The foam on the plate has fizzled out; the fare is without fuss, wholesome and hearty. The focus is on flavour and not gimmicks. This is what chefs across the globe are forecasting when it comes to food. Ivinder Gill chats up a few masterchefs, some of them Michelin-starred, to know what?s hot in the kitchen these days…
Respect for the ingredient
A symbol of new Australian cuisine, Mark Best, owner of Marque in Sydney, knows no rules in the kitchen. He is open to all ingredients and all cooking techniques. If he is using chicken , he won?t use just the breast, but even the wings and liver. Every ingredient is equal in his eyes, and his basic mantra is to ?respect the ingredient?. Local, fresh and organic produce works best for him. He avoids too many elements on a plate and likes to keep it simple. He salutes traditional cooking, but insists that experimentation with food reigns in his kitchen.
What?s next?
Ian Curley
Less is more
One of Australia?s most celebrated chefs, Ian Curley is executive chef of The European Group, overseeing multiple venues. He says despite the occasional frills and adventures, the consistent demand of customers is for simple, basic food that is value for money. Which is why he keeps a long list of regular dishes on the menu that keep attracting loyal customers back for more. He believes in having a large menu that will keep in mind the tastes of every palate. However, here again, local ingredients rule. Less is more when it comes to cooking techniques, he says, referring to an example of chefs trying to create spheres out of cooked peas when he would have simply placed peas instead. Food as nature intended it is the simple rule for him.
Roger Pizey
Grilling & sharing
Being executive chef at Marco’s, London, cannot be easy. Working in a restaurant owned by the brilliant Marco Pierre White would require a calibre of the highest level, and Roger Pizey has just that. The added plus is his calm disposition. His ground breaking desserts have been an integral part of the shifting perceptions in English cooking. Having since moved into the main kitchen, Pizey says Peruvian food is what’s making waves in London, with more than four restaurants opening in the past two years. However, Marco’s sticks to traditional English cooking, and grilled food is much in demand these days. Slow-cooked grills are what Pizey is doing a lot, steaks and all. He says people are more comfortable with basic and hearty food than foams and gels, so food trends point back to ‘normal’ cooking. People want value for money and frills like gels and foams are no longer the crux of a dish, but only serve as accompaniments and decorations.
Interestingly, he points out that sharing of food is popular and dishes that can be easily shared, like small, grilled bites, are gaining ground. At his restaurant, the Tomahawk steak is very popular, and can be shared by two people.
Spreading happiness through food!
Marcello Tully
Loyalty to local produce
A Michelin-star awardee consecutively since 2010, Marcello Tully cooks literally in the middle of nowhere. Head chef at Kinloch Lodge at the Isle of Skye in Scotland, his inspiration in the kitchen is the island and whatever ingredients he can source locally. So seafood is big on his menu, as are seasonal vegetables and produce. His food is simple and basic, with a shift toward healthier and lighter cooking. However, he likes to have fun experimenting with garnishes and accompaniments. But the bottomline for Tully is local, fresh and simple.
Hemant Oberoi
Beyond Punjabi food
Over 30 years in the business could tire anyone out, but not Hemant Oberoi, corporate chef, Taj Hotels. Claiming to be ahead of Generation Next (or Generation Text, as he likes to call it), the man is at the top of his game as he reinvents menus of his restaurants, offering patrons food that surprises and delights. In his latest offerings, he transforms the humble kala chana into a frothy cappuccino; bhutta into the spiciest, tangy lollipop; asparagus into a tandoori snack and pista, kaju, badam into the most heavenly chaat.
He reminds us that techniques like slow cooking, which are currently the rage the world over, have been part of Indian cooking since hundreds of years. At the same time, he is reviving dishes made by his grandmother, like malai ki subzi. Some trends he
identifies in Indian food are:
l Going beyond Punjabi food to lighter, fresher flavours of, say, Gujarat or the south, which, he says, have many unexplored flavours waiting to be sampled. For example, he has put steamed edamame beans with curry leaves on the menu at Masala Art in Delhi.
l Lighter food is in. At the Masala Craft and Masala Art, he rations the butter everyday. The soups at his restaurants are without cream, but at the same time he defends his ghee roast chicken, saying people eating ghee regularly live longer. In the same vein, deep frying is out and so are dishes like koftas.
l Good presentation of Indian food is a trend he welcomes. Presentation is very important these days, he says, but flavour is supreme. For instance, he commissions special glass biryani pots made by a German company just for him. At the same time, he has conceptualised ?tiffins? for individual diners so as to offer them a variety of dishes.
