Talking point with Bobby Chinn

What are the biggest hurdles a chef can face while cooking in the Middle East?
The biggest hurdle is the lack of all the fresh cooking ingredients that one requires. We once had to fly in fresh crabs from Vietnam. I remember,Gordon Ramsay was cooking in Egypt and he was going crazy because he was only using fresh,local ingredients. So all he could send out was puree of different vegetables — onion puree,carrot puree. But the Egyptians take great pride in their food,and rightly so — nobody else can replicate their cuisine.

But going local is a big food trend all over the world.
Definitely and it’s a great thing to do. We need to figure out how we can extract the maximum from local and regional produce.

Fads come and go in the food world,but which cuisine do you think is set to take on the world?
I think Vietnamese food is set to get really big. There are many reasons for this. First of all,the food is distinctly different from what you find in the rest of south-east Asia. It was largely unknown to the outside world because it was a closed country for so long. Also,its food culture,which heavily relies on local produce,is very sustainable and that’s what the world needs right now. Apart from that,it’s extremely flavourful and healthy.

Why don’t we see enough women as professional chefs?
For the same reason that we don’t see them being pilots — people just don’t take them seriously enough and I think that’s a serious problem. See,when men cook,it’s all about the ego — they’re just out to prove how good they are. Women cook for the love of it and that shows in their output. It’s a great attitude to have and women are wonderful to work with. In fact,in my restaurant in Vietnam,most of my staff is female.

When you came to India with World Cafe: Asia,you didn’t really explore all the culinary traditions of the country.
I really regret that. India has some of the best and most unique cuisines in the world. They aren’t easy to cook. I had a difficult experience with idlis and sambar once. The spices have to be ground just right and a single dish involves so many different techniques. South Indian food,especially,is woefully under-explored by the rest of the world.