A PRIVATE DINNER AT VEDA WITH TOP FEMALE MICHELIN STAR CHEFS FROM ACROSS THE WORLD!!!

Akanksha Dean  bonding with Michelin star Chef Anita Mu Jiuan lo over dinner.

‘Rohit Bal requests the pleasure of your company to a private dinner at Veda, Connaught Place, with some of the top women Michelin Star Chefs from around the world on the 8th of September 2015, 8.30 pm’

So if a foodie family gets an invitation like this, what do you do? You confirm immediately and that’s exactly what I did too!!

THE BACKGROUND

Celebrity Michelin starred female chefs are in India this September to partake in a new initiative '40 Girls to 40 Chefs' that goal to support and provide prospects to underprivileged young women into a livelihood in the food industry. This is part of Creative Services Support Group's (CSSG) second edge of 2015 fixated on women empowerment - the Hospitality Training Project (HTP) - to provide them the chance for a significant vocation in the Hospitality sector. As part of this program, the young women have been enrolled in a set of culinary courses at a school in Delhi and will be subsequently employed in the industry through their partners. And what better way than to have eight of the finest women Michelin starred chefs from across the globe to come together and not just curate the most gorgeous and interesting food but, take on the responsibility to personally supervise, narrate and communicate applied training to the young girls as they board upon a new expedition in their lives. CSSG has also received support from the renowned Rohit Bal and Emmanuel Balayer who are designing the high profile charity dinners ( the likes of which have never been seen before – a first even on a global scale ) which will be hosted at the Four Seasons in Mumbai and The Leela Palace in Delhi. The renowned Opera Group – Divine – who performed at the Nobel Prize Banquet in Stockholm along with Damien Whitely, have entire heartedly reinforced the initiative and will be performing at the Dinner together with a Jazz performance. All in all, a great cause to educate the girls into becoming the handpicked of chefs at par with some of the best in the world. 

Perfect host Rohit Bal with Akanksha Dean

THE DINNER AT VEDA

The talented Rohit Bal had worked his magic again to make Veda look special for the evening replete with ornate Indian flowers and planned soft lighting….and why not it isn’t every day that you get to host Eight Female Michelin Chefs all under one roof! - Ana Ros from Slovenia, Angela Hartnett, Frances Atkins & Lisa Allen from the UK, Anita Mu-Jiuan Lo and Carrie Helen Nahabedian from the USA, Lauren Eldridge from Australia and Sonja Fruhsammer from Germany…Kudos to Anand & Aditi Kapoor of CSSG.

The chefs loved the Indian Food at Veda

Anand and Aditi Kapoor

It was a fun evening over conversation, good classical India food and wine, bonding with the Michelin Star chefs, Rohit Bal, Alok Aggarwal and his lovely wife played the perfect host. Also at the event were Ms Priya Paul and Sethu Vaidyanathan, 

Magandeep Singh 

Magandeep Singh, Eminent food writer Reshmi Ray Dasgupta, Chef Bakshish Dean and the lovely daughter….culinary arts student Akanksha Dean, Kunal Addvant to name a few. The Opera Group ‪#‎Divine who performed at the ‪#‎NobelPeaceBanquet and Damien Whitely broke into an impromptu performance to thank‪ #RohitBal and his team for a fabulous evening at #Veda…absolutely Divine performance and a divine ending to the gorgeous evening!

Opera Singer from the Divine group and Chef Bakshish Dean

Anand bonding with the Michelin star chefs 

Alok Aggarwal and his lovely wife...perfect hosts!

I am looking forward to the Formal sit down Charity dinner on the 11^th at The Leela Palace Hotel…an 8-course meal will be specially prepared by Angela Hartnett from United Kingdom, Carrie Helen Nahabedian from United States and Sonja Fruhsammer from Germany

FOOD UNITES US ALL... TOP CHEF AWARDS CELEBRATE THAT!!

I strongly believe that chefs and the Hospitality industry are some of the most zealous and compassionate people in the world, so they must be celebrated, it is great to celebrate the chefs that serve so many. Top Chef Awards was created to honour extraordinary culinary talent. The three musketeers aka Sourish Bhattacharya, Rocky Mohan and Atul Sikand yoke the communal power of the ‘Chef’ community to recognize local brilliance and celebrate with an incredible gala. This event exemplifies the spirit of food and the chef community in a way that has never been done.

