Behind the Pass: Real Culinary Challenges and How to Survive Them

About The Book 

Professional kitchens do not fail because of recipes. They fail because of systems, people, timing, and pressure. Behind the Pass: Real Culinary Challenges and How to Survive Them examines what truly causes service breakdowns in hotel and fine dining kitchens, long before the first ticket is printed.

Written from inside live service, this book moves past culinary theory and focuses on operational reality. Drawing on more than two decades of experience in five star hotels and high volume kitchens across India and abroad, Mahesh Mahto breaks down how weak preparation, unclear communication, poor timing, and fragile leadership systems quietly erode performance. The failures described are not dramatic moments but predictable outcomes of design flaws that surface under pressure.

Each chapter follows a disciplined structure. A real service problem is identified, its root cause is examined, common mistakes are exposed, and practical corrections are explained. The focus is not on blame or motivation, but on systems that protect consistency when conditions are imperfect. Topics include service flow, prep discipline, menu design under volume, communication at the pass, training for pressure, cost control, and leadership decision making.

This is not a recipe book and not a memoir. It is a working guide for chefs, kitchen leaders, and hospitality professionals who want calmer services, stronger teams, and food that leaves the pass as intended even on the busiest nights. The book is meant to be applied gradually, one correction at a time, the same way strong kitchens are built.

About The Author

Mahesh Mahto is a professional chef with over 20 years of experience leading five star and luxury hotel kitchens across India and internationally. He holds a Diploma in Hotel Management and is certified in Food Safety and HACCP through ALISON, the American Hotel and Lodging Association, and Radisson Academy.

Pre-opening kitchens have been a core focus of his career. He has played a key role in opening six hotels as Executive Chef, with responsibilities spanning kitchen design, operational planning, menu engineering, budgeting, cost control, staffing strategy, and implementation of HACCP and FSSAI compliant food safety systems.

As an Executive Chef, Mahesh has managed multi property operations, ensuring consistency, compliance, and profitability through structured audits, team training, and disciplined kitchen systems. His work emphasizes service flow, decision making under pressure, and leadership practices that support stable, high performing teams.

Mahesh has worked with several prominent hospitality brands, including Taj Group of Hotels, Radisson Hotel Group, Lemon Tree Hotels, Mahindra Holidays and Resorts Limited, Asia Resorts Limited, Select Hotels & Experiences Ireland, and Marco Polo Hotel Dubai. His experience spans fine dining restaurants, large scale catering, hotel banquets, and high volume operations.

Known for his calm, systems driven approach, Mahesh focuses on building kitchens that function reliably under pressure, where consistency, control, and leadership are embedded into daily operations rather than dependent on individuals.