When after a lovely breakfast at Nayab in Old city, Chef Floyd Cardoz wanted to meet the team and see the kitchen to check out how the food is prepared, the manager frowned and asked, “Why do you want to see the kitchen?” When Cardoz’s hosts, also his wife’s family, explained that he is a chef from US, the manager’s reply was, “The only Indian chef we know and is famous for us, is the guy who won $10,000 in a competition for preparing upma.”
Little did the manager know that the man interested in taking a tour of his kitchen was the ‘upma man’ himself.
“Well, the interrogation was soon history and I was allowed inside to witness the entire process of ingredients being used and the speed in which the people in the kitchen worked,” recalls Floyd Cardoz.
He adds, “I was in awe of the manner in which breads were being made, fresh kheema was being cooked and then I got to relish a cup of their Irani chai. That was something I had never tasted before,” says Floyd who’s restaurant Bombay Canteen in Mumbai needs no introduction. He is also set to start his first solo restaurant venture in New York, Paowala, in SoHo this year.
This former Executive Chef/Partner of Tabla, a popular restaurant celebrating his groundbreaking New Indian cuisine, has also penned several cook books, his most recent being, Flavorwala (artisan) in April. My idea of cook books isn’t about tempting images and recipes with ingredients in measures; they come with a story of the dish or about food, or about how I chanced upon that dish. Food is an interesting journey and it can open up many tales. In Flavorwala , I lay stress on how to bring extraordinary flavour to every day foods, making every meal distinct and memorable. With Flavorwala , even the most humble ingredients, like eggs, steak and vegetables, benefit from nuanced use of spice and the instruction of technique,” says Floyd.
The Goan-born Floyd attended culinary school in Bombay, where he apprenticed in the kitchen of the Taj Mahal Intercontinental Hotel. To increase his familiarity with classic culinary technique, he then attended the Hotel Management Culinary School at Les Roches in Bluche, Switzerland, spending his evenings cooking in Italian, French and Indian establishments. He then eventually went to the US in 1988.
Floyd Cardoz who is in Hyderabad to talk about his journey, will also do a cook off with 25 kids from an NGO and talk about nutrition and other benefits of healthy eating.
“My take on food is to always to get to the origin. To tell people that Indian food is beyond,curry, tikka and dal makhni. Breaking this stereotype abroad isn’t easy. It is a constant effort but people are opening up to newer names in Indian dishes. I do not believe in cooking and serving the same dishes year after year. When we don’t like to eat the same dishes everyday, how can it be gratifying as a profession? It gets monotonous,” says Floyd.
He recollects his journey to Upper Assam in 1997-98; he was quite keen on settling there had he got an opportunity. “I wonder why the dishes and recipes there are not spoken about. If I lay my hands on any recipe, I will make sure to include it the menu. I remember and have also heard about various recipes that makes use of pork and silk worm,” adds Floyd.
