A Culinary Voyage in 2016

With the beginning of the New Year, it is always very exciting to talk to chefs about menu trends, preferred cuisines, food styles and also get a sneak into their New Year Resolutions.

So, I managed to chat with some of my favourite chefs across the country and got their take on the subject. Something that every gourmet traveller would like to dig into (pun unintended!)

Chef Vishal Atreya

Executive Chef, JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar

Chef Vishal’s passion, zeal and dedication towards food has helped him evolve into a versatile personality. He firmly believes that ‘ingredients’ are the key elements of his food philosophy and ascertains usage of the freshest seasonal local produce,strictly sourced for their quality and provenance.After graduating from the Institute of Hotel management in Chandigarh, Chef Vishal began his culinary journey in the Taj kitchen. He has worked at many prestigious hotels like The Ritz Carlton LLC and The Imperial Hotel New Delhi.

When not cooking,you can catch him indulging in his favourite pastimes – photography and music.

Hot cuisines this year

The focus this year continues to be on healthy food. Super foods such as berries, kale, oatmeal, quinoa, spinach, chia seeds, broccoli, lentils etc. will be used innovatively in different cuisines. Considering how many individuals are taking to the ‘healthy way of life’, the menu will also incorporate salads, soups and fish (salmon). The focus will be on food that provides more nutrients, fibre and is packed with vitamins.

Cuisines on their way ‘OUT’

• Greasy, fried and heavy food will be very limited. Old recipes laden with cream, butter or cheese is definitely out.

Cuisines that will be ‘IN’

• Asian cuisine will continue to dominate the palates of customers, owing to the use of light and fresh ingredients.

3 tips for food businesses

• Use fresh local ingredients
• Keep it simple. Innovate but avoid fusion.
• Flavour is key. Keep the dishes well balanced.

Culinary Resolutions for 2016 

• To bring to the table the highest quality of food using the freshest of ingredients.
• To keep the dish true to its origin, in terms of originality and flavour.

Chef Sanjay Thomas

F&B Director, The Suryaa, New Delhi

Chef Thomas brings with him more than two decades of experience in the F&B industry. He specializes in Italian, French, Swiss and Lebanese cuisines and has closely worked with experts in the industry. He has worked with well-known hotel chains in various countries such as Kempinski Hotels and Resorts in UAE and Kuwait, Crown Plaza in Oman, Inter Continental in Muscat and Leela Hotels in Goa and Mumbai. He last worked with Holiday Inn Jaipur as the Executive Chef.

An alumnus of IHM Trivandrum, Chef Thomas has hands-on experience in planning and strategizing in the F&B department of hotels.His speciality lies in developing new menus. Apart from cooking, he loves to go biking and is interested in travel photography.

Hot cuisines this year

• Food lovers will be looking for regional cuisines as well as its derivatives from different countries.

Cuisines that will be ‘IN’

• Dishes with locally sourced ingredients, so as to minimize the carbon footprint.

Culinary Resolution for 2016 

• To promote healthy cereals like buck wheat, finger millet and pearl millet, to name a few.

Vikas Kumar

Executive Chef, Flurys Swiss Confectionery, Kolkata

An alumnus of the prestigious IHM Calcutta, Chef Vikas started his career with the Taj Group of hotels. He has also worked with some of the best luxury cruise liners including the iconic RMS Queen Elizabeth II. A fitness freak -he loves to run, exercise and spend time with his two beautiful daughters.

Hot Cuisines this year

The general trend is towards the use of fresh ingredients and cuisines cooked to specific orders.Newer, unexplored but robust cuisines such as Brazilian, Peruvian, Vietnamese, Creole etc. will be in demand!

Cuisines on their way ‘OUT’

• Indian Chinese and pizza/burger global chains. I don’t know if they will go out completely, but there will definitely be diminishing demands and people migrating to healthier, more authentic cuisines.

