Six years ago, when Eggspectation opened its doors in New Delhi’s Vasant Continental, not only did the name not ring a bell with customers (it is a franchised operation, whose parent company is in Canada), people sniggered at the very idea of eggs cooked in dozens of ways. Three years is a long time in…
I’ve done nothing but gossip these last few days. And the results have been fascinating. But first things first. In the last one year alone, three major restaurant brands have opened in the country. Hakkasan made its appearance in Mumbai and Le Cirque in Delhi. Very soon, Megu is going to open, in Delhi, on…
When Chef Irfan told his Lucknow-based parents that he wanted to join hotel school, they were happy enough. But when he decided to specialize in kitchen rather than front office or food and beverage service, his businessman father couldn’t understand it. “In our khandaan, we call cooks to our house to tickle our palates; nobody…
There are not too many restaurants dedicated to Hyderabadi food anywhere in the country, and even fewer that are dedicated to royal Hyderabadi cuisine, which is so painstaking that it was more or less fated to wither into oblivion. All that remains in the city of its birth is a motley collection of unpretentious eateries…
The first trip I ever made to the olive growing world was to Andalusia in Southern Spain around five years ago. It was an eye opener. Along with 11 other media people from Canada, USA, Russia, Serbia, China and India, I visited olive groves, travelled through Andalusia’s trademark low hills covered with neat rows of…
This young man, still unmarried, has sixteen years of experience in cooking. He passed out from cooking school in Osaka where he was required to study Japanese, European and Chinese food for one year, before specializing in one area. Uno decided to specialize in Japanese, French and – hold your breath! – vacuum packed food.…
For the second time in as many years has Crowne Plaza Today in Okhla held a festival showcasing the delights of Old Delhi. It so happens that the postal address of Chandni Chowk and Jama Masjid is Delhi 6, so the festival has been named Dilli 6. It has struck such a chord with Delhiites…
Suhail Ahmed Khosa, the new waza in town You can actually count the number of Delhi-based wazas or professional Kashmiri cooks on the fingers of one hand. There are only three in as many different hotels and the latest to join their brood is Suhail Khosa, fresh from the Valley. WelcomHotel Sheraton New Delhi prides…
Every hotel vies with its competitors to host the most innovative food festival. There are a couple of variables. Though the cuisine has to be bold and novel – and of course memorable – it also has to appeal to the taste-buds of the public and be as popular as possible. There are a few…
Shilarna Vaze, Gaia, Mumbai, A former restaurateur and caterer, 30-year-old Shilarna Vaze runs a gourmet catering service called Gaia with her Swiss-French husband Christophe Perrin. Vaze trained at Paris’ Le Cordon Bleu, while Perrin acquired his culinary chops from his father, a retired chef in the alpine village of Leysin in Switzerland. As Vaze’s longstanding…