Last week, Saqib and I had the pleasure of attending two culinary master classes in Abu Dhabi by Chef Charlie Trotter and Chef Vineet Bhatia. Both these culinary experts hold Michelin stars (Trotter has one and Bhatia has 2).
Charlie Trotter initially earned an undergraduate degree in political science before moving onto a career in the culinary arts. He set up his first restaurant in Chicago, Illinois in 1987 and is now known as one of the best chefs in the United States despite the lack of any formal training. Trotter has always been a philanthropist and his two ventures (Charlie Trotter Culinary Education foundation and Excellence Program) are very close to his heart.
Vineet Bhatia decided to pursue a career in the culinary arts after being turned down by the Indian air force. He started at an undistinguished catering school in Ahmedabad and made his way to the prestigious Oberoi school. When he moved to the UK, he was horrified to discover that Indian food there was outrageously spicy and too aggressive. When given the opportunity, he proved that authentic Indian cuisine is quite different and has plenty of room to evolve. After that, there was no stopping him and he is now well known for his creativity in Indian cuisine the world over.
Before we got to the venue, we were more excited about Trotter since he is from Chicago,where we lived for a number of years as well. We never had a chance to visit his restaurant, but had sampled his food elsewhere and loved it. He prepared two courses for us. The first was tuna sashimi with buffalo tartare accompanied by a heart of palm radish salad, sesame crackers, parmesan crisp and lemon vinaigrette. The tuna was not only beautiful to look at, but was also delicious and the sesame crackers, with a hint of sweetness,were better than any we had had before. The second course was a Milbrook venison tenderloin crusted with cardamom infused dates served with salsify, quinoa, broccoli rabe and preserved ginger. As expected, it was great and we can not wait to go back to Chicago and dine at his restaurant.
We were not familiar with Chef Bhatia but were looking forward to the new age Indian food he prepares by simplifying typical ingredients and marrying them flawlessly with unconventional ones. We were not disappointed. The first course he prepared for us was a tandoori spiced home-smoked salmon, red onion, cucumber and dill raita. The salmon was out of this world and its not-so-typical marinade's surprising main ingredient was grainy mustard! The second course was a roast sea bass with coconut and roasted cashew nut khichdi with tomato kadhi, purple potato chips and chenna chutney. Again, an amazing experience which makes me want to go to at least one of his restaurants and we are lucky we have one right here in Dubai. Chef Bhatia's food explodes with flavors and reflects his passion for cooking and the Indian cuisine.
After we were done with the class, I was very inspired. It made me realize that cooking (and eating!) is really what I love doing. "Desi" food, especially, holds a place very close to my heart, not only because I grew up eating it, but also because it is the kind of food I started learning cooking from. The flavors used in Indian and Pakistani foods are so vast, yet they blend together so well if you don't over do the spices and don't overcook the food (which majority of people do).
The reason I cut down on "desi" food was because I thought it's not healthy. However, after attending Chef Bhatia's class, I realized that I can make it healthy but still get it to taste good. So, I have decided I will be restarting some "desi" cooking as well, while doing my best to make it as healthy as possible.
Stay tuned and happy eating!
No comments:
Post a Comment