-time job at Amazon and chose to pursue cooking professionally in Australia.

Today, the 32-year-old chef from India is based in Melbourne and has worked in hotels, restaurants and cafés for more than seven years. His experience has taken him through different kitchens and hospitality businesses, giving him opportunities not only to cook but also to train new chefs, create recipes and lead a team.

Yet despite the professional responsibilities that have come with those years, Sugi’s description of himself remains refreshingly uncomplicated.

“I’m naturally curious and enjoy experimenting with food, coffee, and different flavours,” he says. “At the end of the day, I’m just a cook who genuinely enjoys making people happy through food. It’s my love language!”

That idea of food as a form of connection runs through much of how Sugi approaches his work. For him, cooking is not simply about putting together ingredients or producing an attractive plate. It is about creating something that people can experience and enjoy together.

His relationship with food began long before he entered a professional kitchen.

As a child, Sugi remembers spending time around his mother as she cooked healthy meals for the family. He jokingly describes himself as a “‘stir occasionally’ kid,” but those small moments in the kitchen left a lasting impression.

“I’ve always been fascinated how food brings people together,” he says. “I enjoyed being around her and watching her cook healthy meals for the family changed something in me. I think it was the little moments along the way which made me feel I really want to do it.”

It was during university that cooking became more personal. On weekends, he began preparing meals for friends and family, discovering that the act of cooking for other people gave him something that a job alone could not.

There was satisfaction in seeing people enjoy what he had made. There was also something calming about the process itself.

Those experiences eventually led him to reconsider his career path. In 2019, he left Amazon and began pursuing professional cooking in Australia, a decision that meant starting over in an entirely different environment.

Sugi received his education and culinary training from Academia International and continued learning through hands-on experience with different hospitality businesses in Melbourne.

His early days in the industry were not glamorous. He started by washing dishes in a hotel and gradually worked his way through different kitchens.

Looking back, he considers learning the basics and finding his footing in professional kitchens one of the biggest milestones of his career. The work taught him about food, but it also taught him about people, teamwork and the demands of hospitality.

As his experience grew, so did his responsibilities. He moved into roles that involved working in different kitchens, training new chefs, creating recipes and eventually leading a team.

For Sugi, those experiences are important not simply because they represent career progression, but because each kitchen taught him something different.

His culinary style today is still evolving.

“I’d say my style is quite simple, flavor focused and not over-complicating a dish,” he says. “I’m naturally drawn to simplicity however my chef instincts sometimes make me want to elevate it. I’m still learning and exploring my culinary style.”

That willingness to keep learning is central to his approach. Sugi does not seem particularly interested in making food complicated simply to make it look sophisticated.

Instead, he often starts with something familiar.

“I’m quite instinctive when I cook and often start with something I know works well and then challenge myself to how can I take it to another level which reflects me in the dish,” he says.

The goal is not to overwhelm the ingredients but to find a way of expressing himself through them.

“I believe it’s all about the love, care and intention you put in to what you’re creating.”

For Sugi, that philosophy is particularly evident when he works with fresh, local and seasonal produce. Over the years, he has become increasingly conscious of where ingredients come from and has come to appreciate the value of allowing good produce to speak for itself.

The dish that best represents him, he says, would be one in which fresh, local and seasonal ingredients are the star. It should be simple, delicious and beautifully plated, without unnecessary complications.

That balance between simplicity and refinement is something he continues to explore.

When creating a new dish, Sugi is inspired by fresh, quality produce and the possibility of making food that is nourishing, delicious and pleasing to the eye. He enjoys taking simple ingredients and bringing out their best through thoughtful cooking and presentation.

Presentation matters to him because, as he puts it, “we eat with our eyes first.”

Color, texture and aesthetics can make a dish inviting before anyone takes the first bite. But Sugi is equally clear that presentation has its limits.

A beautiful plate cannot rescue an unbalanced dish.

For him, flavor remains essential, and every element has to complement the others. The appearance should invite the diner in, but what ultimately matters is whether the food delivers when it is eaten.

That is also where one of the simplest rewards of being a chef comes in.

Sugi says one of the most satisfying things about his work is seeing customers take photographs of the food he has made and then watching them enjoy it. Their reactions provide an immediate reminder of why he chose cooking in the first place.

But behind those moments of satisfaction is an industry that can be physically demanding and mentally exhausting.

For Sugi, multitasking is one of the most challenging aspects of being a chef. Long hours, physical demands and the pressure of working in a professional kitchen can make each shift a test of concentration and endurance.

“There is a saying in hospitality, ‘You are as good as your last shift,’ so you’re expected to be at your 100% every single time,” he says.

The pressure has taught him lessons that extend well beyond the kitchen. He has learned the importance of staying organized, managing time, communicating clearly and remaining calm when things become demanding.

He has also learned that technical ability is only one part of becoming a good chef.

“I’ve learned that being a good chef is not just about cooking well, but also about keeping calm under pressure and having a positive attitude.”

That understanding shapes the advice he gives to aspiring chefs and young people considering a career in culinary arts.

His first piece of advice is straightforward.

“Leave your ego home, stay curious and never stop learning.”

For Sugi, humility is not separate from ambition. A chef has to remain willing to learn, whether the lesson comes from an ingredient, a colleague, a customer or a difficult shift.

He also emphasizes respect. Respect the team. Respect the ingredients. And enjoy the work.

“If you have passion for food and put love and care into your work, it will show on the plate,” he says.

It is a philosophy that connects his professional experience with the reason he started cooking in the first place.

For Sugi, being a chef and a culinary artist ultimately comes down to making people happy through food. He sees cooking as a medium through which he can connect with people and give them experiences and memories they can enjoy.

“Food brings all of us together!”

It is perhaps fitting, then, that his ambition for the future is not centered on creating the biggest restaurant or building an elaborate culinary empire.

Sugi dreams of opening his own little café.

He wants it to be a place where food, coffee and creativity come together, but also somewhere he can connect directly with the people who walk through the door.

He imagines a café that is warm and comforting, a place that feels like home.

More than anything, he wants customers to leave with a smile and a feeling that makes them want to return.

That dream brings his story back to the simple pleasure that first drew him toward cooking. Before the professional kitchens, the training, the long shifts and the responsibilities of leading a team, there was a young man cooking for the people around him on weekends and discovering how good it felt to make them happy.

Years later, the setting has changed, but that instinct remains.

Sugi is still curious about food. He is still experimenting with flavors, still developing his culinary style and still learning what kind of chef he wants to become.

For now, he continues to cook with the same basic idea that has followed him from his mother’s kitchen to Melbourne’s professional kitchens. Make good food, take care with it, and give people something worth remembering.

And perhaps, one day, when the doors of his own little café finally open, that same philosophy will be waiting on every plate and in every cup