Solanki Roy is an alumnus of Eleven Madison Park restaurant and currently works at The Mark Restaurant by Jean George in New York City. “I have a very rich experience of seventeen years, working across different countries in the world. Cooking in one of the best restaurants in the world has helped me build a very versatile culinary repertoire.”

Solanki started her culinary journey in India, where she was born and raised. Calcutta is Solanki’s hometown, but she moved to IHM Trivandrum, Kerala for her culinary studies. This enabled her to earn her first job as a chef with the Oberoi Group of Hotels and Resorts. She was selected as a Culinary Management Trainee with The Oberoi Group from 2010-2012. This began her journey from a kitchen assistant to executive pastry chef and culinary director for multiple brands, restaurant chains and retail concepts in India.

“Success is the moment when you know you have ceased the time, all your hard work, perseverance, and passion have come to fruition. You reach a plane of effortlessness with your expertise. This only comes through rich experience, honesty, hard work and humility. The longer it takes the sweeter it feels,” she explains.

Her first overseas break was working in Paris with Fauchon. She started all over again as an intern, starting a whole new chapter of her life working as a chocolatier with the brand, participating in Salon Du Chocolate. She also interned and worked in several places that time during her days off at places like La Vie, Astrance, Wolfgang Puck, and more. After this, she moved to Bangkok and served as Head Pastry Chef with Gaggan Bangkok. She then traveled to different parts of the world doing pop up, collaborations, and more. Gaggan Bangkok was awarded Asia’s best restaurant three times and awarded a Michelin star, rising to the world ranking of number 5. Moving on from Bangkok Solanki served as a Culinary director in India, with Gourmet Investments. 

She moved to the USA in the year 2019 ,working with the world’s best restaurant, the three Michelin star restaurant, The Eleven Madison Park. Her notable achievements during that tenure were creating a dish of inspiration from a biryani and bibimbap, which placed her second in the in-house chef’s competition, “The Cook Battle.”

“I see myself as an artist. Being a chef is another branch of artistry, a form of self expression. 

For an artist there is no restriction there lies the freedom, yes there are choices one makes as per their calling but the mediums are limitless. 

The expression of my art will be on your plate, a bite from a dessert I make, a sip from a drink I create, an imaginary escapade I give you from a picture I take of a food / food preparation, the list of innovations I make,the books I write, the entrepreneurial journey I take and more. We are living in the age of expression, so I want to keep reinventing and pushing the envelope with one step at a time.”