A Matter of Taste: Dissecting Asia's 50 Best List & How It Gets To Be Made

This is the original, and much longer, version of the article that first appeared in Mumbai Mirror on Sunday, March 2, 2014.
To check out what appeared in Mumbai Mirror, go to:
http://www.mumbaimirror.com/others/sunday-read/Race-of-taste/articleshow/31231445.cms
Copyright: Mumbai Mirror

By Sourish Bhattacharyya

WHEN THE Restaurant Magazine unveiled The World's 50 Best Restaurants list last year, a wave of anguish swept through foodie circles across the country, for not one Indian name from India figured even in the 100 Best -- Gaggan's of Bangkok made it to No. 66, but unfortunately for us, it has a Bangkok address!

The cause of the widespread despair was the clout that the list has acquired ever since it was first released by the London-based magazine in 2002. It was, after all, this list that made El Bulli, which was then just a local favourite, though it had earned its third Michelin star by 1997, an instant international star. Not only El Bulli, a number of other restaurants, notably Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck, owe their global celebrity status to the list.

Manish Mehrota, seen here with
one of his younger colleagues at
Indian Accent, without doubt is
the top choice for India's No. 1

With this change of status comes an avalanche of footfalls -- El Bulli made history by getting over two million requests for table reservations from all over the world in a year -- and a rush of new business. Well-known food writer Rashmi Uday Singh, who heads the Indian sub-continent committee of the Diner's Club Academy, the votes of whose invited members shape the list, points to how, thanks to The World's 50 Best list, Noma attained stardom and put Copenhagen on every gourmet traveller's world map.

DISAPPOINTED BY THE LIST

When the magazine released its Asia's 50 Best list, for the second year, in Singapore this past Wednesday, our flag-waving foodies should have been overjoyed, for six Indian restaurants figured on it. But the critics aren't amused.

They sneeringly point out that the Indian restaurant in India to secure the highest rank -- at No. 27, Bukhara at ITC Maurya, New Delhi -- is 24 notches below Gaggan's, which is at No. 3. They also question the wisdom of ranking a restaurant with an uninspiring and unchanging menu (Bukhara) above one that's been making waves, like Gaggan's, for its lively modernist take on Indian cuisine (Indian Accent, which is at No. 29). Sid Mathur, Director and Head of F&B, Impresario, the company that owns and operates Salt Water Cafe and Smoke House Deli, echoes the dominant sentiment when he says: "This is 2014. Indian Accent should have been on top. This list is a bit too touristy."

Indian Accent's Manish Mehrotra rose from obscurity to overnight fame when television audiences saw him transform everyday dishes on the popular reality show, Foodistan, which pitted Indian chefs against their Pakistani counterparts. Most recently, he wowed critics with his Baigan Bharta Cornetto because of both the unusual presentation of a common preparation (served in cornetto cups) and the use of goat's cheese to give it that unusual twist. The other favourite is the dish that bring together seared prawns, karela cooked with chooran, and quinoa puffs -- a seamless marriage of memorable textures and tastes.

Malhotra's all-time hit is the Meetha Achaar Chilean Spare Ribs, where the critical ingredient is the sweet mango pickle -- it was the first time the world had spare ribs this way and we continue to love it. Comments US-based food writer, educator and author of Modern Spice, Monica Bhide: "The way he pairs his spices with meats is nothing short of magical. The food works and then the chef plays with 'Indian-ness'. The jamun-churan sorbet that is served inside a mini pressure cooker, for instance. It is delicious, it is playful, it works!

Not all hope is lost. Indian Accent, which Mumbai-based food blogger Rushina Munshaw-Ghildayal describes as "fabulously different", has gone up by 12 places from No. 41 in 2013 (and it is the only Indian restaurant to have experienced upward mobility). Mehrotra, its star chef, though, isn't surprised. Indian Accent has been, without a break, TripAdvisor's No. 1 restaurant in Delhi for 19 months, and counting.

Gaggan Anand, the ex-Taj hand who's behind the phenomenal success of his namesake restaurant Gaggan's, says it all when he hopes that more chefs "follow Malhotra's lead and reinvent Indian cooking like no one has done before". He says: "We don't travel by bullock carts anymore, do we? So, why should we keep cooking what we have eaten for a hundred years?" Adds Bhide, about both Indian Accent and Gaggan's: "It is very difficult to achieve what they have because they are fighting against the battle of the stereotypical Indian restaurant that is 'supposed to', in the eyes of the international audience, serve only butter chicken and naan."

WHY MUMBAI FARES SO POORLY

The other point of contention has in fact triggered the old Mumbai versus Delhi debate. Just one of the six Indian restaurants is from Mumbai -- Wasabi by Morimoto at the Taj, which has dropped by 16 points to park itself at No. 36. And last year's No. 28 doesn't figure anywhere? Has Mumbai lost out to Delhi's vibrant new dining scene, as Munshaw-Ghildayal suggest, or it doesn't have adequately good Indian offerings to make it to an international list? "Delhi leads because its dining experience is mainly Indian cuisine-centred," says Zorawar Kalra, Founder-Managing Director, Massive Restaurants, whose Masala Library at BKC is Mumbai's new favourite.

Kalra has a point. International 'best' lists seek to showcase creative expressions of the home cuisine of the country whose restaurants are being judged. Mumbai's basic flaw, as Munshaw-Ghildayal also emphasises, is that it has very few Indian restaurants of any calibre and even among them, just one -- Ziya at The Oberoi, run by Vineet Bhatia of London's Michelin-starred Rasoi -- stands out because of its inventive cuisine. As Anand puts it: "If an Indian chef makes sushi or dishes out Chinese food, no matter how creative they may be, he can't expect global recognition. International juries are looking for what's new in our cuisine."

But with formidable front-runners such as Indigo, Ziya, Koh, Joss and The Table, Mumbai surely can stand up to Dum Pukht at ITC Maurya, New Delhi (No. 30), which has dropped precipitously from last year's No. 17; Varq at The Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi (No. 32, down by two); and Karavalli at the Gateway Hotel, Bangalore (No. 40, down by five). The list also leaves out hugely successful and critically acclaimed restaurants in other cities, such as Abhijit Saha's Caperberry in Bangalore, Pan Asian at the ITC Grand Chola, Chennai, where Vikramjit Roy has got his fan following eating out of his hands, and Patron Bowra Jap's Bomra's at Candolim, Goa, which counts novelist Amitav Ghosh among its regulars.

PEOPLE BEHIND THE LIST

Nevertheless, the contentious list has become the definitive benchmark of quality for the dining public and travelling foodies. To be fair, the making of the list is a democratic process, based on voting by the 936 invited members -- hoteliers, top chefs, well-known gastronomes and food journalists -- of the Diner's Club Academy. This hallowed group is expected to dine around the world at its expense and then, when Judgment Day comes, members hand in their ballots listing their best seven restaurant experiences (including four from their region) in the past 18 months. The Academy divides the world into 26 regions to ensure near-equal representation for every culture and taste profile, and each region has a committee of 36 members selected by a designated chairperson.

The Indian sub-continent committee, which includes representatives of the five metros as well as Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, is headed by Rashmi Uday Singh, who has been a part of the process since its inception in 2002. Its members include people she describes as "serious travelling foodies", such as India Today Group's Chairman and Editor-in-Chief Aroon Purie, The Park Hotels Chairperson Priya Paul, RPG Enterprises Vice Chairman Sanjiv Goenka, Apeejay Surrendra Group's Chairman Karan Paul, writer Shobhaa De, adman and television personality Suhel Seth, Restaurant Week India founder Mangal Dalal, