Chef's table
They're cooking up a storm, creating desserts that look like plated art and mixing unusual concoctions like never before. Here's a look at the city's young culinary artists.
[Our panel]
Ruth D'Souza Prabhu
Ruth Dsouza Prabhu is a Bangalore-based freelance writer. She writes for several reputed publications on food, travel, lifestyle, interiors, parenting and architecture, besides a host of other subjects. A self-confessed foodie, Ruth loves to explore a city through its food and documents her experiences in a popular restaurant blog called bangaloresrestaurants.com
Chef Naren Thimmaiah
Naren Thimmaiah has been the face of the award-winning coastal restaurant Karavalli at Taj Gateway for over two decades. His belief lies in preserving traditions through food, much like a museum and has been the recipient of several accolades including Best Chef of India at the National Tourism Awards.
Chirag Makwana, 27, Sous Chef, Toast and Tonic
Specialising in Italian and North American ]cuisine, Chirag Makwana started at the early age of 18, and now uses his technique to innovate with local ingredients and regional produce.
Kitchen Essentials
Trained staff, good sharp knives, fresh produce and a lot of butter.
Innovation
It is about constantly reading, trying new stuff and coming up with new dishes.
Favourites
Bajra Ricotta Gnidu which is almost like gnocchi that uses local ingredients in a cream amaranth and gongura leaves with a spinach velute sauce. Also, Bulgogi Burger, thinly sliced Korean barbecue beef incorporated in a burger with kimchi, black bean aioli and tapioca chips.
Favourites
Wood-fired pizza at a Napoli restaurant in Canada. The wood lends it a smoky flavour.
Altamash Iqbal, 30, Chef-de-cuisine, Riwaz, The Ritz-Carlton Bangalore
Hailing from Sitapur near Lucknow, Chef Altamash draws inspiration from home to create traditional delicacies with his own special touch. He is also the official chef for the Australian cricket team during their tours in the Indian subcontinent.
Kitchen Essentials
Fresh ingredients.
Innovation
It can be simple and traditional.
Favourites
Dum Ki Rann, cooked thrice and covered with puff pastry for a western touch. Also the traditional Nalli Nihari, a quintessential Lucknow speciality which won't be the same without the masala that I get from my hometown.
Memorable Meal
A three-course meal by Vivek Singh of Cinnamon Club that included Tandoor roasted lamb loin with corn sauce and khichdi with tandoori prawn.
Abhishek Sherwade, 26, Bar Chef
Once a beverage server at the Four Seasons, Mumbai, Abhishek Sherwade loved being behind the bar and developed a deep interest in beverages. Working at hotel locations around the world, his passion lies in his signature concoctions made using homemade syrups, herbs and often tea.
Bar Essentials
Homemade ingredients, especially my syrups and mixes that are made from scratch.
Innovation
It is in knowing the trend and implementing new ideas based on what the market requires.
Favourites
Jonny ki chai that uses Johnny Walker Platinum whiskey with a homemade reduction of orange marmalade, saffron and sencha tea. Also, Aged Colada where a coconut is drilled to let Old Monk rum age in it for 21 days. Papaya syrup, pineapple juice, salt and lime is then added to it.
Favourites
It was a simple one, a Whiskey Sour with herbs I once had while judging a competition for management students, created by a hearing and visually impaired participant. It is a taste I can't forget.
Varun Pereira, 35, Executive Chef, Sly Granny
It was working as dishwasher while studying hotel management in the USA that led Varun Pereira into the kitchen. This self-taught chef has not looked back ever since, bringing Latin American food to the forefront, curing meats and making sausages in-house.
Kitchen Essentials
My palette knife, I carry it around all the time and use it as a spoon to taste.
Innovation
It is seeing what is around you and giving it your own spin. Only a handful of people are introducing new flavours and techniques, everything else in inspired.
Favourites
I like the fried chicken we do. It has taken quite a few trials and errors to bring out a texture like that without chemicals. Also pastrami-it is a true labour of love with a 10 to 12 day tedious process.
Memorable Meal
When I was Delhi, the family would go away to our farm once a month and we would have a meal of mutton korma, aloo and poori cooked over wood fire by my uncle. I now realise cooking over wood fire isn't easy.
Pallavi Mithika Menon, 30, Senior Sous Chef, Fava
With a masters in Human Ecology and Sustainability, Pallavi Menon looks at food from different aspects, with a focus on Slow Food. Trained at the Taj Group of Hotels, she worked at a boutique catering outfit in Delhi before partnering with Chef Abhijit Saha to work at Fava.