The Jury L-R, Atul Sikand, Sid Mathur, Manjit Gill, Yangdup Lama, Manish Mehrotra, Manisha Bhasin, Ritu Dalmia, Ravitej Nath, Osama Jalali, Girish Krishnan, Neeraj Tyagi, Rajesh Namby, Sourish Bhattacharyya and Roc ky Mohan

Winners of 18 people’s choice awards and six jury awards ( eminent jury included the likes of Chef Manjit Gill, Chef Ravitej Nath, Chef Manish Mehrotra, Chef Manisha Bhasin to name a few)honoured by industry leaders at this glittering ceremony hosted The Top Chef Awards Season 2 at the Le Meridien Gurgaon, Delhi-NCR

Chef Saurabh Udinia receiving the award from Chef Bakshish Dean 

‘A lot of tough work goes into being a chef, and it’s so nice to get acknowledgment for it – it’s quite overwhelming in fact. It’s also fantastic to get encouraging feedback for something one has always done and believed in, and I’m just ecstatic to win this award’, shares Chef Saurabh Udinia of Farzi Café as he bags the Top Chef Season 2 award for Excellence in Modern Indian Cuisine.

Chef Vikramjit Ray of Tian (ITC) not only won the Top Chef Season 2 award for the Best Asian cuisine in a 5 star hotel category but also bagged the ‘Jiggs Kalra Award for the Young Chef of the Year’. Well, this was no surprise and a well-deserved award at that; At Tian, Vikramjit Roy’s dishes are perceived with acumen and intuition, refinement and artistic spirit, one gets to bouquet the vital delights of a fine unification of Asian culinary elements; both advanced as well as embedded in tradition.

Just last month I had gone to review the new menu at Megu (The Leela Palace) and had a chance to interact with Atul Tiwari, Restaurant Manager and I was thoroughly impressed by his passion and knowledge, in fact we even had an interesting session on identifying various smells of wines. It was nice to see him get the award for the Restaurant Manager of The Year. And I must add the Maître d’ of the Year which went to Jitender Kapoor (West View, ITC Maurya) is the first of its kind in any major food awards. Rahul Dua (Culinary Arts pass out of IHM Aurangabad) & my friend Kainaz Contractor won the Best in Regional cuisine for Rustom’s Parsi Bhonu which also happens to be one of my favourite restaurants.

Delhi Gourmet Club Founder Members’ Award for Culinary Excellence - Vikram Khatri of Guppy by Ai

The Delhi Gourmet Club Founder Members’ Award for Culinary Excellence which went to Chef Vikram Khatri (Guppy by Ai) was another well-deserved award. 

Chef Pablo Morales

The best Pastry / Bakery Chef for me has always been Chef Pablo of The Leela Ambience Gurgaon so I was a wee bit disappointed when he didn’t get the award, but then sometimes you don’t really need awards to prove that you are the best.

THE FOOD SPREAD

In the interest of fairness, Le Meridien Gurgaon, Delhi-NCR, opted out of the awards process, but definitely Chef Tanveer Kwatra and his team of chefs were the top chefs of the evening with their outstanding food spread. Commenting on Le Meridien Gurgaon’s association with the much-anticipated event, the hotel’s General Manager, David Hopcroft, said, ‘We are delighted to once again partner with the Delhi Gourmet Club’s Top Chef Awards Delhi-NCR 2015 Season 2, which is arguably Delhi-NCR’s finest platform to recognise talent in the culinary world. Some of the finest minds have come together for the event and we have put together a food experience befitting for our honourable guests.’

Chef Manjit Gill and Michel Koopman, GM, Leela Gurgaon awarded Chef Arvind Saraswat, The Leela Ambience Gurgaon Lifetime Achievement Award

TOP HONOURS

Chef Arvind Saraswat, formerly of the Taj Group, honoured with The Leela Ambience Gurgaon Lifetime Achievement Award at Delhi Gourmet Club’s Top Chef Awards Delhi-NCR 2015

With the Culinary Maestro Chef Arvind Saraswat

Riyaaz Amlani, Founder-CEO and Managing Director, gets the jury award for Restaurateur of the Year for his benchmark-setting café concept, Social

THE SPONSORS

The Top Chef Awards Delhi-NCR 2015 Season 2 was co-presented by the Delhi Gourmet Club, a Facebook group of 7,500-plus discerning food connoisseurs living in Delhi-NCR, and Le Meridien Gurgaon, Delhi-NCR, in association with Lite Bite Foods, Massive Restaurants, The Leela Ambience Gurgaon and Nestle Professional, and beverage support from Pernod Ricard, Sula Vineyards and Kingfisher.

