Chef Bijay Kunwar

Chef Bijay Kunwar’s culinary story began far from luxury hotels and international kitchens. It started in the family kitchen of Nisikhola, Baglung, where he watched his mother cook with patience, care, and dedication. Those early moments shaped his first understanding of food—not simply as something to prepare, but as something that connects people, carries emotion, and brings families together. Helping in the kitchen gradually became curiosity, and curiosity eventually turned into a serious passion for the culinary arts. What began as an ordinary childhood experience would later guide him toward a professional journey across countries, cuisines, and some of the most demanding kitchen environments in the hospitality industry.

Growing up in a close-knit middle-class family, Chef Bijay experienced both warmth and hardship. His early years were marked by movement, adjustment, and uncertainty, especially during the period of Nepal’s Maoist conflict, when his family had to relocate for safety and education. He studied in different parts of Nepal and also spent part of his childhood in Nagpur, Maharashtra, India. These experiences helped him become adaptable and resilient from a young age. Later, he completed his +2 in Hotel Management and pursued a Diploma in Culinary Arts in Kathmandu, giving professional direction to his growing passion. The classroom gave him technical foundations, but it was the kitchen floor that truly shaped him as a chef.

His international career began at Dusit Thani Abu Dhabi, where he entered the world of luxury hospitality and gained experience in buffet service, live cooking stations, continental cuisine, butchery, and garde manger. The discipline and standards of an international hotel environment strengthened his professionalism and helped him understand the importance of consistency, teamwork, and guest satisfaction. His hard work was recognised through a Certificate of Appreciation and his appointment as a Silver Star under the Dusit Kob Khun Programme. These early recognitions became important milestones, encouraging him to continue growing and take on more challenging roles.

Chef Bijay later joined Emirates Flight Catering in Dubai, where he gained experience in one of the world’s largest airline catering operations. This exposed him to large-scale production, strict quality control, food safety systems, recipe accuracy, and international standards. Seeking further challenges, he moved to Saudi Arabia and joined Cool Inc. Hospitality, working in fine-dining operations that helped him refine his skills in food presentation, cold kitchen, guest satisfaction, and premium food production. Today, he is based in Riyadh and works as a Demi Chef de Partie at Six Flags Qiddiya City, contributing to central kitchen operations and supporting high-volume production with a strong focus on quality, hygiene, organization, and teamwork.

Over the years, Chef Bijay has developed expertise in cold kitchen operations, with solid hands-on experience in pastry and bakery, along with exposure to Continental, Indian, Nepali, Asian, Arabic, and fine-dining cuisine. His experience across luxury hotels, airline catering, fine-dining restaurants, and central kitchens has also strengthened his understanding of production planning, kitchen management, food safety, stock control, team coordination, and service efficiency. For him, professional growth has never been limited to mastering recipes. It has also meant learning how to stay calm under pressure, work with people from different cultures, maintain standards during busy service, and keep improving every day.

His journey, however, has also involved personal sacrifice. Working abroad has meant spending long periods away from his family, missing important festivals such as Dashain and Tihar, and sometimes facing sickness and difficult moments without loved ones nearby. As a husband and proud father of two, he understands the emotional cost behind an international career. Yet those sacrifices have only strengthened his determination. One of the things he values most is the opportunity to work with people from different countries, discover diverse food traditions, taste authentic cuisines, and continuously broaden his understanding of the culinary world.

For Chef Bijay, the philosophy behind his work remains simple: cook with passion, respect every ingredient, and never stop learning. He believes food is more than nourishment—it creates memories, represents culture, and brings people together. From the family kitchen of Baglung to luxury hospitality in Abu Dhabi, airline catering in Dubai, fine dining in Saudi Arabia, and now Six Flags Qiddiya City, Chef Bijay Kunwar’s story is one of resilience, steady growth, and genuine love for the culinary profession.