Art ,Action and Drama in our kitchen

Coming back to my Saturday kitchen was very interesting. After all these years it has become like a second skin for me. I live on the excitement,the high adrenaline and the action.Those who do adventure sports such as wild river rafting or sky diving would understand what I mean. The calm and peace gathered in the short break to India flew off like pigeons after a gunshot! I was back to my primal state. There were new chefs to be trained and hungry customers to be fed.Service in those peak hours take you to a different level of concentration . It brings the best and worst out of the team. Its fine art created amidst heat, sweat and blood . The pain of anticipation in your guts when order tickets are piling up and plates are getting stacked are second to none. Your senses are open and you are drunk with passion. The sweat on the brows and the aching backs stand witness to our toil. The joy of seeing a finished plate and the thought of your art being appreciated is also second to none. My chefs say that working shifts with me is baptism in fire. You are either this side or that side and mediocrity is not an answer. I wish somehow our customers understand what it takes to create what they are enjoying on their plates. It will enhance the dining experience even further!

Culinary rendezvous in India.

The most memorable destination amongst all in my culinary rendezvous this time was the South Indian City of Hyderabad. It is the I.T hub of South Eastern India and also a mecca for food lovers. I was impressed by the depth and intricacy of flavours and spicing in Hyderabadi cuisine. I had heard a lot about the famous Hyderabadi Biryani. Now was the time to experience it. The scale of production of this delicacy in this city is astronomical. Its something that is seen to be believed. The Biriyani restaurant was almost like a mini food festival! In fact encouraged by my Biriyani adventures, I did something even more radical. I went for a late night food foraging session with some local friends! We got up at four in the morning and visited the old cities’s famous eateries. It was as if time stood still there amongst the imposing and impressive Turkic and Mughal architecture. I felt as if I was transported back 500 years to times of Qutub Shah the founder of the city . All around me were people relishing offal of animals at dawn just before sunrise. I must admit I was impressed and intimidated at the same time. My hosts ordered tongue and sheen followed by kidneys and brain! And all this was being lapped up with thick Hyderabadi bread.We ended the meal with some warm saffron tea...A great aphrodisiac...

I am carrying the spirit of the regal Hyderabadi Biryani back to Margate. Wouldnt it be simply amazing to set up street side eateries with people enjoying warm exotic delicacies!

Foraging for herbs,spices and inspiration in India

It is time to get inspired. My travels are most of the time culinary adventures into the hinterland of exotic cuisine. This time I am foraging for two mysterious flavours. “Black stone flower” and Cubebs pepper”. Both spices are rare and unknown to most connoisseurs today. I have come across them now and then being used by traditional chefs throughout India.My hunt for these rare herbs will take me from the bustling western coast of Maharastra to the serene and quite foothills of the Himalayas.

Black Stone Flower" is a rare dried flower. It has a strong woody aroma and flavor and resembles lichens.Cubeb (Piper cubeba), or tailed pepper, is a plant cultivated for its fruit and essential oils. Cubeb came to Europe via India through the trade with the Arabs.In Europe, cubeb was one of the valuable spices during the Middle Ages. It was ground as a seasoning for meat or used in sauces.