Food and travel writer based in Mumbai, India blogging from the intersection of food writing and the gastronomic scene of India. These blogs collate my obsession with food.
Ever since I embarked on my career in food, I have been wanting to do a foodie discovery of Singapore in my unique style, getting A Perfect Bite out of Singapore.
I traveled to Singapore in my teens, long, long before I actually became a food writer. It was also before I acquired my obsession for all things foodie. But even my untrained palate of that time, registered many flavours I was exposed to. My first meal on arrival full noodles and slivers of meat redolent of wok hay - the breath of a wok, Curry puffs my cousin brought home to me from the corner sri lankan store stuffed with spicy curry flavoure potatoes, the savoury porridge (conjee) that we had for lunch one day, stuffed crab, leaf wrapped chicken and tom yum soup at a small thai restaurant, straw mushroom bundles and shark fin soup at a fine dining restaurant... ask me the names, I couldn't tell you but I can remember the flavours even now.
So when Singapore Tourism Board offered me the chance to travel to Singapore for the World Gourmet Summit I grabbed it. The chance to participate in the foodiest of foodie events against the backdrop of one of the most mouthwatering cities in the world was one for which I would be willing to sell my hoard of dried guchchi! (No, am not misspelling fashion accesories, those are Kashmiri mushrooms my brother broughtt me from a visit to Kashmir and currently my most treasured culinary posession!)
So anyways, thanks to STB and the food Gods up there that obviously love me, my Guchchi are safe in my freezer, and I am off to Singapore tonight. And I am already salivating at rediscovring all those flavours I remember.
I have already done a food trail starting from Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice at Maxwell Food Centre followed by Bak Kut Teh (Pork Rib Soup) at Balestier, the famous famous fish head curry and round it all off with local desserts from some of the local food centres in the area.done dome awesome foodie shopping of local and global ingredients, utensils, some of those fabulous teas etc.
I have had the ultimate in gasronomic tactile extravaganzas by sticking MY claws into both the famous Singapore Chilli crab & the Black Ppepper crab, visited the PeranakanMuseum and savoured a traditional Tea ceremony atTea Chapter,the largesttea house in Singapore.I have watched Heinz Beck cook and it is not over yet! Still to come are culinary Masterclasses with Le Cordon Bleu chefs, an Evening with Surreal Gourmet Bob Blumer
and I will am blogging about it daily from Singapore right here on this blog so come get a virtual look at one of the most exciting parts of being a food writer! Eating at some of the finest tables in the world!
Summer brought with it a new opportunity for A Perfect Bite to consult with it's favourite store Natures Basket. We spend so much time browsing through it's aisles and finding inspiration for our cooking, that we welcomed the opportunity to share some of our discoveries!
With the sun being relentless, cooking is minimal in our kitchen at the moment so the first Natures Basket Gourmet Safari we have embarked on is via the salad bowl. These days we find we want to eat something that is light, quick and refreshing salads fit the bill, not only are they light and fresh but they are packed with loads of nutrition and add a few select ingredients and you have the makings of a gourmet meal in a bowl!
Workshops at various Godrej Nature's Basket outlets, throughout the summer will have us tossing up bowlfuls of salad inspired by cuisines from around the world and sharing tips and tricks to reworking salads into soups, appetizers and even whole meals! All the recipes have been chosen keeping ease of preparation topmost but to factor in variety inspiration has been taken from different world cuisines.
On the cards (literally as you can see above) are 12 recipe cards that will be released at 10 day intervals throughout the summer to give people something new to look forward to with every shopping trip. Corresponding kits for each recipe will also be available for one to pick up on the go.The trial run took place to a packed house at Godrej Nature's Basket yesterday. The final round will take place in the month of June. Watch this space for dates. Untill then here is the first recipe.
Spicy Mango and smoked chicken salad.
