It’s a Balance Between the Old and the New

MAURO MACCIONI confesses that his brothers and he virtually grew up at his father Sirio’s restaurant, Le Cirque in New York City.  Maccioni was in India recently to get to see how his restaurants in India were doing and BW Hotelier posed a few questions to him then.

Maccioni and his brothers’ operate restaurants in New York City, Las Vegas, the Dominican Republic, New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, in the Middle East and on a cruise line. It’s a vast business for the intrepid restauranteur who honed his skills at Le Crayères in Reims, France; Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence and Arzak in San Sebastian, Spain. 

The Nair Family and the Maccionis have been friends for years. Both Captain Nair and Sirio Maccioni are legends in hospitality. Both institutions share a commitment to excellence as our core value. They deliver a highly personalised luxury experience and cherish guests as individuals. 

“We wanted to make sure we could replicate the exclusive fine dining experience of Le Cirque and The Leela has the unsurpassed operational capability to make it happen.  We opened our first outpost in Asia at The Leela Palace New Delhi in 2011. Inspired by the success of this launch, we expanded to Mumbai and Bangalore. We are very excited about adding to the diversity of the culinary scene in all three cities,” he said. 

What excited Maccioni about India is that it is on the brink of a culinary revolution. 

“The Indian palate and restaurant scene is evolving at a rapid pace. Indians are travelling widely and expecting the same standards of culinary excellence back home, and the market players are elevating their offerings to meet the challenge.  We want to be a part of this growth story and make sure Indians and world travellers can experience our restaurants,” he said. The rise in the popularity of food shows, the spotlight on the brightest culinary talents of India, reflects a broadening of food culture and dining expectations. 

The Indian media is paying much more attention to innovation in industry and culinary talents in general. The secret ingredient of each Le Cirque restaurant’s growth is that they take very good care of guests, and take pride in anticipating their needs. Right now, the focus is on food and service, and crafting a grand experience for Indian guests. 

“We want people to come in and feel elegant and pampered and very special every time. Honestly, our true measure of success is not the number of outlets we open, but the frequency of return visits from our loyal guests,” Maccioni added.  

One of the most difficult part of running a restaurant empire (the Maccionis have ten around the world), especially one which is so geographically spread out is about controlling the quality of the product, so just how do they do it?

One of the reasons of the original Le Cirque’s runaway success was that from the start they let guests decide their experience.  “We have continued to follow this rule as we have expanded around the globe from Las Vegas to Abu Dhabi to India. The cuisine of Le Cirque’s outlets is French with Italian influences and we have been careful to offer the real essence of Le Cirque and its classics,” Maccioni explained. But, they also understood the importance of being fresh and have devised a method of allocation the classics to one section of the menu and then allowing the chef to do the other half of the menu in a more contemporary way. This is the balance they try to keep, he said.

“Our Chef’s creations are inspired by the local ingredients and produce available. In India, for example, we opted to add more vegetarian dishes, some of them are even without onion and garlic. My personal favourites are the morel mushrooms from Kashmir and the fresh tiger prawns,” he said. The group is also able to attract the brightest culinary talent in New York and thanks to their association with brands like The Leela, the chefs are happy to travel to international outposts as well, Maccioni said.

“Chef Diego Martinelli is the Chef de Cuisine of Le Cirque Palace New Delhi and brings with him over 16 years of experience across Europe, Middle East and Asia working and with leading brands including Bulgari Hotels & Resorts and The Fullerton Hotel, Singapore to name a few. Barely a month ago, Chef Lorenzo Severini arrived at Le Cirque Signature at The Leela Mumbai from Le Cirque New York,” Maccioni said, adding that he was in Mumbai for the tastings and trials, and it’s turning out to be quite good. 

“It is the same at The Leela Palace Bangalore where another new chef Giuseppe Mandaradoni is now leading Le Cirque Signature,” he said. The menus, which Maccioni was in India to try out, will be unveiled soon at the Le Cirque Signature restaurants at The Leela Mumbai and The Leela Palace Bengaluru and at Le Cirque at The Leela Palace Delhi.