Technology plays an important role for a chef in evolving the cuisine to a finer version, in delivering consistent product, improving the shelf life and in reducing the cost to a great extent. It helps a chef to reimagine his processes, cut off lengthy prep methods and look at increasing the productivity. Chef Ajay Chopra, in a tête-à-tête with FoodService, shares his thoughts about the changing culinary paradigms in India.
How would you describe your approach to cooking and the food service business?
The restaurant and food service industry is going through a major transformation. It is thus very important for all of us industry stakeholders to reinvent our approach towards how we engage with food and beverage. My baseline approach is and will always be that flavour is king. But with the introduction of newer food techniques and innovation in food, our style of cooking does take a shift. I believe in simple chef-crafted food with the emphasis on local ingredients and relevant food presentation.
What do you consider the most distinguishing features of your work as a chef?
I would say that it is my reimagination of local flavours, re-thinking and rekindling of regional flavours using modern techniques. I totally believe that Indian food, in its vastness and greatness, is still so unexplored. I want to bring glamour to local flavours.
Which culinary styles have influenced your career?
French classical cooking, imaginative European cooking & modern Indian cooking. I would like believe that as a chef I want to take Indian cooking to new dimensions.
What is your approach to slipping in healthier ingredients in your menu items?
Healthy food is the need of the hour and, also in the whole reimagination of Indian food, it is imperative that we think healthy across our menu, for e.g: slow cooked sous vide Nihari.
Who have been the people in the culinary profession and foodservice business to have shaped your professional philosophy and career?
• Chef Barnidharan, who was my professor at OCLD, taught us that being a chef is the most fulfilling profession but it will extract great pains of you to become an accomplished chef.
• Chef Rajeev Sing Gulshan, who taught me to focus on wholesome dishes and ingredients.
この記事は foodService India の May-June 2018 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は foodService India の May-June 2018 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
How Smart Technology Can Lead The Way For Safe Eating Environments
As many forms of consumption drivers come together to fuel the growth of Indian food and beverage service retail industry, there is an increased focus on food safety, especially in terms of food preparation, packaging and distribution.
Thinking out of the box
Benjamín Calleja is the founder and CEO of Livit, one of the world’s top restaurant design firms. He shares his views with us on the role of design and technology in creating restaurants that are profitable and efficient as well as great on guest experience.
Zomato acquires UberEats India for approx Rs. 2,500 crore
Zomato has acquired Uber’s Food Delivery Business in India in an all-stock deal. Uber will have 9.99 percent stake in the Deepinder Goyalled food delivery platform.
Millennials are looking for food that goes back to the roots
The millennials are very much aware of the benefits of healthy food; so the farm-to-table approach is growing and there is a boom in the demand for organic food cooked with sustainable methods. Chef Raji Gupta, in a conversation with FoodService India, throws light on the future of the food industry, changing trends and choices of people and the importance of catering to the evolving demands of customers.
Survey reveals that breakfast is not a favourite cooking moment for Indian moms
If making breakfast is an art, more often than not, the mother in the family happens to be the artist. It is regularly pegged as the most important meal of the day. But in the madness of rushed mornings, is it even possible for the artist to give it its due? To gain deeper insights into it, V-Guard, country’s leading electrical appliance brand partnered with Momspresso. com, India’s largest user-generated content platform that allows women to express themselves through different formats including text, audio and video across ten languages, to conduct a nationwide survey with 500 Indian moms.
Burger Singh to open 66 franchise outlets in the next 2 years
Burger Singh, the burger chain popular for its big burgers with an Indian twist, has become a name that’s on the favourite burgers list of every foodie. With an appetite as big as that of its customers, the famed burger chain is now heading for aggressive expansion across the country.
Éminences grises of foodservice industry ring down the curtain on India Food Forum 2020
India Food Forum returned for its 13th edition at the Renaissance Convention Centre at hotel Renaissance Mumbai on 5-6 February where the crème de la crème of India foodservice industry came together on Day 2 of the event to offer insightful takeaways on the innovations in food retailing, HoReCa and food technology, and also ensuring that all those attending the day’s deliberations were empowered with the products and insights that would help to maximise the opportunities offered by India’s vast consumer universe.
“People look for quirky things and innovative concepts in summers”
Amit Johari, Co-Founder, House Of Commons, which is located at Connaught Place, Central Delhi, talks to FoodService India about how summer trends differ from the other seasons in terms of the choice of beverages & appetisers, and on the profitability prospects for restaurants during the season.
A bar that does not burn a hole in your pocket
Yudhveer Singh, Founder of Delhi-NCR based The Beer House Café, in a conversation with the FoodServcie India, highlights the unique features of his establishment and the market strategy it has adopted to stay relevant in a competitive market.
A childhood passion becomes a profession
A childhood passion turned into a full-blown career for Chef Shaurya Veer Kapoor, Head Chef, Gola Sizzlers (A Naresh Gola Group). In a conversation with FoodService India, he discusses the changing tastes of Indian consumers and how he has created the themes for the diners at Delhi-based Gola Sizzlers and Cafe Hawkers.