'Salsafy' your mango! I serve this with iceberg lettuce leaves. Roll spoonfuls of the salad into lettuce wraps and enjoy the contrasts of flavours and textures. Sweet Mango savoury chicken, spicy chilli, and cool crunchy iceberg lettuce. Perfect to serve as a light summer meal or as starters or a side to Mexican meals. Eliminate chillies and the kids will love this as well.
Serves: 2-4, Time: 25 mins
For the dressing 1 cup salsa sauce 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander, 1 tbsp lemon juice Salt to taste 1 chilli minced
Method: Mix well and reserve.
For the salad 1 cup firm sour –sweet mango diced fine 1 cup avacado diced medium 1 cup chopped smoked or cooked chicken diced (please check what we have in stock) 1 onion diced fine 1 cup of celery sliced fine
To serve 1 large head Iceberg lettuce
Method: 15 – 20 mins before you are ready to eat, fill a large bowl with water and ice, place lettuce in it and put in the refrigerator to chill. In a large bowl combine mango, avocado, chicken, onion and celery and toss well. Add dressing, mix well and allow to stand so flavours combine. When ready to eat, remove lettuce from fridge, separate out leaves and serve on a platter along side chilled salad.
Serving Suggestions: Serve with Nacho chips as dip or with Tacos as a taco stuffing. Dice mango, avocado and chicken into bigger chunks. Finely chop onions and celery. Combine everything and allow to stand for 20 mins. Then skewer chunks of mango, avocado and chicken on sate sticks, arranging on a platter as you go, pour leftover juices and bits from the bowl over skewers and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Anand Krishnaswamy winner of the foodwriting contest held by Opera and Feastguru.com came over to collect his prize today. The contest in which food lovers were invited to submit write-ups on their favourite aspects of Italian cuisine was great idea (which I will be happy to take a bow for) since I was ecstatic to do a small bit for encouraging foodwriting. The contest was judged by yours truly, and I have to say it was very tough to make the choice, we had some truly interesting ntries. The first prize was a hamper of Opera products and the second was a bottle of wine from the Opera wine rack. The winning entry was Sentisti (Listen) by Anand Krishnaswamy and because I loved it so much, I just had to give away a second prize of a bottle of wine to Ode to a Netune Marinara. A perfect Bite hopes to create many more such spaces for foodwriting.
For a long time even as I grew more successful as a gastronomy writer, I have felt bad that I had lost touch with my painting over the years. A student of fine art in school, then an animator I loved to paint with an obsession but truth to tell I had stopped painting a long long time ago, as other things became more important. And then Godrej Nature's Basket, invited me to host an interactive session at their Warden rd. store for some celeb couples. I wanted to do something Quick, easy and fuss free. As I put together the recipes for this cook up, I realized, I am still painting, only now my palette is a plate and my colors are ingredients.
With a busy work life and two kids, romantic time out is an illusion on most days in the Ghildiyal home (not that we are complaining, the kids give us new reasons to celebrate every day with their antics.) But this is the same story with most couples living the Mumbai life. Keeping that in mind, I decided to create recipes that could be prepared using ready products available at Nature's basket. The idea being that if you're looking for no cooking, quick, fuss free ideas for a romantic Valentines day, just stop at Nature's Basket on the way!
I picked up products; cold cuts, salad mixes sauces, jams, jellies and spice mixes that are readily available ready to use at Natures Baske, adding a fun element by using ingredients that are supposed to be aphrodesiacal in nature. An added bonus was that they can be put together by the most unschooled cook even guys who seldom enter the kitchen.
I really had a great time developing these recipes and I hope you enjoy putting them together for the significant other in your lives
Romantic Recipes For Valentine's day
Indulgence Salad 2 portions
1/2 cup mixed lettuce (I used the very cool, convenient Trikaya premix) 1 tbsp Evoo (I use Soler Romero Organic Evoo from Spain) 1 cup ruccola 4 figs quartered 8 strawberries halved 1/3 cup pomegranate seeds 1 tbsp fig preserve 2 tbsp Monin Chocolate and mint syrup 2 tbsp finely diced Aldagh Wine cheese or other sharp cheese - even a blue 2 tbsp shavings of bitterest chocolate (I used Lindtt extra Dark)
Method Combine fruit in a bowl with fig relish and the Monin syrup and leave to macerate for 5 minutes. Place lettuce and rucolla in a glass bowl and toss lightly with olive oil. Add macerated fruit and toss well. Transfer to plate. Scatter with cheese and chocolate shavings and serve.
