Chef Marco Pierre White has longed to come to India, as he feels he has a “spiritual connect with India”, so when he stepped out at Mumbai airport, it was a dream-come-true moment. “I did not have any expectations about India, so I felt the full emotional impact. I saw beauty, I saw sadness, I saw poverty, as I drove from the airport to my hotel. The sights were pieces of a jigsaw, that will eventually be complete, by the end of my trip,” he says.
In Mumbai, to judge ‘World on a Plate Season 4’, India’s largest gourmet festival that aims to fight hunger in India by donating over 1,00,000 meals for underprivileged kids in association with HUG Foundation, Marco will witness some of the country’s top restaurants competing for the coveted trophy, and also host master classes, curate dinners and a brunch. “I don’t like the word, judge. I am no one to judge, but only express my opinion,” he says modestly.
Indian impression
He considers “Indian cuisine to be one of the finest cuisines in the world,” and thus, his excitement knew no bounds, as he took his first bite of an Indian meal at The St Regis, Mumbai, where he is staying. “The masala dosa and sambhar were delicious. The sambhar , with so many complex spices, had well-balanced flavours. I enjoyed every bit of my meal,” recalls Marco. He adds, “It was so unlike the Indian food — vindaloo and jalfrezi , that I have tasted in the UK.”
Working closely with Indian chefs on P&O Cruises, he is familiar with the nuances of Indian cuisine. “It is similar to French cuisine, as the base sauces are so important. I have seen chefs labour over those, slowly and gently, and then progress from there. No wonder the resultant dishes are masterpieces in terms of the balance of spices and construction of flavours,” he states emphatically.
Question of celebrity
The term ‘celebrity chef’ is something he is averse to. He feels, only those with charisma and personality, who appear on TV and charm the audiences, are celebrities, and all of those things — he says — he is not. “I am happiest being a chef, behind the stove. But it is a great skill, if you want to do so. To each his own. The good thing is that it helps make our craft popular and inspire more people to cook,” Marco says nonchalantly.
After earning his restaurant three Michelin stars by the age of 33, the youngest chef ever to do so, he handed those back and hung his apron at 38, to become a free bird. He jokes, “If I had three Michelin stars today, I wouldn’t be able to come to India; I would have been behind the stove.”
He laments that chefs nowadays spend more time trying to beautify food, than they do concentrating on flavours. “Today, food is pretty as a picture, but not always delicious. Chefs should emphasise on generosity. Food is meant to feed people and that is what matters,” he insists. Simple flavours and textures are what appeal to him. When it comes to his favourite meals, he prefers an Italian pasta or risotto, or even fried eggs, well-seasoned, with white bread.
“I am innately curious and love all things earthy. I don’t like to see only the posh side of life. I am looking forward to going into local markets, eating simple food at local places, in order to form a real opinion about India, particularly Mumbai. I don’t want to go back with an illusion,” he gushes. So, Marco has been hoping to interact with chefs in the city, learn from them and, of course, sample their food as part of World on a Plate.
Three days, he realises, are too little for a vast and beautiful country like India, so he is now keen “to come back to India for a month and travel across the country with my daughter.”
