Welcome to Dockmaster's House
Chef - Navin Bhatia
Navin gave in to his childhood passion for food and launched himself into the culinary world when he gave up a career in medicine to enrol into The Institute of Hotel Management in Mumbai. After 3 years of intensive training in Indian and Continental cuisine, he was selected by the renowned Oberoi Hotel as Kitchen Trainee. During his time here he was awarded the Gold Medal for the class of 1987. It was no surprise that he returned to the Oberoi School as a trainer, during which time he trained many of London’s current high profile Michelin starred chefs.
In 1993 Navin became Chef at Dehli’s premier Indian restaurant ‘Kandhar’ in the Oberoi Hotel, thereafter moving on to become Head Chef of the Indian Section. During this time, Navin conducted Indian Food Festivals in Mauritius, Kuala Lampur and Zurich, as well as training programmes and organisational restructuring studies for The Oberoi Group of Hotels. A major career boost in 1998 saw Navin become Executive Chef to The Oberoi Maidens Hotel in Dehli, and later in the same year he made his way to London after being head hunted by a well known restaurant group, Cafe Lazeez.
Over the years, Navin has set new foundations for Indian cuisine and is regarded as one of the leading new wave Indian chefs in the UK with a natural flair for exciting, innovative cuisine that caters to the more health conscious diner. For Dockmasters House Restaurant, Navin is planning a menu featuring ancient, traditional Indian recipes using modern British ingredients to create a lighter, more contemporary menu. His vision is to bring back to Indian cuisine what has been lost over the years... distinctive flavours, aromas and style!
History
Built 200 years ago by The West India Company, Dockmaster’s House inhabits the building which was once the Excise House for the London Docklands. In 1846, Joseph Montague a former dock company constable converted the building into the Jamaica Tavern, a hotel occupied mostly by merchants. The Jamaica Hotel's license was not renewed in 1925 due to its bad reputation during a period when police were making a concerted effort to eradicate the local opium trade. In 1926 the building was adapted to provide offices for the Dock Superintendent and his staff. The building remained a dock office until 1980. It then came to be misleadingly called 'Dockmaster's House'.
Architect John Allsopp and interior designers DesignLSM enhance and restore the beauty and splendour of the original building but also include modern elements into the space to contemporise the environment. Stone and marble floors have been laid throughout the building, in the restaurant rich colours, elegant seating and warm lighting creates a comfortable stylish space. In the bar exposed brickwork, dark leather banquette seating and a granite bar top gives the basement its hip feel.