Noughts and crosses Antipasti platter
Here are 9 bite sized appetisers, combining unusual flavours from products available at Natures Basket. Arrange them like a noughts and crosses the game and play with your significant other, taking one bite each alternately. The one that eats three in a line (vertical/horizontal or diagonal) is the winner. You decide what the forfeit is! ;-)
1. Halve a fig, top halves with 1/2 tsp crumbled Aldagh wine cheese and a smidgen of Rose Petal jam.
2. Toss one tbsp diced Smoked Cheese with 3 sliced orange rind stuffed olives and drizzle with Red Kelly's pepperberry sauce.
3. Combine 3 chopped strawberries and combine with 1/2 tsp crushed, brined green peppercorn and drizzle with I/2 tsp Monin Chocolate mint syrup.
4. Smear 2 slices Iberico ham with Soler Romero Olive oil and wrap around 1 stick os Manchego cheese each.
5. Smear 2 slices Cobourg ham with Pukara estate Wasabi Olive oil and roll over green cucumber batons.
6. Smear Smoked salmon with Costa Doro Lemon Parsley Olive Oil and roll around grissini sticks.
7.Smear 1 slice smoked bacon with Bamboleo sun dried tomato paste and fold onto The FIne Cheese Co. Chilli cracker.
8. Spread THe FIne Cheese Co. Fennel crackers with rose harrisa and top generously with Table of Plenty Pistachio dukkah.
9. Top The Fine Cheese Co. Rosemary crackers with sliced purple grapes, soft goats cheese and sprinkle generously with Table of Plenty Almond dukkah salsa.
Arrange each bite on a platter as you go in three rows.
I agree with Vikram. in his artlicle 'Your mouth waters when the knives are out" I love vegetables chopped just right. I am downright finniky about this. Over the years I have bought the fanciest knives, but I always gravitate back to the Rs 10 knife from Bhuleshwar my grandmother introduced me to!
After my article on homemade Gourmet gifts was published in the current issue of Joy Magazine published by Readers Digest, I came to the conclusion that it was high time I practice what I preach.
When you are as food obsessed as I am, with time you acquire a reputation. And I am not embarrassed to say, that I have! And it’s a solidly eccentric one too! Not only can I talk about food endlessly, but I will shamelessly pursue you if you have a recipe I want to learn or access to ingredients that I covet! Luckily for me I am also that person that people bring home all sorts of foodie assortments for; beautiful (and bizarre) cookbooks, exotic ingredients, nifty (and not so) gadgets. And I love every single one of them (fortunately for me, but perhaps my husband will disagree).
But I have a redeeming quality to me as well. I love to cook for people. I love having people over for meals and you will never have me visit your home without a bottle or two of some sort of home made treat. And I have an infallible foodie memory. Tell me once and I will remember to my dying day and predilections toward food you might have.If Kunal likes olives, Naresh likes Garlic, Christina Likes Chamomile tea and Ashu loves stir fried Capsicums, not only will I remember it but I will probably even go ahead and create a recipe or gift with that ingredient, especially for that person!
I studied art at school and when I shifted focus to food, I would often despair that I was not creating anything anymore. Untill one day I realized, only my tools had changed, I was still creating. I wielded a ladle, instead of a brush these days, and my spice box had become my palate as I put together interesting new combinations of tastes, flavours and colours. So I was always cooking up something or the other and it is more often than not in HUGE batches! As a result, by this time of year, my shelves are usually teeming with myriad basket stuffers. This time, however I have been on a hiatus of sorts from the usual kitchen routine the last couple of years (first because I was pregnant and then because my baby daughter took up all my time and attention). I had no reserves of sauces, sprinkles, marinades and rubs to fall back on. So when I set about putting together things for my Christmas hampers, I had to make everything fro scratch. At first Inspiration was slow in coming but some things that go into my hamper are a given and I began with those.
