Kitchen Confidential

Till some years ago,the Punjabi palate was not hard to please. All a restaurant needed was to get the butter chicken and dal makhni right. A spicy chowmein-manchurian combo on the menu would have fetched the eatery brownie points. But this doesn’t hold true anymore. Foodies now like to sit near the cooking counters,dig into chicken quesadillas and sip on pina coladas. Fulfilling their demands and whetting their appetite are a number of out-of-town chefs who are shifting base to Chandigarh and are hard at work,giving menus a makeover and introducing diners to new cuisines and authentic flavours. The latest to arrive is chef Pallav Singhal,the executive chef at JW Marriott,Chandigarh,who will oversee the culinary operations at the hotel,including Saffron,their fine dining Indian restaurant and Oregano,an Italian restaurant and bar. “I have heard a lot about how Punjabis love dining out. I am also aware of the fact that most people here are well-travelled and have tried different cuisines,” says Singhal,who has been associated with various hotel brands through his career spanning 15 years. At JW Marriott,Chandigarh,the executive chef intends to combine healthy ingredients into dishes that look and taste simple and natural. “I believe food should touch the soul and not just the senses,” opines Singhal,who specialises in diverse European and Western cuisines and is planning to treat Chandigarhians to a special dessert buffet,among other fare. “It will be the most exhaustive section ever,” quips the chef,who is also known for his clever use of spices and herbs to make the dishes stand out.

Speaking of new arrivals,the last couple of months have seen Hotel Bella Vista’s executive Duddi Reny Manohar toss new ideas and meals for diners,specially in Panchkula. Credited for introducing Teppanyaki or Japanese live cooking at the hotel,Manohar is now all set to introduce Mongolian fare. “I know how diners here love their meals to be spicy and rich,” says Manohar,who is no stranger to the Punjabi palate — he’s married to a “Sikhni” and devours paranthas for breakfast. “In my experience,people love to try new cuisine as long as it is similar to something they’ve eaten before. My aim is to introduce them to authentic flavours and we will also look at live cooking,which is a big hit here,” adds the chef,who originally hails from Andhra Pradesh and has worked in the UAE for many years,spearheading restaurants in the seven-star luxury hotel,the Burj Al Arab in Dubai.

Also introducing menu makeovers and using his experience to satisfy eager diners is the enterprising executive chef Swatantra Gautam,who heads the Pan Asian fine dining restaurant Zazen in Panchkula. Gautam has worked with various properties,including Hotel Ashok,New Delhi,India Habitat Centre and Dish Hospitality,Mumbai,to name a few. During his tenure at Habitat World,chef Gautam got an opportunity to work with Korea House at Seoul,South Korea,where he learnt the basic and advanced skills of Korean cuisine. That’s something he hopes to introduce sometime in the future at Zazen. At the moment,diners are getting to relish the sumptuous new Sunday brunch,which includes European platters,apart from Oriental specials. “I would like the eating-out experience to be wholesome and fresh,” says Gautam,who is on track with his modern Asian cuisine menu that marries many flavours,which we hear is the USP of the chef. Ready to relish?