THE PROCESS

Winners in 18 categories voted for by the more than 3,000 members of the Delhi Gourmet Club, Sikandalous Cuisine and Indian Restaurant Spy Facebook communities who participated in the election, and the eminent recipients of the six jury awards, were honoured by their industry peers. The jury had shortlisted three to five nominees for each of the 18 award categories open for voting. In the interest of fairness, Le Meridien Gurgaon, Delhi-NCR, opted out of the awards process.

With the RockStar Chefs  - Culinary arts student IHM Aurangabad Akanksha Dean, Myself :), Chef Manish Mehrotra & Chef Vikramjit Roy

TOP CHEF SEASON 2 AWARD WINNERS

(1) Excellence in North Indian Cuisine (Five Star):  Ghulam Qureshi, Dum Pukht, ITC Maurya

(2) Excellence in North Indian Cuisine (Standalone): Chiquita Gulati, Gulati’s Spice Market

(3) Nestle Professional Top Chef Season 2 Award for Excellence in South Indian Cuisine: Pavan Jambagi, Carnatic Café

(4) Best Regional Cuisine: Kainaz Contractor & Rahul Dua, Rustom’s Parsi Bhonu

(5) Excellence in Modern Indian Cuisine: Saurabh Udinia, Farzi Café

Chef  Manish Sharma

(6) Lite Bite Foods Top Chef Season 2 Award for Best International Café Cuisine (Five Star): Manish Sharma, THREESIXTYONEo, The Oberoi Gurgaon

(7) Lite Bite Foods Top Chef Season 2 Award for International Café Cuisine (Standalone): Shamsul Wahid, Social, Hauz Khas Village

(8)Excellence in Italian/Modern European Cuisine (Five Star): Diego Martinelli, Le Cirque, The Leela Palace New Delhi

(9)Excellence in Italian/Modern European Cuisine (Standalone): Romina Lugaresi, Artusi (Award will be collected by Oscar Balcon)

(10) Best Chinese Cuisine: Zhang Hongshen, China Kitchen, Hyatt Regency New Delhi

(11) Best Asian Cuisine (Five Star): Vikramjit Roy, Tian, ITC Maurya

(12) Best Asian Cuisine (Standalone): Janti Dugal, Mamagoto

(13) Best Japanese Cuisine: Corey E. Asato, Akira Back, JW Marriott, New Delhi Aerocity

(14) Pastry/Bakery Chef of the Year: Sahil Mehta, The Artful Baker

(15) Mixologist of the Year (Five Star): Joel Scholtens, Blue Bar, Taj Palace

(16) Mixologist of the Year (Standalone): Vijay Prakash, Social

(17) Restaurant Manager of the Year (Five Star): Atul Tiwari, Megu, The Leela Palace

(18) Restaurant Manager of the Year (Standalone): Palki Singh, Indian Accent

Party Fun.!!! Akanksha Dean,Richa sharma, Chef Sujan Sarkar, Me, Anahita Dhody, Chef Bakshish Dean & Ankur Chawla

Chef Saby, Akanksha Dean, Dildeep Kalra, Kavneet Sahni

IHM Aurangabad rocks! Chef Anahita Dhondy & Akanksha Dean

LEAPING CARAVAN- A THROWBACK TO THE GRAND TRUNK ROAD

So Leaping Caravan contacted me to try out their food. Really? Free food? Bring it on! The hook was they wanted me to fairly blog about it. I am fine about being honest. And I thought too bad for them, because this sounded like another one of those home delivery options. Why not? It sounded too extravagant. Well it was fancy, and to my surprise and absolutely amazing value. What was it? 

Well if you crave hearty comfort food, like the ones served authentic; made exactly the way the families used to make it decades ago, meant to give customers a throwback to the Grand Trunk Road. Leaping caravan has you covered with items like Railway Chicken curry and Sukha Mutton. The food is prepared and delivered hot to your home; all you need to do is just have to serve. Megha Tuli’s (Founder & Co-Owner of Leaping Caravan) mission is to make eating healthy everyday ridiculously simple, producing hand me down ancestral recipes, made with love in their kitchen for homes with the freshest ingredients and prepared with chemical free vegetables. The menu is inspired by the concept of redefining the ‘Indian Dhaba’ around the corner with their focus on home delivery.