Like the ‘Spice of life’ my mom makes. This is my mom's patented chutney that we, her kids christened "the spiceoflife" because it’s hot, sweet, spicy, sour absolute deliciousness enlivened endless insipid hostel meals and saved many an amateur cooking attempt. The fact that it is also the secret ingredient in a myriad dishes from Dum Aloo to Schezwan chicken makes it an added attraction and this is something I coerce my mother into making in large batches of every year for her loyal fan following amongst my friends!
The other given in my basket was jam. I love making jam and make small quantities of seasonal jam round the year but my festive jams are usually opulent ones. This year I did a decadent apple, fig and red wine jam scented with star anise, cinnamon and vanilla. The house smelt so delicious as it simmered on the gas that I went and did a whole second batch for that love spicy smell that I associate with this time of the holidays!
As it simmered I systematically went through my kitchen cupboards and freezer and pulled out everything that I had loved working with in the past year.
The first thing I put together was a simple vinaigrette using zest and herbs I had dried at home, cane vinegar from Vasai and organic olive oil from my favourite company Soler Romero. I am divided on the organic debate, but I maintain that good ingredients make all the difference to any dish and this dressing proved my point to myself!
Then my hands landed on a bottle of chilli flakes. I love chilies and I knew I had to do something with these for my hampers. Made from Thai chillies my sister in law brought me from Thailand these were roasted and flaked, very spicy and somewhat smoky from being slightly charred. They needed a strong base of something to carry them. I stirred in a packet full of organic sea salt thinking to myself I needed something robust. Then it came to mind – Coffee beans! I dry roasted a cup of dark roast coffee beans till the kitchen was redolent of that special coffee smell and the beans had acquired a bit of a sheen from their oils being released. Once they had cooled I processed them to a coarse powder and added them to the chilli salt mix. We tried out this crusty mix the very same night. I marinated some chicken breasts in ginger garlic-chilli-paste and dipped them in the mix so they were properly coated and grilled them till they were done.Nice!
I got a whiff of pure vanilla when I opened the jar of vanilla sugar that I had macerating for more than six months. I wanted to do something special with it. I added dried roses in place of green tea and pistachio flakes instead of almonds and got an unusual take on Kehwa, the Kashmiri tea that I love to sip at on leisurely Sunday mornings.
Next on my palate was loomi, the dried lemons used in Irani cuisine. It is used in Bhaji ghosht and Chana dal keema and also goes well in masoor dal (though I have not tried that). I have also used them in a walnut and zaresht berry dip with pita bread and to add tang to delicate roulades of swiss chard leaves spread with hazelnut paste. Limoo have a smoky sour flavor that lends well to green dishes so I decided to make a salad sprinkle by crushing them with white pepper and toasted cumin. To this mix I added toasted sesame seeds. It simply needs to be sprinkled over steamed or stirfried greens or salads. Its also great over paneer that has been marinated in dahi and grilled.
And the last thing to go in were little fridge magnets like the one above that i had found on a Crawford tour.
It’s been a marathon of cooking the last couple of weeks and I have just about managed to finish things up in time to go off to Goa for the New year but I have savoured every second !
Have a Merry Christmas and a great 2009. But do remember to come back soon because 2009 will bring lots of fun things here on A Perfect Bite.
I wandered through the 6th UpperCrust Show with Vikram Doctor on Saturday. The UpperCrust shows organised by Farzana Contrator, editor and driving force behind UpperCrust magazine is one of the most happening food events on Mumbai's culinary calender. It almost like a food bazaar in some ways, only an upmarket one. Unlike the FICI event that took place in November which is all business, for me the Uppercrust show is all about fun with food!
