Bravo, Bill

THIS is Sunday, you8217;re not supposed to do any thinking,8217;8217; croons Bill Marchetti as he pushes in the chair and summons a minio...

THIS is Sunday, you8217;re not supposed to do any thinking,8217;8217; croons Bill Marchetti as he pushes in the chair and summons a minion to fill the wine glasses. West View, the Italian-Australian8217;s signature restaurant at the Maurya Sheraton, New Delhi, is virtually empty8212;a rarity attributed to the society weddings the city has just survived8212;so the Big Man is all ours through lunch.

It8217;s a meal free of the fancy names under which other restaurants package their extended Sunday menus. 8216;8216;No point, people begin strolling in around 1 pm and the crowds peak around 2 pm,8217;8217; says the chef. 8216;8216;We lay out the antipasti, offer a range of pastas, followed by the main course. All the ordering is done verbally, you don8217;t even have to read the menu.8217;8217;

So we try reading the man instead. Familiar with India since 1981, Marchetti finally shifted base here in the post-9/11 meltdown that saw the closure of his two restaurants in Melbourne. Today, he is Delhi8217;s longest-lasting celeb chef.

If Marchetti has a food philosophy, it8217;s about doing just the little something that brings out the flavours of fresh produce. Parma ham is not just Parma ham, it8217;s a source of worry; the slices on the antipasti platter are the last of the lot he had hoarded and the Indian government is still not showing any signs of rescinding the ban on meat imports, ordered after the bird flu scare early this year.

8216;8216;But Indian vegetables are great!8217;8217; Marchetti expounds as the pasta arrives: tagliatelle with crab in an Absolut-sour cream sauce and a ravioli that surprises the taste buds with the sweet, succulent flavours of pumpkin. 8216;8216;And Indian eggplants are the best I8217;ve ever seen. And okra8212;I love okra! Even fried neem leaves.8217;8217;

Marchetti is an expansive showman of a host and conversation never flags, touching in turns on his three years as a vegetarian 8216;8216;That8217;s the yogic influence, everyone8217;s allowed a turn once8217;8217;, his cooking holiday with friends in Himachal, a Holi layover in Darjeeling 8216;8216;Only in India will the local police chief send his men around with drugs8217;8217;8212;read bhang!8230;

It8217;s main course time. Lamb chops land up and even I, not too hot on red meat, can8217;t help marvelling at the melt-in-the-mouth textures of the chops. 8216;8216;Indian meat,8217;8217; Marchetti takes a puff of his fourth B038;H Lights. 8216;8216;Many people find foreign meats too smelly.8217;8217; But the piegrave;ce de reacute;sistance is the Norwegian salmon in a sour cream dressing that flakes off at the tenderest touch of the fork.

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Dessert is a simple affair: a mango sorbet with chunks of Alphonso. Marchetti begs off the course altogether; he savours his dessert wine and winds up the conversation at exactly the right time. We can almost hear the patron saints of food applauding in the background.



		GRILLED NORWEGIAN SALMON IN SOUR CREAM INGREDIENTS for four 4 Norwegian salmon steaks of 180 gm each 2 tbsp unsalted butter 200 ml sour cream salt and pepper For garnish: sliced zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers, snowpeas; 3 tbsp virgin olive oil; 1 tbsp shredded basil METHOD Season the salmon. Heat the butter in a thick-bottomed frying pan. Brown the salmon steaks lightly on both sides. Add the sour cream, cover and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. The salmon should be a little undercooked in the centre. Garnish: Grill the vegetables after tossing them in olive oil, basil, salt and pepper. To serve, arrange the vegetables in the centre of the plate, top with the salmon and pour over the sour cream sauce. Buon Appetito!