Gourmands crown the best chef in the world, and we set off on a quest to discover the secrets of the culinary masters...
With India making the world notice (and appreciate) its various strengths, comparisons with the pioneers of the world have been inevitable. While the daily grind of reviews and comparisons our country goes through doesn’t draw my attention, it is the world lists of the likes of the ‘top 10’ and ‘top 50’ and ‘top 100’ that make me anxious. Perhaps this restlessness stems from the eagerness to learn about the distance covered on the fine line between ‘their’ suave and ‘our’ graceful manners. Well, to my relief, this year’s results of the prestigious list charted out in a glamorous culinary art event in London, ‘The S. Pellegrino’s World’s Best Restaurants’, bring us to number 54 from last year’s 70. It is the restaurant Wasabi of The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Mumbai that made us proud through its ‘vast range of delectable vegetarian dishes besides the seafood selection flown in fresh from around the world – exotic Kumamoto oysters, shrimp tempura and sashimi at the Sushi Bar.’
But there’s a 42-seats Danish restaurant, Noma in Copenhagen that has surprised the world by unexpectedly displacing the King of Gastronomy, Ferran Adria’s restaurant, elBulli (Roses, Spain) from the world No.1 position. It is the novelty of Noma’s chef, Rene Redzepi’s recipes and the nobleness of his ideology of creating an eco-friendly menu that must have led to the 100,000 email booking requests at the restaurant since grabbing the top slot in the last week of April ’10. Redzepi tries to cook with products that surround him and with extremely seasonal products. Noma’s chefs work with farmers, nature and wild products and try to bring something uniquely Nordic on the plate. Their style has greatly appealed to the gourmands who till last year couldn’t get over Ferran Adria’s unique experiments with food from all over the world. Choosing to close elBulli for six months in winters, during which time they created and reinvented recipes for the next season, Ferran, in an earlier interview with us had said, “It is not a question of being courageous, but a question of whether you’re free; for if you’re free then only you can be creative.” It seems that under Franco and his predecessors’ callous domination, culinary freedom was the only vent for Spaniards who have given the world delicacies like tapas, paella, flan and churros and have taken three out of the five top positions in the world’s best restaurants list this year!
If, creativity is all it takes, it is not surprising to see the imaginative aces of one domain experimenting with dishes from around the world. The restaurant chain, Veda has been conceptualised and set up by renowned fashion designer Rohit Bal to bring out brand India through a wide range of “truly Indian delicacies”. Cultural mingling has led to the diffusion of the Indian taste in restaurants and that’s why, “Veda has kept an ancient feel in the restaurant’s ambience and the right flavour of spices to keep the exact Indian taste, what you often get by not experimenting with the recipe,” tells Vishesh Nanda, Manager, Veda.
Well, I don’t care whether we reach the ‘world’s best lists’ by holding tight our old traditional ways or by adding changes to them in moderation or by developing all-together new flavours, I only demand to see India at the top of these lists!
With India making the world notice (and appreciate) its various strengths, comparisons with the pioneers of the world have been inevitable. While the daily grind of reviews and comparisons our country goes through doesn’t draw my attention, it is the world lists of the likes of the ‘top 10’ and ‘top 50’ and ‘top 100’ that make me anxious. Perhaps this restlessness stems from the eagerness to learn about the distance covered on the fine line between ‘their’ suave and ‘our’ graceful manners. Well, to my relief, this year’s results of the prestigious list charted out in a glamorous culinary art event in London, ‘The S. Pellegrino’s World’s Best Restaurants’, bring us to number 54 from last year’s 70. It is the restaurant Wasabi of The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Mumbai that made us proud through its ‘vast range of delectable vegetarian dishes besides the seafood selection flown in fresh from around the world – exotic Kumamoto oysters, shrimp tempura and sashimi at the Sushi Bar.’
But there’s a 42-seats Danish restaurant, Noma in Copenhagen that has surprised the world by unexpectedly displacing the King of Gastronomy, Ferran Adria’s restaurant, elBulli (Roses, Spain) from the world No.1 position. It is the novelty of Noma’s chef, Rene Redzepi’s recipes and the nobleness of his ideology of creating an eco-friendly menu that must have led to the 100,000 email booking requests at the restaurant since grabbing the top slot in the last week of April ’10. Redzepi tries to cook with products that surround him and with extremely seasonal products. Noma’s chefs work with farmers, nature and wild products and try to bring something uniquely Nordic on the plate. Their style has greatly appealed to the gourmands who till last year couldn’t get over Ferran Adria’s unique experiments with food from all over the world. Choosing to close elBulli for six months in winters, during which time they created and reinvented recipes for the next season, Ferran, in an earlier interview with us had said, “It is not a question of being courageous, but a question of whether you’re free; for if you’re free then only you can be creative.” It seems that under Franco and his predecessors’ callous domination, culinary freedom was the only vent for Spaniards who have given the world delicacies like tapas, paella, flan and churros and have taken three out of the five top positions in the world’s best restaurants list this year!
If, creativity is all it takes, it is not surprising to see the imaginative aces of one domain experimenting with dishes from around the world. The restaurant chain, Veda has been conceptualised and set up by renowned fashion designer Rohit Bal to bring out brand India through a wide range of “truly Indian delicacies”. Cultural mingling has led to the diffusion of the Indian taste in restaurants and that’s why, “Veda has kept an ancient feel in the restaurant’s ambience and the right flavour of spices to keep the exact Indian taste, what you often get by not experimenting with the recipe,” tells Vishesh Nanda, Manager, Veda.
Well, I don’t care whether we reach the ‘world’s best lists’ by holding tight our old traditional ways or by adding changes to them in moderation or by developing all-together new flavours, I only demand to see India at the top of these lists!
Swati Hora
For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
“We will change your outlook” - The Sunday Indian on B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED! A must read...
The Sunday Indian:-
B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED!
For Exclusive Footage by Sunday Indian Click Here
Outlook Magazine's B School Ranking Scam Exposed
Business Standard Exposes the Outlook Magazine Money Editor
Don't trust the Indian Media!
IIPM enters into media education
IIPM makes record 10,000 placements in five years
TSI exposes b school ranking scamsters Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Premchand Palety of C fore. - For Complete Sting Operation Video Click Here
Pioneer Exposes the fraud called Mahesh Sharma and Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Barbel Schwertfeger of mba-channel.com
IIPM: An intriguing story of growth and envy
Prof Arindam Chaudhuri of IIPM on MF HUSAIN