People jostling for space at popular food stalls, snagging a taste of something here, buying something there, getting shoved out of the way by a bag weilding grannies asking "what are you selling? Is there a discount on that?" Someone grilling the gentleman at the BBQ stall, women attentively noting down recipes from chef and experts manning various stalls. I even passed a grandfather lecturing a little girl manning a stall on how she should know what she is selling. I just LOVE being in the middle of all that astronomic energy. (I know, I know, that sounds awfull!). Walking through the stalls, tasting, sampling and absorbing all tthe foodie vibes, surrounded by food lovers.
Its also a great place to catch up with friends from the food world. Having decided to detour for a plate of Berry Pulao at Brittania on the way into town, I had been delayed and missed the 2 o clock presentaion I was aiming for. Right at the entrance I ran into Jharna Thakkar, fellow food writer. We caught up quickly and then the gentleman she was waiting for arrived and I left them to it and moved inside. I decided to go say hi to Vijaya at the Under The Mango Tree stall while I waited for Vikram. We gossiped, I tasted her latest single flora honey, Dessert Bloom, picked up a botle of MY favourite the Mango and then got inveiled into holding the fort for her for a few minutes as her attention was diverted by Prahlad Kakkar. Vikram came in just then and we moved on to explore, stopping along the way to say catch up with friends from the food industry; Yasser of Amore Gelato (I LOVED the honey sesame yoghurt they were introducing at their stall). Pia Das Gupta daughter of legendary Minakshi 'Kewpie' Das Gupta and director of Upohar International who was bumming around like us, Naini Setalvad an inspiration to all fatties like me.
We came out of the show laden with little bags! We'd detoured at Churan and pickle stalls where we stashed up on zingy bits on the side; candied ginger, dried mango, imli sweets and a pepper garlic pickle from the Pickle stall. And some dry fruit chikki from Surbhi sweets. Chikki moulded into thin layers as opposed to the large chunks we usually buy.
But the discoveries that got me totally excited this year were
Japanese Curry cubes I picked up at the Maido India stall and the Cabarnet Suvignon Reserve from Revellio.
Uppercrust is a great forum to watch trends and one big growth in India has been the Japanese food trend. Japanese food has been gaining popularity at restaurants over the last two years but I was happy to see that it is also gaining popularity in the Home kitchen. I almost walked past the Maido India stand without stopping, since Ialready knew about the company (its the only one that imports a host of Japanese ingredients into India) but a mouthwatering aroma stopped me. They had Karei or Japanese curry on offer for sampling. I tried it, loved it and picked up some Golden Curry cubes because I HAD to try making this at home.
And now for the Cabarnet Suvignon Reserve from Revellio - I am jut disovering wine, although I have been told by many in the wine business that i have a palate for wine since I am able to taste many nuances. I am still trying to judge wether they are being kind or there is some truth in the matter altough I suspect that a good palate for food would extend to wine and I am able to taste specific flavours in dishes easliy. Anyways enough about me, lets talk about the Cabarnet Suvignon Reserve from Revellio. Vikram is very knowledgable about everything food related but especially so about Indian wine. He stopped to say hi to Kiran and Saurabh at Reveilo Wine while I hung around. Then we decided to taste the wines. Their Syrah was fruity and sweet young and spirited. It had me thinking of food that was spicy but not chilli spicy, and light, a chat perhaps or even a badam Shorba or reshmi Kebabs or even a malai based curry as Saurabh (the Reveilo Wine advisor) later suggested. Then we tried the Syrah Reserve; quieter, showing the spirit of it's youth with accents of fruit and sweetness but definetely settled, having gained a patina of age from being in Oak and well rounded for it. It had me thinking of Butter Chicken or bombil fry. And then we tried the Reveilo Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve. I will be honest. All I remember is the explosion of spicyness in the back of my throat as I swallowed. And the thought, if ever there was a wine made for Indian food, this had to be it. I got my hands on the last bottle (which Kiran very kindly gifted me) but then went down to the Nature's Basket at WTC and picked up the last three that they had there as well. Overenthusiastic, perhaps foolish even, but I kept thinking that one bottle would not be enough! I am ambitious for it in that I think it really will be a good pairing for Indian food. I want to create a special dish for it, that is going to take some trial and error And TASTING (heh heh)!
