Fresh Off The Farm

Chefs are innovating with farm-to-fork produce, which are regional, sustainable, or simply fresh from the fields, onto the plate. From Michelin-starred chefs and award-winning cuisiniers, to entrepreneurs, here's how they infuse their dishes with flavours that are local, sustainable, and pack a punch

- Priya Kumari Rana

WHAT'S THE FRESHEST and the most delicious way to enjoy a dish? When it's sourced right from the local farmer who harvests the produce. Pioneered by the Californians in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the farm to-table movement grew out of a pushback against industrialised food systems, and over reliance on processed foods and factory farming that was taking over the U.S. back then. Over the decades, it has become one of the most important culinary concepts the world has ever seen, and today, has mushroomed around the world in various avatars - where the key takeaway seems to be - eat local, eat fresh.

From The City By The Bay

From the home of farm to table, Michelinstarred Californian chef Rupert Blease, who has a restaurant in San Francisco called Turn Table at Lord Stanley, curated a special lunch at the Chambers at The Taj Mahal, New Delhi recently, where he played with fresh Indian ingredients, paired by wines, presented in a special experience called 'Rendezvous: Conversations and More' by chef Arun Sundararaj, director of culinary operations, Taj Mahal, New Delhi. "It made sense to me that being here, I would use the ingredients that I love to use in California,” says chef Rupert. He added Indian touches to his European-inspired menu, favouring saffron in the grilled young lettuce — with a saffron sauce and scallion and herb bouquet, the very banal eggplant, which became a star in the steamed eggplant with tomatoes, coriander, and cucumber in a rich vegetable broth. There was also the glazed hen breast, toasted pine nuts and pumpkin seeds (for texture), a confit squash with paprika and yogurt — which became like a warm salad, accompanied by a roasted duck breast with spiced madeira jus, and the delectable mango rose with lime and passion fruit, around a light custard.