A wee bit early but 2017 is by this time setting a prompt stride for trends in food. The Delhi Restaurants existing obsession is constantly evolving, whether it is with ingredients, gastronomic techniques, exhibition or service style. Chefs want diners to feel like there is always something new and exciting to look forward to when they come to the restaurant. And my favourite phenomenon of the moment is the sudden surplus of chef’s working hard to do something unique.
Chef Tejas Sovani of Amaranta in Gurgaon, believes ‘less is more’ allowing each ingredient to be the star, ensuring that the flavours are intact and still recognisable. The Amaranta menu features a dish called Simplicity that presents a medley of seared scallops and roasted tomatoes served with a curried coconut cream sauce. The number of ingredients used can be counted on one hand, though the ingredients are simple, their signature style of bringing ‘fun and flair’ to classic flavours makes the dish a popular favourite with guests. Chef Akshay Bhardwaj’s Cherry Wood Smoked Pasta Sheeted Dough which is fried crispy and served with flavourful Chicken Ragout and parmesan cheese and a confit of garlic foam is a tribute to celebrity chef Massimo Bottura and a new outlook to Lasagne with some samba style.
While it is right to say Chef Priyam Chatterjee of Qla is a man with a robust kinship with Mother Nature, it is even truer that he is a child of emotions, and by that, I am not referring to his character but to his cooking. His ‘Plastic Waste And Pollution’ dish, for example, triggered his emotions while he was crossing the Yamuna river, and he interprets it as a Sous Vide Duck Breast with an olive purse and duck jus, edible plastic, parmesan froth and foam is not as deadly as it sounds. It is a delicious dish worthy of a Michelin star. Chef Abhishek Gupta’s dishes at the Leela Ambience Gurgaon are forgotten sensations and flavours from home and away, a host of colours, fragrances and textures that take you on a fascinating culinary journey, an enchantment for the eyes and the palate as well.
Notwithstanding everything, it is turning into an appealing year ahead!
Written By
Rupali Dean is a familiar name in Food & Travel writing. Her passion and work takes her on various travels across the world and her by-line is familiar to discerning readers of esteemed magazines and Newspapers like Uppercrust, Food & Wine, Discover India, Economic Times Travel, Hindustan Times City, Statesman etc to name a few. A trained hospitality professional, from the Institute of Hotel Management, Ahmedabad gives her an edge over any other food writer. She has also won the Best Food Travel writer award in India by Spain Tourism and has been Featured among India’s Top 5 Food Bloggers in India in the Hi Blitz magazine.