For those of you who have been wondering where I was after my Diwali post. Here is an explanation, with due apologies. I was off consulting with a group of European Food and Wine producers called Opera. They were in Mumbai 10 - 15 Nov to showcase themselves to the Indian Market. I was given complete creative freedom and it was an experience, that I fully enjoyed. Here's the beef on it (or should I say Salami!)
Me with Opera Products.
Òpera is a consortium of cooperative agricultural enterprises and Italian food-farming institutions, was created in 2007, with the aim to the promotion, enhancement, and popularization of quality food-farming, cooperative products around the world within the framework of the European Excellence Program – Excellence from our Fields, a promotional campaign funded by the European Union, the Italian State, agricultural cooperatives and companies working in the agro-food sector.
Awesome Fondue
Events kicked off with a Press brunch organized by Ms. Monica Vazirali at a South Mumbai restaurant, Olive (newly opened) on the 10th of Nov. It was a lovely afternoon of food, wine and press bonding! Highlights included meeting Javed Gaya, a fellow food writer whom I had heard much about, an excellent Fondue, followed by a delicious salad of greens topped by a filo pastry stuffed with zuchchini and salami and a prawn and pasta dish flavoured with herbs (parsley I think). By this point I was too busy eating to note names and all. After picking through a few dessert platters which were delicious I rather reluctantly sped back to the Intercontinental to meet with the chefs and sommelier to finalize things for the workshops I was organizing for Opera.
On the 12th, I took the delegation around three supermarkets, to help them better understand the Indian market and buyer. My objective was to illustrate price points and competition. I believe that the tour was very well received.
I explain price points of Olive oil.
12th evening saw us back at Olive for a grand Gala dinner hosted by Opera and organized by Ms.Monica Vazirali. Very 'Page 3' with a lot of the movers and shakers from the F&B industry in attendance. In fact a foodie friend said "It was a great event to network at" but I have ever been good at 'networking' (somewhat shy) so I just said HI to friends who were there and ran off to my kids!
Opera Products displayed at Olive
13th was the first day of the Annapoorna World of food expo at NSE grounds, Goregaon. The Opera Consortium showcased itself at a pavilion the size of a 1 bedroom house! There was a Chef at one end dishing up some delicious Italian food, a large display of products in the Middle and a section for conducting meetings at the other end.
While all of this was happening at Goregaon, I was settling things for the Professional workshops I was hosting for Opera at the Trenz restaurant. I was extremely nervous because I had chosen to do things somewhat differently. With 54 products to showcase, it would have been an unnecessarily long and boring session if I had elaborated on each product individually. Also with a mixed audience of press, F&B press and members from the HORECA sector, I needed to strike a balance between dissemination of information and elements of interest. I decided to break up the showcase into a Wine session, followed by a lunch and a food session.
Opera products on display at Trenz
The wine session was conducted by the charming Shagun Mehra, wine educator with the KBR school of wine. She showcased 10 wines from the Opera Winerack. With so many the traditional accompaniments to wine available from Opera's lineup, I also chose to round off the wine session with a small selection of Antipasti. Platters of antipasti with cheese, salami, Olive oil, an assortment of breads and a selection of vegetarian antipasti were laid on each table.
Shagun Mehra
This was followed by lunch to which major layers from the F&B sector were invited. Those who have limited time. A major grouse I have with most food events is that little attention is paid to the meals accompanying them. Perhaps the organisers choose to cut costs or just do not think it important but most buffets are standard banquet fare adorned by limp salads, heavy gravies and mismatched dishes.