The best part is that you can order this food and pretend it’s made at home and that’s what I did (I can be a bit naughty at times). Barring my mother, no one on the table knew what was served for dinner was not made at home and all were absolutely impressed by the dinner menu. The star for me was the ‘Sukha Mutton’, the husband took a bite and said, ‘This has been made really well, the dry gravy is just like how Dad used to make’.  The paneer Bhurji was another hot favourite on the table.

The ‘Ghee Shakkar Roti’ and the ‘Cheeni Parantha’ for dessert got me applaud. Naughty I am but not dishonest, so I owned up as soon as the meal was over that it wasn’t me but the Leaping Caravan folks that made the food! And the husband smiled and said, ‘Everything seemed so home-style but the Biryani and the kheer kind of gave you away’!

So all in all I would definitely recommend Leaping Caravan for a good home delivery option as some of the family recipes will surely get you nostalgic as thankfully the recipes are not conquered by cream, butter and garam masala owing to the purity and sanctity of ingredients and is simply good food.

FAST FACTS

To place an order call – 9015141688 or log onto www.leapingcaravan.com

Timings: 12:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Outlets: Gurgaon & Saket, Delhi NCR

Leaping Caravan also has something called the Comfort Corner consisting of options that most of us have loved and have grown up on but are usually not available in most restaurants – including Rajma Chawal, Kadhi Chawal, Anda Parantha and Paneer Bhurji.

WHAT MAKES FLYING VISTARA ON THE DOMESTIC SECTOR ..MORE FUN?

When Vistara had just launched a few months ago, I had booked myself on it on the Delhi to Goa sector and I was pleasantly surprised when they upgraded me to the Premium Economy. I was busy writing throughout the flight but couldn’t help enjoying the leg room and certainly the food. It was a mid-morning flight and we were served ‘chicken Dumplings’, and to my joy they were so delicious that I couldn’t help asking for a second helping to which the ever smiling flight attendant happily obliged. It was quite an unparalleled dining experience that validated their hospitability and made a memorable mark in my mind.

Executive Chef - Taj Sats Delhi

So when I got an invitation for a Chef’s Table at Taj Sats Delhi to try out their various offerings, I simply had to go! We were welcomed with a choice of beverages like coconut water, Buttermilk and kokum sherbet, I was already impressed. Honestly which airline on the domestic sector goes to this extent to showcase the best of local produce even in their beverages?

Mr Giam Ming Toh 

Mr Giam Ming Toh (Chief Commercial Officer of Vistara (TATA SIA Airlines Limited) headed the table along with the Chef , explained very simply that ‘Illustrating upon both the opulent miscellany of India’s gastronomic legacy and  immeasurable span of epicurean treasures that flourish in global cuisines, our menu has been intricately intended to feature delectable dishes which suitably replicate modern India dining at its best – traditional yet modern, native yet global, acquainted yet different’! Vistara also claims to be the only airline that also offers Sea food on the domestic sector and more than just a regular choice of vegetarian or Non vegetarian option. Next we moved on to a beautiful display of the food offered on the various classes and trust me their menus seemed attentively planned to satisfy even the most jaded flight. 

My Cajun spiced chicken and Zucchini steak was delicious

Anyways the proof of the pudding is in the eating so I ordered a ‘Cajun spiced Chicken and Zucchini steak’ and also asked for a helping from the Indian selection.

The salad accompaniment to my main course

The starters were common for everyone which was the regular kebabs but again the flavours were different than a normal chicken Tikka or paneer Tikka. I really enjoyed my meal and thought not only it was more than average for a flight meal it was nourishing and healthy as well owing to the quality ingredients and alternative cooking methods in the preparation.‘Our menus are frequently refreshed so that frequent customers always have something new to look forward to.

Love the Breakfast options

We innovate constantly, coming up with seasonal and festive delicacies which showcase the best of local produce and enhance the celebratory mood on flights. With more generous portions, our meals satiate even the keenest of appetites’, added Giam Ming.

