Telling Stories Through Food

I BELIEVE the world has a whole new understanding of Indian food where individual regions are claiming the spotlight today. At Amaranta we continue to explore small town markets in search of key seasonal ingredients and authentic regional recipes that are coupled with constant experimentation for our menu. Chefs today have refined recipes, created new dishes, paid more keen attention to the quality of ingredients and redefined presentation. One must know that no matter how successful you are in adapting your cuisine to suit foreign palates, all revolutions have to be indigenous. Indian chefs are inspired to curate menus primarily keeping Indian guests in mind and look beyond the usual dishes to create a revolution.

Amaranta is a culinary experience, where stories are told via food that is rooted in the familiar. The recipes that we showcase involve using techniques like dehydration, sous-vide, fermentation, dehydration and flavoured oils. The inspiration for the menu is diverse –from the Havelis in Lucknow and traditional “gams” in Saurashtra to the rarified classics of the Jain Paryushan and the ‘deras’ of Punjab. My style of cooking where ‘less is more’ allows each ingredient to be the star and ensures that the flavours are intact and still recognizable.

This January, Amaranta award winning Chef Vivek Singh of The Cinnamon Collection fame in London came together with us to present the first ever Celebrity Chef Collaboration at Amaranta between 18th to 22nd January, 2017.

Chef Vivek Singh draws his inspiration from tradition yet is driven by constant evolution, new techniques and cultural influences. Being one of the most successful and respected Modern Indian chefs globally, he is also an Alumni of the prestigious Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development. He is at the helm of four renowned restaurants in London, that includes, The Cinnamon Club. The Cinnamon Club is an institution in the world of Indian fine dining and has been awarded the ‘Best Indian Restaurants’ by Squaremeal food guide in the UK.

Most recently Chef Vivek Singh was bestowed with an honorary doctorate of letters for his significant contribution in the development of Indian cuisine across the United Kingdom. Chef Vivek has authored five bestseller-cookbooks and has a regular guest slot on BBC’s Saturday Kitchen.

Having recently completed a 3-month stage at Noma I have bring the finer nuances of foraging, sustainability, detailing and ageing to the fore at Amaranta.

Foraging at Noma included starting early in the morning with a list of ingredients to source for the menu. Geared in our jump suits and gum boots, with a few chefs who also have a degree in Botany accompanied us on these daily visits. The team at Noma has been foraging for over a decade and therefore have in depth knowledge of the regions and the have identified pockets in and around Copenhagen for foraging. Our discoveries included wild berries, exotic varietals of plums, wild mushrooms, garlic flavoured Chantrelles and nettles which are grown in the wild. I enjoyed working with Rene as he is a visionary and always breaks down a dish from its grass-root level to dig deeper into the history of the flora and fauna of that particular region, much like the way we present our menus at Amaranta. At Amaranta my teams of six regional cuisine specialists from Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Bengal and Rajasthan have been handpicked from small-town eateries, to protect the original simplicity of their skill. Their repertoire spans century old recipes to recently evolved runaway successes.

My essential style is a ‘play-ted menu’ blending authentic regional recipes and unusual flavour pairings to curate a truly contemporary Modern Indian dining experience. On the other hand, Chef Vivek combines Indian culinary heritage with quality British produce, creating Modern versions of regional originals that have earned him many accolades. The use of key seasonal ingredients and reinvented recipes resulting from constant experimentation form the base of this first-of-its-kind culinary celebration.