Kitchen Essentials
A strong sense of self and a great team. You could have great ingredients and equipment, but they don't mean too much without a great team.
Innovation
For me it is a desperate need to delve into the different cultures I come from. It is where I have always discovered great recipes.
Favourites
Pork spare ribs made using my grandmothers' recipe who is Anglo Indian. Just the smell of the sauce cooking brings back memories.
Memorable Meal
It was an eight-course community meal I once had in Seoul where a lady called The Doctor created it using 500 different ingredients, all dried, fermented or aged in a room behind.
Anirudh Nopany, 29 and Sreeram Anwesh, 25, Chefs and Partner, Brik Oven
When Le Cordon Bleu trained Anirudh Nopany and tax analyst Sreeram Anwesh came together, there was magic in the form of a Neapolitan style, wood-fired pizza place that also serves sinful shakes.
Kitchen Essentials
The wood that fires our pizzas and a pair of kitchen shoes.
Innovation
It is the most important thing. We are constantly working on our dough and every day we learn new things about yeast and flour.
Favourites
The Freak Shake which is not just a single shake but a combination of many ingredients topped with ice cream, snickers, Kit Kat, waffles, you name it. Also, our sour dough.
Memorable Meal
"A burger with a crispy beef patty I once had after a family trip to a water park when on a vacation in Europe," says Nopany. "Deep fried Mars bars in Edinburgh. I've never had anything like it," says Anwesh.
Vinesh Johny, 29, Executive Pastry Chef / Co-Founder, Lavonne Academy
Discovering his love for pastry arts early on in his hotel management days, Vinesh Johny has strived to create a space that nurtures pastry arts through Lavonne Academy. It is aimed at bringing together people bound by a common passion and craft, and in effect put India on the map for Pastry Arts education in the 21st century.
Kitchen Essentials
An ingredient I have a lot of fun working with is chocolate.
Innovation
We spend a lot of time in the test kitchen designing, creating, critiquing and tasting new things. During research and development, we are always on the lookout for lesser-known ingredients, working with both classic and newest techniques to be able to create flavours, textures and most importantly; a memory.
Favourites
The famed 'Black Forest Entremet', a simple spin on the classic black forest.
Memorable Meal
I have been a great fan of Chef Heston Blumenthal. When I was in UK last year, I had the chance to dine at his restaurant, The Fat Duck. Every dish ordered had a story to tell and a fascinating character of its own.
Soni Kumari Rana, 26, Junior Sous Chef, ITC Windsor Hotel
Specialising in Western cuisine, Soni Rana trained at Renaissance Mumbai before moving to ITC Grand Bharat in Delhi. She represented India at the prestigious Chaine de Rotisserie competition for young chefs held in Frankfurt this year.
Kitchen Essentials
Butter, bacon and cheese. Also a knife and a spoon.
Innovation
We don't innovate; we refine things with modern equipment and techniques.
Favourites
Savoury ice creams at our buffet that come in flavours like balsamic and guava chilli.
Memorable Meal
The gala dinner after the Chaine de Rotisserie competition I Frankfurt. I tasted many things I haven't before like truffle cream with activated charcoal, dogfish, black garlic and a host of edible flowers.
Nimisha Sarah Verghese, 29, Senior Sous Chef, The Oberoi Hotel
Having grown up in a Malayalee household with a hotelier father, Nimisha Sarah Verghese was always rustling up meals for the family and knew it would eventually turn into her profession.
Kitchen Essentials
Sharp, good-quality knives. Life becomes a whole lot easier with these handy tools around.
Innovation
Being able to put your soul on a plate. But innovation needs a great foundation and an in-depth knowledge of the basics first. So, there can be no short-cuts.
Favourites
Jackfruit and egg appams. Memorable Meal Nothing better than my grandma's Christmas dinners. Authentic Kerala Christian fare, fabulous company and a cherished family tradition. I look forward to it each year.
Hemanth Kumar, 32, Executive Chef, The Druid Garden
Trained at the Taj Group of Hotels, Hemanth Kumar, an Italian Chef, is experimenting with techniques and flavours like none other at The Druid Garden.
Kitchen Essentials
The freshest produce always invokes creativity. Innovation It means delving into the past.
Innovation cannot sustain without tradition. It's about finding your roots, being inquisitive and most importantly, loving what you do. Favourites Crab salad with melon carpaccio, Chipotle beef tacos, Asian spiced chicken wings.
Favourites
That would be at Karavalli, Taj Residency. At a time when most kitchens were working with modern cuisines, this place was going back in time to revive traditional recipes.