Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw said: “There is no love sincerer than the love of food.” And Bangalore is one city that has come to bear testimony of that statement over the years. International fads have always made inroads into our metropolis, food being no exception. Metroplus tracks some of the international food trends that are gaining traction here.
Those were the days when Chinese food was the only available international cuisine (Indianised Chinese at that). Cut to 2014 and one can decide if he’d like to indulge in a bowl of Pho at an authentic Vietnamese restaurant or if he’d like to go beyond Sushi and Sashimi when at a Japanese eatery.
“Bangalore has in the last three years come of age from a gastronomic point of view,” finds Rahul Khanna, Director, Azure Hospitality and Promoter, Mamagoto. “A young, travelling, and smart demographic is demanding cultural and modern interpretations within food. Trends today include new age breweries and progressive Asian restaurants as well as modern but casual European ones,” he adds.
Amit Wadhawan, Executive Chef at The Oberoi, Bangalore, observes: “The trend which is really making its presence felt across the culinary landscape of Bangalore is the celebration of the farm to fork culture. More and more chefs, including me, are keen on sourcing fresh produce, organic sources of vegetables and herbs which are available from local farming hinterlands. Keeping this growing trend in mind, a number of boutique organisations have emerged which are doing a wonderful job of growing fresh vegetables including refreshing micro greens, heirloom tomatoes, variants of chillies, aubergines, basil and even a bunch of exotic herbs.” According to him, “It is this kind of availability and variation that allows a chef to create dishes which highlight seasonality and aims at giving diners ingredient-centric food which is simple in its execution but fresh and flavourful in taste, and artistic in its rendering.”
Food festivals today have a cult following in the city. Over the weekend, the Latin community of Bangalore supported the N.G.O. U&I through The Latin Food Festival 2014 where culinary delicacies from 13 different Latin American countries enticed those in attendance.
“Our street food culture too has evolved,” says Anju Kurian, a self-acclaimed foodie. “Bangalore is Bangkok in the making! I also think pop-up food joints that are mushrooming across the city are making food-on-the-go options viable.”
While the city’s culinary scene has sure metamorphosed from what it used to be, Manu Chandra, Executive Chef and partner, Monkey Bar and The Fatty Bao and Executive Chef, Olive Beach, pontificates: “For someone who’s not only kept track of international trends over the last two decades but also practiced them to a very large extent, the most encouraging sign is we are seeking out roots all over again. You may say that we’ve come full circle, but in all honesty there is only that much one can discover about food; the balance is a mad dash toward novelty or bettering what we feel we may already have. But the very fact that the integrity in cuisine has started dominating conversation once again, gives me hope that food will start being about food all over again, and not just a fad. Flavour and experience will rule, and the trend going forward is mercifully on the right trajectory.”