Cuisines that will be ‘IN’

• Healthier foods such as quinoa, barley, rye etc., exotic fruits and berries such as raspberries and blackberries, and nuts such as pecans and hazelnuts will be in demand.

3 tips for food businesses

• Understanding and adapting to consumer preferences is extremely important, along with proactive customization.
• Use of fresh, healthy and authentic ingredients along with innovative culinary techniques to enhance taste without overpowering the original taste.
• It’s the time of minimalist cuisines,where restraint in overusing and overcooking the ingredients will be of extreme importance.

Culinary Resolution for 2016 

• Well, I am not really a ‘once in a year’ resolution person, but one who believes in constant, small endeavours towards contributing something in the field of culinary, in India especially. I haven’t travelled much in the last couple of years so I would like to travel a bit more this year, if possible.

Chef Vikram Khatri

Guppy by Ai, New Delhi 

Fiercely devoted to freshness, hygiene and technique, his offerings characterize bold striking flavors with perfect nuances of the spicy, the tangy, and the exotic-all in one bite. A lover of dark chocolate and a winner of many awards and accolades-for him, food is everything from basic necessity to the centre of every celebration.

Hot cuisines this year

Fresh, vegan,small plates, and most important -the launch of the bar at guppy 'tokyomon amour',serving small bites of yoshoku dishes and some amazing cocktails.

Cuisines on their way ‘OUT’

• Fusion food

Cuisines that will be ‘IN’

• Regional Indian

3 tips for food businesses

• Focus on freshness and local produce
• Focus on the internal (staff) and external (guests)
• Keep innovating

Culinary Resolution for 2016 

• A month-long trip to Tokyo

Chef Shamsul Wahid

Executive Chef, Impresario 

For all the amazing food at Smoke House Deli, Chef Shamsul is to be blamed! His culinary journey began at an early age and over the years he has honed his skills carefully. He also got a chance to work with Chef Gordon Ramsey, who played a key role in the preliminary years of his career. In 2007, on returning to India, he joined Impresario as a Sous Chef at Smoke House Grill and since then has defined the novel flavours the brand’s restaurants are known for.He describes the Smoke House Deli menu as one that caters to people with any ‘food mood’.

Hot cuisines this year

• The trends towards healthy eating will continue but will become more specific to diets this year. Also, regional cuisines will come to the forefront with chefs presenting their own innovative twists to regional dishes.

Cuisines on their way ‘OUT’

• I don’t think any particular cuisine will die out but the trend will be more towards value,so maybe really expensive restaurants outside of 5 stars will find it difficult to sustain.

Cuisines that will be ‘IN’

• All restaurants which serve tasty, innovative food will be in.

3 tips for food businesses

• Don’t confuse your offerings
• Think from the customer’s perspective
• Be original in your own way

Culinary Resolution for 2016 

• Vini, Vidi, Vici

Chef Nimish Bhatia

Owner, Nimisserie, Bengaluru

Nimisserieis a reflection, an idea that Chef Nimish Bhatia has curated over decades of understanding and exploring the subtle nuances of culinary tastes and textures.Chef Nimish, the widely respected culinary-artiste, showcases a world of ‘aspect-cooking’. Even when Nimish is not cooking, he is thinking about what to cook next!

Hot cuisines this year

• Slow cooking is a big trend and even fast food is being prepared using slow methods at times.
• Organic produce, edible flowers, micro-greens as the health benefits add to the cuisine.
• Clean plates - nicely plated with culinary conversion as defined clearly, is a big trend.
• Regional or sub-regional food is very trendy.

3 tips for food businesses

• The culinary proficiency should bring a customer holistic ecstasy than a sheer meal delight.
• Ingenuity knows no boundaries, we have to translate it into fire.
• Dazzle the senses, after all that is our equity as chefs, and this creates drama, entertainment, and razzmatazz, to good food.

Culinary Resolution for 2016 

• Launching ‘Nimisserie’,is my dream fulfilled. Now to take it to perfection will be my endeavour.