Needles to add services are heightened in Business Class with the crafty arrangement of freshly prepared food in fine bone china crockery and glassware and have special meals options from a wide range of options! 

The starter is exactly served the way it appears in this picture.

So if you are one of those travellers who like to enjoy a good nourishing meal even on a flight…Vistara is for you!!

 

THE BOMBAY CANTEEN@ MUMBAI

This latest entrant to Mumbai’s culinary landscape celebrates the old in a new style and is undoubtedly the fieriest dining ticket in the city right now, tables are tremendously hard to get and are much sought after. As you walk into this airy 4,000 sq. ft. of radiantly done up space, you will be enchanted by the Bombay reminiscence in this unfinished ‘bungalow’ with its stained glass, long rustic bar, printed tiles, manually lettered pricing boards at once. Once seated the Chintus aka a unique take on bar snacks, and are passed around the restaurant on large trays (of course with a price). They variate on a daily basis but if you get a chance, don’t miss the Kamal Kakdi Chips, paper-thin lotus-root fryums sprinkled with chaat masala; great to go with your tipple.

Chef Thomas Zacharias with Akanksha Dean ( daughter and dining companion)...If the chef is talented we have to get the manadate pic :)

Coming to the food, Indo American Chef Floyd Cardoz with his roots in Goa is back to Indian cuisine with a bang! Formerly helmed the kitchen at North End Grill and Tabla restaurants (New York) and together with Chef Thomas Zacharias (earlier the executive chef of Olive Bar & Kitchen, Bandra), Floyd has constructed a menu which is ‘India-inspired’ and takes a simple, seasonal and chic slant to regional Indian cooking. Innovation knows no bounds here, as one of the Chotas (starters) Arbi Tuk proves; with crispy arbi roundels as papdi, this version of sev puri is spirited and yummy. I also tried the desi tacos made with methi theplas and filled with Goan pulled pork vindaloo, Interesting, but I perhaps I may not order it again. 

Decadent and Innovative ..the methi and arugula salad

I would order many more times the novel Methi and Arugula salad, this one is a marriage made in heaven with mungphali, sesame and lime honey dressing.

A winner of the dish here is the entertainingly named Kejriwal Toast; (this certainly takes you down the memory lane, if you have tried the club version) Enthused by the Eggs Benedict, the egg (fried, not poached) in this one is crowned with a chutney made by blending green chillies with coconut oil and has just the right thrill in it. Among the Badas (the mains) the Banana Leaf Wrapped Roasted Fish cooked in an aromatic tomato and coconut masala is a stellar preparation and will leave you craving for more and yes the Uncle’s Mutton curry is another good bet. 

The Banana leaf wrapped roasted fish ....yummmm

However you could give the Corn and paneer Bhurji a miss, it’s overtly complicated for the palate with coconut and too many other ingredients. To end on a sweet note, float back on a misty cloud to babyhood treats, the Falooda Sundae that comes in a mason jar with strawberry jelly cubes, bits of caramelised pista, rose ice cream and sabza (basil seeds) is certainly the best in town. Cocktails are certainly innovative; I would recommend the Royal Ginfield with gin, amla juice, bitters and jaggery. It is open ‘Din Bhar’ and also offers ‘tiffins’ for a quick lunch. Would I go here again? Certainly, it’s a fun place to hang out at and I do need to try so many more recommended dishes and of course yet another helping of the kejriwal toast which has become one of my favourite dishes now.

The Kejriwal Toast

FAST FACTS

Ground Floor, Process House, Kamala Mills, Near Radio Mirchi Office, S.B. Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai.

RESERVATIONS: 022 49666666.

TIMINGS: Open Tuesdays through Sundays 12 Noon to 1 Am (currently closed on Mondays)

MEAL FOR TWO: Approx. 1,600 (without alcohol), 2,400 (with alcohol)

AGE LIMIT: Persons below 18 are not allowed after 7pm.

The Gulab nut ( nothing to do with rose)..this one's a mix of Gulab Jamun and Doughnut with lots of Old monk...so if you like an alcoholicy dessert...go for It!!

THE RECIPES ARE CENTURIES OLD, BUT THE DESIRE OF EATING IS TIMELESS... CHECK OUTLOST RECIPES OF THE MUGHAL ERA AT THREESIXTYONE° @THE OBEROI GURGAON

When it comes to food, the Mughals sure knew their way around. And, nothing captures the essence of ‘Lost Recipes of the Mughal Era’ quite like sampling it at The Oberoi Gurgaon at their ongoing food festival from 7th to 16th August 2015.