Old is, indeed, gold!
Manish Mehrotra
Flavours of home
His restaurant Indian Accent may be nestled deep in a residential neighbourhood of Delhi, he may be doing only 60 covers and having no plans to either shift or expand, but with the kind of food Manish Mehrotra dishes up, he needs no marketing gimmicks. His food does all the talking for him.
At the Indian Accent, one tends to lap up parwal as appetisingly as prawns or encounter a very unexpected but delightful sitaphal fruit cream.
His grand plans for this winter season revolve around karela, baingan bharta, khichdi and sattu. Yes, you read that right. Going back to basics is what he calls it; dishes that remind one of mother?s cooking. A true advocate of Indian food, he also prefers to use Indian vegetables like saag over asparagus or baby corn. Colocasia, beetroot, baby cucumber, pumpkin and amaranth are his hot picks for this season. The relatively unknown fruit of karounda will be used for chutneys and sauces, and grains like ragi will grace the chef?s table at Indian Accent. The sattu will come all the way from Patna, Mehrotra?s hometown, made just the way it should be.
Mehrotra?s present challenge is to whip up non-dairy desserts. Imagine an Indian sweet without cream, khoya or milk! But Mehrotra is already halfway there, with his laddoo tarts. Constantly throwing surprises at his happy customers, he tells us about his latest experiment, bajra popcorn, which, he says, is a big hit. Indian to the core!
Frances Atkins
Multiple menus
The audience at a demo session by Frances Atkins in Delhi recently was sceptical when she paired aubergine and banana for a chutney, but one taste, and everyone was floored. Her cooking is often called ?free-spirited?, but is classical all the same. Cooking with natural, fresh and organic ingredients at her restaurant, The Yorke Arms, Yorkshire, Atkins is one of the six women Michelin-starred chefs in the UK, holding a Michelin star consistently since 2003. Such is the focus on freshness that she tells us that forecasting the dinner menu at her restaurant cannot be done early in the day. Dishes are prepared from scratch for diners just before serving.
She feels diners these days like to have various options like tasting menus, special meals, etc. She says tasting menus are getting popular and can comprise eight to 17 dishes of any type of food. This, she feels, also gives a chance for the chefs to display their cooking techniques and styles. Accordingly, her restaurant offers several options like a tasting menu, classic menu, Sunday lunch, etc.
As for ingredients and cooking styles, she says dehydrated food is being used a lot, while oil-based dishes are also popular. Gels are relegated to being relishes or accompaniments for her. Neo-classic!
Laurie Gear
Customer-friendly restaurants
A Fellow of Masterchefs of Great Britain, Laurie Gear cooks at his restaurant, Artichoke, in Amersham, UK. Gear believes restaurants are witnessing a revolution when it comes to being more customer-friendly. Restaurants are less of temples of gastronomy, with food being cooked keeping in mind the needs and tastes of customers. Service is also more relaxed and friendly. For instance, he points out that his restaurant provides a large menu, including a seven-course tasting one, to suit all kinds of diners. Cooking is increasingly done with food allergies in mind and is more customer-focused. The other trend he sees is increasing vegetarianism. Artichoke even offers a seven-course veg menu. Other trends include seasonal and fresh produce, less ingredients on a plate, simple, uncomplicated food with no clash in flavours, and, of course, lighter options with less use of butter and cream. But he also points out that food is like fashion, and trends keep changing every six months. Until the next fad!
Top 5 trends
* Smaller portions, tasting menus
* Local, fresh ingredients
* Veg gets popular
* Simple, uncomplicated flavours
*End of molecular gastronomy
