Kunal Arolkar is a Pastry Chef by profession who operates Professional Hotelier India (www.professionalhotelier.in) and can be contacted on ka@professionalhotelier.in for Kitchen Solutions, Food Events , Training, Procurement and other Kitchen-based requirements.
Flavours with a twist
“Traditional Approach to Cooking”, “Authentic Style”, “Culinary Classics”, “My Gran’s Recipes”- terms like these no longer don the cover of many new age cook-books, unless they are a reproduction of an old epic or a nostalgic take on this form of art. The new wave of cooking literature uses jargon like, “ Fresh, Fast, Health-furious”, “Nouvelle cuisine”, “Gastronomic Artistry”, “New ways of cooking old classics” . The shift echoes not only what is in demand these days but also stands for the change that the current generation of Chefs would like to bring about in their style of cooking. The need for something different stems from the fact that consumers are so constantly exposed to regular fare, a fresh and unique take on food is a welcome trend. Gone are the days when serving a Vanilla Crème Brule in a ramekin would get a raving appreciation, why adhere to the tradition when you can have it cooked in a silicon mould, frozen, unmolded and then torched with a perfumed sugar crust, that would certainly win quite a few kudos. Innovativeness in a kitchen is pivotal when it comes to rustling up something divine with common resources, and this is where experience and flamboyance walk hand in hand.
Experimental Cuisine
New Chefs tend to use the concept of “Nouvelle Cuisine” when it comes to innovating new menu options – from Salads to Desserts, the combinations of fresh ingredients is unmistakably different from the tedious old school practices. The Caveman concept seems to highlight the natural composition of food over the added flavours ; would that mean a Chicken Makhni would taste any lesser today than it did 20-30 years ago in its unrestricted Full-fat version? Would a Shot of Gazpacho today taste different due to organic tomatoes & the introduction of more flavours? Difficult to say, but it would be important to understand why our cuisine has gotten so simplified, so straight-forward and gone back to the Neanderthal methods of cooking! Apart from the need of an unique touch to your other-wise regular product, the lack of time devoted to cooking, the preference of fresh individual food flavours over combinations and the marriage of contemporary tastes to classics are the reasons leading to the genesis of the modern Flavour factory.
Two to Tango
A twist to every tale provides an “out-of-the-box” approach to any issue and this in today’s times is what is required of every Culinarist, one should keep creating and innovating, getting your flavours twisted with your client’s appreciation and loyalty seems like a successful option to a good business as well.