 

There are schools of thought in the empire of antique cooking that frown on this nonchalant attitude toward technique — and yes, the historic-recipe trend is big enough to contain schools of thought. ‘Trust me refreshing antique recipes is more than just some new age experiment in authenticity… its real social science’, shares Chef Ravitej Nath, Executive chef.

For Osama Jalali and his Begum (wife) Nazia Khan whose travel research ( read of meeting old ‘Khansamas’ ) is on the cuisine from the lost recipes of the Mughal Era; bringing the hunted recipes into their kitchen has made them more conscious of the way the world worked centuries ago.For example, the existence of certain ingredients like spices, exemplifies the degree of trade networks at the time, while the lack of others like baking soda and other modern leavening agents shows how far science still had to go. Following the research the trio ….yes including Osama’s mother Nazish Jalali has unearthed and also documented more than a hundred recipes, from the familiar ‘Patode’ (a roulade looking dish made of arbi leaves, rolled in chick pea flour and steamed) to the pleasantly peculiar ‘Pista ka queema’ (this creation of lamb mince cooked with Afghani pistachios and spices id from the Era of Bahadur Shah Zafar who was captive at the red fort).

Parinde mein Parinda

For the more daring, there’s ‘Parinde mein Parinda’ (stuffed birds), a highly skilled dish where smaller birds are stuffed into a bigger in descending order of their size cooked on dum in a Parat.  Interestingly in the days of the Mughals, it started with a camel followed by stuffing smaller animals into the belly…of course this dish was made only on occasions for the whole community. ‘We use different marinades for the different birds as each bird has its own cooking time’, explains Chef Ravitej Nath. Out here this decadent dish featured chicken, quail and egg. 

Murgh Zameen doz

Another stellar preparation that I tried is the ‘Murgh Zameen Doz’ aka chicken marinated with almonds, yoghurt and spices, wrapped in dough and cooked in an earthen pot under the earth; tasted slightly tart and divine. The ingredients for these dishes are a bit more uncertain, but it’s the process, not the components, that marks these recipes as decidedly lost. 

So how do the chefs know what it tasted like in that era?,‘We allow ourselves more springiness once we get into the kitchen’, shares Ravitej. ‘Usually we have no choice: The lack of specificity makes reproducing these dishes more of an instinctive process, but we manage keeping in account exactly what we learnt during our research’, adds Osama. ‘ We worked very hard doing lots and lots of trials, at a certain point you have to just let go of precision and see what happens’, shares Ravitej ‘If it turned out to be like what we tried and learnt , well, then we knew we had done something right’, smiles Osama. The recipes are centuries old, but the desire of eating is timeless. All in all I can see the impulse to painstakingly reproduce centuries-old dishes as a trendy one, the home cook’s outcome to a chef’s garden of bequest produce!

All the desserts are to die for! This one is called Gulathi

FAST FACTS

WHAT? LOST RECIPES OF THE MUGHAL ERA AT THREESIXTYONE°

Executive Chef RaviTej Nath along with Osama Jalali unearth the culinary traditions during the Mughal Era

WHERE? The Oberoi, Gurgaon, 443, Udyog Vihar, Phase V, Gurgaon – 122016

TEL: +91-124-2451234

WHEN? 7th to 16th August 2015. 

Evening at The Park Hotel & Breakfast at Flurys, Kolkata

Chef Hanumanta Dhotre, pastry chef Sofitel BKC, Mumbai whips up an amazing recipe using his favorite aid in the Kitchen

Cooking for me is' Therapeutic. It is my comfort zone as I know that I am doing the best I can do in life in the kitchen and have my passion reflected in my desserts'...says Chef Hanumanta Dhotre

Hanumanta Dhotre, Pastry Chef has over 15 years of Hospitality experience and enjoys crafting culinary delights at the Sofitel’s flagship property in India, the Sofitel Mumbai BKC. Chef Hanumanta Dhotre completed his 3 years of apprenticeship from Taj President and began his gastronomic journey with some the finest hotels including Shangri-la, CremaBrulee Foods, J.W.Marriott and Novotel Hotel Juhu Beach Mumbai. Trained in à la carte desserts, artistic breads and chocolates, Chef Dhotre won many accolades and awards through his stint at the Marriott including the Gold Medal for the best “Plated Desserts” In January 2010. Bringing myriad Food & Beverage innovations for his Indian audience by combining his international skills, Chef Dhotre works well with chocolate and vanilla for his dishes plates up beautifully crafted wonders to the table each day.

