TRENDS
Cuisine ... in sync
NEETA LAL
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"Everything from video games, phones, TV shows, computers, banking, railways to airline services have turned interactive. So why not food?"
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INTERACTIVE CHEFS: There is a whole new meaning now to eating out. PHOTO: G.R.N. SOMASHEKAR
A TOQUE-ED chef furiously rustles up southeast Asian delicacies at the hotel's interactive counter .... Mouthwatering Thai curries, rice soup with tofu and shrimps, Burmese bowl noodle soup, Curry Laksa .... Luminous vegetables/herbs/flavourings lie in natty piles before him even as sauces — of all hues and textures — wink back from gleaming vials. The chef picks and chooses his ingredients, chats up the guests, shares recipes with the lunching ladies, all with remarkable showmanship.
The guests — meanwhile — are gorging on achingly fresh food cooked before them in a carnival-esque ambience ....
Welcome to the world of interactive cuisine! An exciting, new form of dining which has curried enormous favour with hotels and restaurants across the country. Walk into any dining establishment and chances are that you'll encounter at least one "interactive" restaurant or counter. And while the choice of cuisine on offer may vary bewilderingly from traditional south Indian to exotic Greek, Italian, Mexican or Spanish, the "interactive" recipe will usually be the same — live counters, a vivacious atmosphere and custom-made food.
Popular concept
"The concept of interactivity has found huge acceptance the world over," opines Executive Chef Amit Chaudhury of Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi. "Everything from video games, phones, TV shows, computers, banking, railways to airlines have turned interactive. So why not food?"
Indeed. Small wonder then that the Taj Hotel's interactive counters at its coffee shop "Machan" are quite a rage with their banquet-like offerings. For breakfast, there's an egg station, an appam station, a hot cake bar and a waffle station which churns out gossamer gold waffles with berry compotes and honey and maple syrup. For the Sunday "Lazy Lunch Grand Buffet", a dozen live counters — including pasta stations, risotto counters, panini stations, bruschetta bars and a quesadilla station — tweak your tastebuds.
The counters are chosen on the basis of freshness of ingredients, the demographic profile of the houseguests and the cuisine's popularity. The chefs also keep upgrading the interactive counter through out-of-the-box thinking. On special days — like Mother's Day — for instance, guest moms and their kids may cook up a storm together with the chefs! On Father's Day, it's the daddy's turn to tuck in the apron! "Interactive cooking has redefined customer eating patterns. It is also a means for the hotel to enhance its service delivery mechanism," elaborates Vivek Shukla, Resident Manger, Intercontinental The Grand, New Delhi which does popular interactive grill items and a smorgasbord of Indian and continental cuisine at its coffee shop.
Interestingly, interactivity has also added a new word to the culinary lexicon — "transparency". This is especially important for veggie or fussy diners who are pernickety about kitchen hygiene or the authenticity of their dishes.
In fact with the entire journey of the dish — from raw ingredients to the finished product — happening before them on fireless/smokeless induction cooking ranges - fears about "backroom" hanky panky are allayed.
"Healthy" eating the focus
Also, with "healthy" being the latest buzzword, most eateries include a smattering of healthful items on their interactive agenda. The Grand Intercontinental, for instance, features sprout salads, low-fat cheeses, high fibre cereals and weetabix as a part of its interactive breakfast menu. At the Taj Mahal Hotel's lunch, fitness options may range from whole wheat pasta, organic vegetables, steamed Norwegian salmon, low-fat papri chaat, poached river sole with leeks, truffled vegetables, chicken with papaya salsa, Norwegian salmon with tomato olive salsa to sugar-free desserts. Whew!
However, even within the "interactive" bracket, each establishment has tried to bring in a whiff of novelty. Radisson, MBD, NOIDA in Uttar Pradesh, for instance, has launched hugely successful "midnight interactive counters" at its coffee shop "S18" which are on till the wee hours of the morning! Similarly, at the interactive Oriental restaurant, "Chef & I" at Uppal's Orchid Hotel, Gurgaon (Haryana), one of the country's two eco hotels, the interactive experience extends to a unique level. Here, the chef even comes across to jot down your order, converse with you, serve you and then even see you off at the door, post-meal! "We aim at a holistic, feel-good family experience," elaborates Devraj Halder, Executive Chef at Uppal's Orchid. "This helps the hotel and the guest bond better."
Novelty ... stardom for chefs
Apart from redefining eating patterns, interactive cooking has also added an exciting dimension to the chef's profile. From introverted staffers relegated to the kitchen they have now morphed into stars. Of course, to gain that aura, the chefs have also had to brush up on their social skills, mannerisms, deportment and general knowledge. "When a guest quizzes you about the English name for a herb amidst the gathering, you don't want to look like a fool, do you?" asks Halder.
Along with the chef's star status comes the most vital input for their business — customer feedback.
And most chefs concur that there's nothing better than an interactive platform to help them reassess their culinary skills.
Admits John Stone, Heritage Village Resort, Manesar in Gurgaon. "Guests give us frank inputs about the meal, what needs to be improved, how to expand our repertoire etc. Such inputs are crucial in the hospitality sector."
With so much going for the cuisine, how about making your next meal an interactive one? It's an idea that's fun, fashionable and definitely worth chewing upon!
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