I wanted the buffet lunch hosted by Opera to be well planned and also showase their products. I consulted with the chefs at the Intercontinental and laid out a spread that showcased Opera products in a manner that not only illustrated that Opera Products are perfect for use in their pure form to set an Italian table, but also lend themselves to use in the Indian kitchen in a myriad ways. They have more economic wines in tetra packs that make it easy on the pocket to savour a glass of wine on a regular basis with one's daily dinner, while their high end wines accompanied by some excellent meats from their range can grace any occasion. The fresh fruit and vegetables could enliven all manner of Indian dishes from salads to desserts, tomatoes canned at the height of their season can replace fresh tomatoes in any Indian dish, the canned lentils can be easily used to cook Indian Dals, effectively cutting cooking times in half (since they are canned in their cooking juices), the excellent cheeses can be used in any cheese based recipe (and hopefully replace the horrible generic stuff we eat as cheese) and the sweet and savoury packaged creams can replace cream in any Indian recipe.
Here is a virtual tour of lunch...
At the soup station was Minestrone soup using canned tomatoes from the Opera range, slightly spiked to suit the Indian Palate. Then came a salad station featuring loose leaf lettuce, ruccola and other salad stuff, ready to be tossed with Opera EVOO and Parmigiano Regiano cheese on request. (Premixed salads are what go limp on buffets, so I was insistent that all greens were properly presented. The salads also HAD to be freshly tossed! The salad counter also showcased vegetarian antipasti, fruit shots and glazed fruit using fresh fruit from the Opera range.
At the salami station we offered salamis from the Opera range, sliced and laid out alongside Opera cheeses and freshly baked Focacia.
The Pasta station offered pasta freshly tossed with Opera Pasta sauces, Olive oil and other condiments.
A Mains section offered a selection of hot main courses, Chicken Parmigianna to showcase Parmegiano Regiano, Fish roulade in Caper butter sauce to showcase the butter and Lasagna to showcase their Tomato and Bechemel sauces and Canned Chickpeas. And an Indian section showcased Rogan Josh made with canned tomatoes, Dal made with canned lentils and Matar Pulao and Methi Malai Matar made with canned peas, all from the Opera range.
The dessert counter was my favourite bit though. It showcased a few of Opera's ready desserts, some desserts made using Opera products, like their cream and fruit, and also had fruit on offer alongside whipped cram cans so that one could "create their own Sundaes if they wished.
Opera products were also attractively displayed throughout the buffet so that the diners knew that they had been used in the dishes they were partaking off.
Post lunch we had a food session, which doubled up as a late lunch. The session was conducted by Chef Rahul Davale and constructed around the Italian way of eating. The chef demonstrated each course at a table in front of the audience, while the kichen worked in tandem with him to serve each course as it was demonstrated. Anti-pasti was preplated and ready on the tables and chef talked about arranging platters at home. He then went on to demonstrate a Minestrone soup an a classic Ruccola salad to showcase the great cheese, and Olive Oil on offer. We created an element of food theatre by demonstrating a crispy Parmigiano Regiano chip to garnish the dessert. The main course of Lasagna was served to the audience while the chef took a break and then he went on to the dessert competition in which spray cans, sliced fruit, sweet provolone cheese and an assortment of dessert decorations were placed on each table. The audience was given time to create their own dessert which was judged by Chef Rahul. We gave away two hampers of Opera products as prizes.
And it has to be said, the entire orchestration of this event would have been impossible without the awesome backup extended to me by Chef Mark Wilson, Executive Chef and Chef Amit Choudhary of the Intercontinental the Grand. They understood exactly what I wanted and delivered it to the T despite some terrible gliches! In fact, I thought all of the food I ate at the Intercontinental in the duration of this event was really good, especially their lunch spread. I am looking forward to going back to savour it all at a more leisurely pace!
Chef Rahul Dhavale Chefs Marc and Amit
Here is a slide show of the entire lineup of events on Picassa.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks to Mr. Lamberto Mazzotti for the pictures above.
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