An Acquired Taste
Verve|August - September 2019
Rishim Sachdeva, Olive Bar & Kitchen’s former chef, made the hard decision to leave Mumbai where he had reached starry heights. Joanna Lobo gets the lowdown on his life and relationship with food between learning to prepare a dish of perfectly seared fish and quizzing him about the future…
An Acquired Taste

The call came at 1 a.m. Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s (SRK) New Year resolution was to learn how to cook, and he had one man in mind — Rishim Sachdeva, until recently the executive chef at Bandra’s Olive Bar & Kitchen in Mumbai. The next day, the ‘chosen one’ visited the star’s home armed with equipment and ingredients. The men made four dishes that session, including pasta from scratch. Nine months later, Sachdeva still gets sporadic messages or pictures of meals cooked at Mannat. They say it takes a star to recognise another....

After just four years at Olive, Sachdeva was being hailed as one of India’s top chefs. During his time there, he completely revolutionised the restaurant’s menu, bringing in new techniques, dishes and flavours. He became the champion of local produce and lowwaste cooking. His food was modern, inventive and tasty, and his legendary brie on toast and tuna jerky, favourites at Olive, had the same power as SRK does to make people swoon. It came as a surprise then to industry watchers and diners that Sachdeva has made the difficult decision to leave Mumbai and move to his other home in London.

Innovation on a plate

Sachdeva, to use millennial-speak, ‘slayed it’ at Olive. It was a chance meeting with restaurateur AD Singh in London that brought a talented and raring-to-go chef to Mumbai in November of 2015. Olive had already made its mark on the city’s dining scene, offering up trusted and comforting Mediterranean fare — the Sunday brunches and Thursday dinners were hugely popular — and a legacy of exceptional chefs. “I thought there was room to do more,” he said. He had Singh’s support and a clientele that was well-travelled and open to experimentation. He was ready.

Denne historien er fra August - September 2019-utgaven av Verve.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra August - September 2019-utgaven av Verve.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA VERVESe alt
Making Amends
Verve

Making Amends

This generation’s penchant for thoughtless consumption gets Madhu Jain roiled up, and she wonders if nature is getting its own back for our missteps…

time-read
3 mins  |
April - May 2020
Diamonds With Provenance
Verve

Diamonds With Provenance

In keeping with the company’s commitment to environmental and social responsibility, Anisa Kamadoli Costa, chief sustainability officer at Tiffany & Co. and chairman and president at The Tiffany & Co. Foundation, enlightens Shirin Mehta on the efforts that make the jewellery giant an industry leader in transparency

time-read
6 mins  |
April - May 2020
SARTORIAL ECONOMICS
Verve

SARTORIAL ECONOMICS

Sisters Tashi and Tara Mitra demonstrate to Akanksha Pandey how deviating from the mainstream can bend the way we think, live and dress

time-read
10+ mins  |
April - May 2020
NOTES TO SELF
Verve

NOTES TO SELF

An anthropomorphized tiger’s perspective, a viscerally worded futuristic interpretation of loss, a critique of performative activism, a meta reflection on the earth’s crises. Told through different lenses, Janaki Lenin, Indrapramit Das, Keshava Guha and Roshan Ali’s stories — written exclusively for Verve — attempt to make sense of the fraught reality that we exist in today

time-read
10+ mins  |
April - May 2020
The Eternal Optimist
Verve

The Eternal Optimist

As Generation X and xennials grapple with fully transitioning to conscious living, young millennials and Generation Z are leading the charge to reverse human-caused environmental damage. Sahar Mansoor, founder and CEO of the Bengaluru-based zero-waste social enterprise Bare Necessities, has a simple overarching philosophy: consume less and stay positive. Verve gets deeper into the mindset of the action-oriented earth advocate

time-read
10+ mins  |
April - May 2020
Redemption SONGS
Verve

Redemption SONGS

Indian music festivals have been demonstrating a refreshing sense of responsibility in terms of their ecological impact. Interacting with stakeholders who strive to make these large-scale events greener, Akhil Sood investigates the reasons behind the improved attitudes of audiences and the increase in corporate support.

time-read
10+ mins  |
April - May 2020
earth hour
Verve

earth hour

Crafted using nature’s elements, these dials draw inspiration from the many heterogeneous materials and hues around us.Verve turns its lens onto a mesmerising few

time-read
3 mins  |
April - May 2020
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
Verve

THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT

Children are holding adults accountable for both the grim future they are facing and the toll this is taking on their mental health. Madhumita Bhattacharyya initiates conversations with families of young climate activists and observes the extent to which parenting has changed in the face of catastrophe

time-read
6 mins  |
April - May 2020
NATURAL JUSTICE
Verve

NATURAL JUSTICE

Most of us are only just waking up to the urgency of climatic action. When the stakes are so high, what can individual action solve? Mridula Mary Paul, an environmental policy expert, is proof of the tenacity needed to effect systemic change. It’s not glamorous, and the rewards are few and far between, but that doesn’t stop her from aiming big, finds Anandita Bhalerao

time-read
9 mins  |
April - May 2020
Along For The Ride
Verve

Along For The Ride

Navigating Indian streets as a woman is hard enough. But what is it like while riding a bicycle? Bengaluru-based Shreya Dasgupta, a regular cyclist, speaks to five urban women about the pros and cons of this increasingly popular means of transport.

time-read
8 mins  |
April - May 2020