Three chefs. One food critic. What happens when they get together? Well, ordinarily that would mean food, kitchen jargon, and the critic evaluating it all. But when Chefs Aditya Bal, Kunal Kapur and Manu Chandra and journalist Shonali Muthalaly got together for a session at The Hindu Lit for Life 2015, it meant a throwback to our formative years… reminiscing about food we grew up on and comfort food.
Titled ' Shaped by Food Memories', the panel discussion started off with the chefs talking about what they remember as their favourite childhood snack. Yes, for a lot of us it’s chocolate, chips and candies but celebrity chef and author Aditya Bal’s list is quite different.
“I grew up in Kashmir. So there were chestnuts hot off the coal, kalari (cheese dried and cooked with chilli), strawberries, bhutta, Kismi toffee, round orange candies and we got 10 of those for Re. 1,” he said.
Bal, a former model, got acquainted with the world of cooking seven years ago when he started meddling in the kitchen; before he knew it, he was hooked to it.
Kapur spent five years in a job he didn’t like before donning the chef’s hat; 15 years later, he’s still in love with what he does; he is now the executive sous chef with Leela Kempinski Gurgaon.
Chandra admits with a lopsided grin that he got interested in food because “my mother wasn’t the best cook.” And the audience, especially the weak-kneed ladies, giggled.
Chandra, an executive chef responsible for Monkey Bar (Bangalore and Delhi), Fatty Bao and Olive Beach in Bangalore, belongs to a family that has Tamil, UP and Punjabi influences.
This meant, as kids, he and his brother were intrigued by the bizarre food habits their cousins had. “Marie biscuits with ketchup, Fatafat with cola…we tried hard to like what our cousins liked but that didn’t quite add up,” he said.
Kapur narrated a melodramatic episode of a client who wanted bajre ki khichdi . After the meal, he wanted to meet the person who made it. “I was sure this was going to be trouble. But instead, the guest said he was very happy as it tasted exactly like what his mother used to cook. He then started crying as it reminded him of his mother who had passed away three months back. So, food really has an impact. It leaves a lasting impression.”
Bal said, “As Indians, it is food and the love for it that unifies us. You can have endless discussions, compare flavours, go from village to village and see how they improvise recipes.”
Anecdotes laced with nostalgia and humour comprised large chunks of the session.
