Farm
to Fork as a concept is a relatively new trend in India, but it is worldwide
and growing. That said, it is as old as time.
A
few months ago I visited the ‘Phillipkutty farm’ in Allepy in search of Vanilla
and went in for a tour with Aniamma who explained how orchids are grown and
most importantly pollinated. She walked me down to the shade houses on the farm
and pointed out various plants along the way which were home to many new baby
orchid plants. She explained that patience is a necessary trait for vanilla
farming. Plus, it is incredibly labour intensive, the vanilla orchids are
pollinated one by one by hand, which is why vanilla is so expensive. The tour came
to an end with a delicious home cooked Syrian Christian meal with many
ingredients from her farm which left me thinking! The meal was decadent and
tasted so fresh and to my joy I discovered that more and more chefs today focus
on seasonal produce and supporting local farmers.
THE EMERGING INDIAN TREND
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| Kitchen Team at the Renaissance Hotel, Mumbai |
Most
restaurants now offer menus inspired by a myriad of seasonal ingredients and
international techniques. While polished local ingredients are a rarity, Chefs
are now feeling strongly about supporting local and as such, frequent the
market multiple times weekly to pick what’s ripe and to standard. Some
restaurants even practice a “No-No” list and aim to offer the best selection
and quality of Food and Beverage to all guests. Any resources that are
endangered or mismanaged; genetically modified or ill-treated are not served,
and are added to the list. Free range meats are used; the majority of
vegetables are grown on the site itself and are 100% organic. Television is
another media which creates awareness and Chefs are being featured on food
shows creating and discussing this epicurean revolution.
“Sustainability and nutrition are becoming key
themes in Bangalore, with the increased popularity of Fine Dining stand-alone
restaurants like Caperberry, Fava, Tatva, Shiro, etc. Micro-Breweries like
the Biere Club, Toit, and Left of Centre”, shares Abhijit Saha, Founding
Director and Chef- Caperberry and Fava
 |
| Roasted Beet Salad at The Table, Mumbai |
Avant
Garde Hospitality. At “The Table” in Mumbai chef Alex turns out a globally
inspired menu which reflects his collective experiences and changes daily
depending on availability of the best produce. It has influences of the San
Francisco style of cooking which is translated through sourcing fresh local
ingredients and ensuring each dish is distinctively unique in flavour and
texture.
 |
| Herb garden at The Renaissance, Mumbai |
“The
idea behind of having an in-house “Chef’s Garden” is to provide the guests with
nothing but the freshest of ingredients grown and supervised by the team of
Chefs, to incorporate the all organic vegetables in the restaurant menu. The
concept goes well with one of the core values of brand Renaissance – being
Indigenous, to be self – sustained, green and local. For the Chef’s Garden the
hotel has specially sourced black soil from Pune. The garden produces Iceberg
lettuce, Curled lettuce, Red lettuce, Red cabbage, Brinjal – 3, 4 varieties
(white, round, long), Carrots, Radish round, Celery, Eggplants - 4 varieties
(Thai, oblong etc.), Beans, Tomato cherry, Tomato pusa red, Sweet peppers, Hot
peppers, Lemon grass is grown in the farm along with exotic flowers like Flower
Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum majus) and Exotic candy. The fresh produce is used in
the restaurants of the hotel - Fratelli Fresh, Emperor's Court and Lake View
Café. The garden is a size of 2 basketball courts but the hotel will soon
expand the space because the demand for the organic produce is over whelming
and the hotel plans to produce more fruits and vegetables in house to offer the
guests the best in the city”, says Surjan Singh Jolly, Executive Chef at the
Renaissance Hotel and convention centre Mumbai.
 |
| Chef Saby of Olive |
At
Olive Beach and Mehrauli in Delhi Chef Sabyasachi Gorai launches a Farm to fork
menu every winter, which he feels “is an initiative to offer the freshest local
produce to our customers ensuring your meal is as natural, as organic as it can
be. It’s also a step towards providing sustenance to the local farmers. This
menu's ingredients are sourced from local farms and are almost all organic.
This also reduces carbon foot print for transporting produces from far off
places. Also it boosts economy of the local farms”, says Saby.
 |
| Chef Shaun kenworthy |
“Understanding more about our food, how it
tastes and where it comes from makes the act of eating all the more
pleasurable. There ought to be practical lessons in school which are as
integral as a music or dance lesson wherein children are taught to gather
fruits for example strawberries Guavas or whatever. Together, in a much-needed
exercise for all ages, they’re learning exactly where our food comes from, how
it gets onto our plates, and why eating locally grown vegetables and fruits
even if that equates to sweet tooth-friendly strawberry shortcake is the first
step in global salvation”, says Shaun Kenworthy a senior chef consultant based
out of Kolkata.
SUTAINABILITY AHOY!
As
for me my dream cuisine experience would be a visit to the local market with a
Chef at buying fresh ingredients followed by a cook off and lunch at his
restaurant. There would be no menu, just what the chef decides to cook each day
from the freshest market ingredients. Trust me, at a time when organic and
fresh are the words on every foodie’s lips, my dream never seems more modern
even if the recipe is centuries old. It did happen for me in paris ....a yummy gourmet meal cooked by chef cyril in paris!
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| Chef cyril at cuisine attitude, Paris |
