Crab-ing for more?

Manpriya Singh

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Oriental cuisine, continental food, gourmet cafes—all check. While there are a lot many things city-ites have given a loud nod to, it wasn’t until an invite for Arabic food festival comes by that it hits—let’s talk about what’s amiss. While at it, also of a few relatively unfamiliar cuisines and dining concepts we’ve just about been introduced to.

Back to the festival

“I have been closely observing the palette and culinary preferences of the residents for a couple of months now and I thought of filling a small gap by giving the Chandigarh people, a glimpse of really well made Arabic food,” Vijay Prakash, Chef de Cuisine, who joins JW Marriott after a decade of experience with The Oberoi, shares some of his candid observations. “They love Indian food for sure but at the same time they want to experiment with other cuisines. Now, since the exposure to a lot of other cuisines is limited to the basics, we thought of giving them a full-fledged 10-days dedicated to Arabian food.”

Basics of any cuisine are hard to perfect and he assures, “I’ve tasted Mediterranean food available in the city but even things like hummus need to be perfected. For instance while grinding, it has to be protected from heat which can spoil things.”

“You see, it’s easier to hold a food festival, experiment with for 10 days than go all out and survive with one kind of cuisine. Cuisines like Mexican and Mediterranean are relatively new for the city because there are only one or two good restaurants who have survived in the industry,” observes Dheeraj Chawla, head chef with Delhi-based Cobalt Caterers. That’s why you’ll find a Singapore Street Food Festival or a Korean Food Festival but still not a stand alone sea-food restaurant in the city. The lack of large numbers drives away any chance of going beyond a joint Mediterranean restaurant serving just the basics.

Going global

One of the reasons, Abhay Singh Jagat, having been in the food industry for a decade now, thought of introducing lots of little things and clubbing them all under what he apprises us as International Menu, with his very recently opened Tattlers in Sector 9. He shares, “We also wanted a harmonious blend between the very casual café culture and the very stiff fine dining experience.” He adds, “We’ve introduced super foods with ingredients like quinoa and chia seeds...and then you’ll find lots of accompaniments for English high tea like scones. We’ve cut an Indian there with fusion food and also gourmet food with crabs in the menu. But the idea is to cater to a wider range of people but at the same time those who really know their food.”