RED CURRANT DREAMS

INGREDIENTS     

For one tray of 40x60 cm/ 15x23 inches

Dacquoise Sponge:

Egg White: 190 Gms; Sugar: 40 gms; TPT (1:1 sugar/ almond powder): 300 gms; Cocoa Nibs: 35 gms           

Jelly Red Currants:

Frozen Red Currant Purée: 200 Gms; Icing Sugar: 50 gms; Gelatine Leaf: 2 gms

White Chocolate Mousse:

Whole Eggs: 25 gms; Egg Yolks: 60 gms; Sugar Syrup: 75 gms; Gelatine Leaves: 4 Gms    ; Edelweiss 33% Couverture: 140 Gms; Whipped Cream: 200 gms           

Method:

Dacquoise Sponge:

1. Line a baking tray about 60 x 40 cm / 15 x 23 inches with non-sticky baking parchment.

2. To make the sponge, whisk the egg whites until it is stiff in the KitchenAid stand mixer. Use a large metal spoon and fold in the TOT and the Cocoa Nibs.

3. Pour into the prepared baking ray and bake in the oven at 200^°C / 392°F for 4 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 160°C/ 320°F and bake until golden brown.

Jelly Red Currant:

4.  Put all the ingredients into a bowl and fill up in small round  Flexipan moulds. Freeze.

White Chocolate Mousse:

1. Make an English cream. When the cream reaches 35°C / 95°F, fold in the whipped cream.

Setting:

2.  Place the pastry mould on a silpat sheet. Fill the white chocolate mousse into the pastry mould.

3.  Turn the Flexi pan mat with dome shaped pastries 60 x 40 cm / 15 x 23 inches. Place individual pastry moulds on top.

4.  Fill the white chocolate mousse halfway into the pastry moulds. Place Frozen Red Currant balls well in the centre.

5.  Fill with White Chocolate Mousse up to 1 cm / 0.39 inches to the edge. Also place disks of Dacquoise. Freeze.

Paris Cafe, Kolkata

FOOD FROM GOD’S OWN COUNTRY @ HILTON GARDEN INN GURGAON

Replete with ornate curios of south India, those adorn the restaurant and the aroma of fresh hot Kal Dosas impresses when one first enters GlassHouse (the world cuisine restaurant) at the Hilton Garden Inn which has turned into God’s own country till the 30th of July. The restaurant is raucous most of the time as it is well patronized anyways but perhaps the word has spread that visiting Chef Ashok Eapen from Trivandrum is cooking authentic culinary delights featuring the very best of authentic Kerala cuisine so the restaurant seemed busier than usual. An absolute stickler for perfection Chef Eapen has brought his spices with him which he sources for his restaurant back in Trivandrum.

Start with buttermilk, just the right refresher and if you like your drink spicy, rasam and Papad it is. Though the festival is a part of the buffet (read separate section), it’s made fresh batch by batch. The menu changes every day, so the day I went I got to sample ‘Kozhi Kurumelagu’, ‘Kuttanadan Duck Curry’, ‘Pork Varattiyathu’ and a host of other dishes like the ‘Karimeen pollichathu’ (pearl spot marinated in tamarind, onions, chillies and ginger, wrapped in a banana leaf and grilled), are all cooked in a traditional way to enhance flavours. 

The ‘Kerala home style fish curry’ is exceptional and Excellent for sopping up the delicious gravy is the ‘Kerela Red Rice’ or ‘Kal Dosa’.

Desserts like ‘Elneer payasam’ (tender coconut morsels in coconut milk and cardamom) are richly heavenly. I would definitely recommend this festival…worth a try!!

FASTFACTS

WHERE? Hilton Garden Inn, Baani Square, Gurgaon

The Kerala Food Festival is at Glass House, the world cuisine restaurant, from July 18 to 30, 2015, only for dinner.

PRICE? INR 1,495 plus taxes per person.

RESERVATIONS: 0124-44200000