Chef Avinash’s journey is as layered as the dishes he oversees in LifeGrain’s Cold Kitchen.
Born in Nepal, his love for cooking ignited in childhood as he helped prepare meals for his family – a necessity turned passion. At 19, he moved to Australia to carve a future in hospitality, a path that led to opening his own café/restaurant with a friend. While the venture eventually closed, Avinash walked away with invaluable lessons about feasibility, overheads, and the art of making business decisions.
Joining LifeGrain as the head chef at Sutherland in 2021, Avinash built more than just menus – he fostered a culture.
With team retention rates consistently exceeding 85%, he’s proud of creating an environment where people thrive, grow, and upskill.
Now leading the central kitchen cold kitchen, he aspires to replicate this synergy across operations, championing collaboration not just between locations but also among our brands’ different teams.
Avinash sees food as a way to nurture not just customers, but people.
“Good food is essential, but developing good people is how you grow a business,” he says.
Outside the kitchen, he’s a devoted family man, cooking daily to bring loved ones together. When he isn’t out honing his bowling skills, he also channels his storytelling passion through journalism, connecting his Nepalese community with meaningful conversations.
For Avinash, leadership and life boil down to the same principle: keep people top of mind, and the results will follow.