If haute is what comes to your mind when you think food, what with masterchefs and gourmet food making their way into our kitchens and restaurant kitchens, it’s clearly a food revolution out there. Think Beluga, diamond dust, edible gold, kopi livak coffee, gold leaves, white truffles, caviar, scampi, oysters and you know that the nouveau rich want to cook only the best. They don’t believe in any pretensions or false modesty. If they like being mollycoddled, then let it be. There are many chefs who are set to give you a carnivorous culinary revolution of sorts.
Though they are rotund, dark and odorous, truffles are an exotic ingredient that restaurants are using to add that piquant flavour into your dishes. Some are also adding just a drizzle of the delicate truffle sauce to tantalise your tastebuds and arouse the palate. Sajal Jassal, director, Punjab Grill, that has restaurants in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Singapore and is opening in Dubai, shares, “The stuffed Tandoori Gucchi are handpicked morels and the Gucchi Pulao is made from stuffed jumbo morels. The Gucchi comes at Rs 29,000 a kilo and is an acquired taste for the food connoisseurs.”
Chef Abhijit Saha who has won several awards and runs gourmet restaurants, shares, “There is a growing demand for exotic ingredients. Though the prices of truffles changes internationally, they remain to be exclusive and in the range of Rs 80,000 and above for a kilo. There are white and black truffles, that don’t need processing. I use them as shavings on truffle risotto, truffle meats and also flavour them with truffle sauce. I also use Matsutake mushrooms that are unique to Japanese and Chinese dishes as they add a distinct spicy-aromatic odour and are found concealed under fallen leaves and duff in forests. Most caviar comes from the Caspian Sea and is processed in Russia and Iran. Beluga is the most expensive variety, followed by Oscietra and Sevruga, produced from different species of sturgeon. Then there are gold leaf and gold dust that are made from real gold, hence their prices also change according to the gold prices internationally. I use them in small quantities in desserts.”
Food is getting a luxurious makeover. Anna Minocher who caters to high-end intimate gatherings under her name is well travelled and agrees that there are people who ask for exotic global ingredients as they have tasted them on their trips abroad, watched them on zippy food shows and want to indulge their senses. “Most of the swanky kitchens are themselves nothing short of a multi cultural landscape, as travel and food shows have broadened their horizons. I use porcini mushrooms which could go upwards of a couple of thousands a kilo, truffles, exotic cheese, risotto rice, Californian rice, balsamic vinegar, Spanish confiture (preserved fruits), high quality bacon, black cod, scallops, soft shell crabs, heirloom tomatoes, the best quality lamb chops, peanut dacquoise, macaroons, Thai melon, dragon fruit and other such exotic ingredients. I use these in my kitchen as well as for catering.”
Alfonso Montefusco, chef, Bengaluru Marriott Hotel, says, “We get exotic ingredients like parmigiano andcastelmagno cheese, extra virgin olive oils, parma ham and balsamic vinegar aged at least 12 years. The lust for a tinge of luxury and a bit of opulence, when it comes to dining is growing.”
The kitchen does get gourmet in style as Satish Ishwar of Bell Foods India, who imports and exports exotic ingredients reveals, “Arborio rice, American chillis, foie gras, caviar beluga, meleno prosciutto and Prosciutto di Parma ham are some of the rare and popular ingredients.” It’s a culinary revolution out there, raising the bar with new ingredients, recipes are set to transform the way we look at food.
