Birth of a Dish

As a professional chef, I don many hats during the daily course of my work. The speed at which I have to switch from being a grievance counselor to a grocery shopper or a guest relations personnel to accountant is akin to that of a chameleon. As creepy as that sounds, its true.

However, the role that most distinguishes me as a chef is that of a creator. To me, the true measure of a chef is his level of creativity. A chef who doesn't conceive new dishes is arguably not a chef in the truest sense of the word. It wasn't until I was assigned to my current role at the restaurant two years ago that I got the opportunity to do this. So I consider myself a tadpole in this regard.

It is however far fetched to think that even the best chefs develop completely new recipes. Most dishes are merely combinations of ingredients to which different techniques are applied--a plethora of permutations that are delicious and appeal to diners.

The Power of Taste

Nearly every cook’s primary intent is to satiate others thereby satisfying his own desire to make them happy. In the process however, he must sacrifice the hunger to consume his own creation.

This is perhaps the biggest irony of cooking. That the cook seldom has the appetite to eat what he has just prepared. The more difficult, prolonged or meticulous the cooking, the lesser is the appetite. This is the cook’s curse of selfless selfishness.

Nevertheless, professional chefs need to believe in the power of tasting during the cooking process as often as is needed or is possible. Something as simple as a plate of pasta can taste completely different even when made by the same cook during the same night. The difference between a good dish and a great one could be just a pinch of salt. So it's important to taste, taste, and yes you guessed it, taste again.

Brave New Foods : Excerpts from my Culinary Workshop at Kala Ghoda Fest 2013

"How many of you are guilty of ordering the same dishes over and over again at the favorite restaurants that you frequent?"

This was the opening line at the culinary workshop I conducted as part of the Kala Ghoda Fest on 8th February this year. Out of a crowd of about 100 people, only a handful refrained from raising their hands as if to validate their status in society as true foodies. I wasn’t surprised. As a chef who stands behind the kitchen doors of a fine dining Mediterranean restaurant night in and night out, I am well aware that even with the sophisticated clientele that we get, an appetite for something new is a rarity.

Pan Seared Foie Gras with Homemade Brioche and Spiced Strawberry Compote 

So when the Kala Ghoda Fest organizers informed me that the central theme for this year is 'Appetite for Change', I decided immediately to use it as a platform to make my plea to the public at large—and with this blog post, to you as well.

Brave new foods.

Yes, that’s my plea. Brave in this context is a verb and not an adjective. By which I mean that I am not referring to the food being adventurous but making an appeal for customers to be willing to try something different.

The mantra I suggest for this exercise is--“I will always try something at least twice.”

All You Have to Lose is Your Waistline

If I had a rupee for every time I ordered hot chocolate at a café or restaurant and was served an awful cup of cocoa that was milky, flavorless and made with Cadbury's cocoa powder, I would probably have enough money to buy out Lindt or Valrhona by now.

Over the years, I have never understood why nobody makes good hot chocolate in India. One of my theories used to be that all hot chocolate serving establishments mirror the ideology that what people find most comforting is what we grew up with. I still distinctly remember the taste of steaming hot 'drinking chocolate' (courtesy Cadbury's) that's comforted me on many a rainy monsoon afternoon. And I'm thankful for that.

Take a Crack at it

Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper is the age-old mantra for a healthy diet. As a chef, this is as far away from being a possibility for me as is a social life that is worthy of mention.
 
My waking hours are 12 noon to 4 am.

When I'm just out of bed with my stomach rumbling to break its ten-hour ordeal of a fast, I can seldom find a restaurant or cafe that still serves breakfast. Mumbai, to my dismay, still doesn't have a decent diner-style establishment that serves breakfast 24X7.  So I skip eating altogether. It's an unhealthy habit but I'd rather not eat anything than be forcefully subjected to eating a random mid-day sandwich or a heavy thali as my first bite.
 

Nevertheless, I love breakfast.

As Easy As Gambas Pil Pil

The common notion is that preparing a good plate of food usually demands several intricate steps, a glut of ingredients and flawless execution from the cook. This coupled with the fear of failure are probably the biggest reasons why a lot of people do not try learning to cook in the first place. It is however far from the truth.

Cooking as a craft, hobby, or means of feeding oneself only relies on the individual understanding its basics and applying a certain level of judgment and practicality. I guess what I’m trying to say is that more often than not, cooking is downright simple if you just ‘get’ it. 

The Customer Ain't Always Right

As I walk back into the kitchen after a catastrophic argument with a guest, I wonder once again if chefs are paid enough for the shit they have to deal with on a daily basis. Has 'handling idiotic requests and dealing with crazies' always been a part of our collective job descriptions?

The crazies in question this time were a trio of 40-something year old men standing at the bar. They had ordered the Pork Souvlaki but after a few bites were convinced that it was chicken. They brought up their issue with the bartender who was stumped trying to explain that it was in fact pork and not poultry.

A Chef's Modest Proposal

The existing system of table manners has remained largely unchanged ever since the beginning of the Early Modern Era when Caterina de Medici brought the fork over to Paris in 1533. 

Having studied the subject of fine dining for almost three decades, this seemed to me to be a rather dreary thought.

So I spent the past twelve years over-analyzing the views of other authorities on the subject and carefully weighing in on the pros and cons of an alternate modus operandi. The result of all that hard work has been spectacular as you will soon come to see.