This post is long overdue… like several years overdue. Partly due to laziness, and partly due to a selfish desire to keep it to myself, the only mention I have made on this blog of my favorite Goa restaurant was brief – and didn’t focus on the food. Having just returned from our annual Goa vacation, where we had yet another fabulous meal at Fernando’s Nostalgia, I’ve decided that it’s time to bite the bullet. …Keep reading
Chef Madhu Menon
When Chef Madhu Menon (of Shiok fame) promised to dish out a six-course meal to a bunch of food-lovers, there was (understandably) a virtual stampede to register online. There were only 28 slots available, and each person was limited to booking two slots. At 9.45am on the day registration was thrown open, I spent a good half-hour staring at the registration page and hitting refresh. At 10am sharp, my fingers blazed across the keyboard and my registration was confirmed. I was lucky – registration closed a record-breaking two minutes and 10 seconds later, with all 28 slots being booked. Keep reading…
I won’t argue with the statement that making food look pretty adds to the sensory appeal of a dish. We do indeed “devour with our eyes”. That said, food that is so artfully presented that you don’t feel like eating it kinda defeats the purpose – at least in my opinion.
I subscribe to the “quick trick” school of food presentation… since I don’t take hours to dress myself up, I see no reason to spend hours dressing my food up. For the average home cook, making food look good doesn’t necessarily involve intricately carved vegetables or sculptures made of meat. All it takes is a little imagination, and yes, a smidgen of extra effort.
The Bangalore leg of the European Art of Taste (EAT) program has just concluded. As EAT’s Bangalore consultant, I had the pleasure of helping to put together a series of food-focused events.
The first, at Caperberry, was an art-themed event that explored the connection between art and food. Art historian Annapurna Garimella presented several great works of art that featured food – and chef Abhijit Saha created an extraordinary menu consisting of dishes (a choice of vegetarian or non-vegetarian for each course) inspired by the art.
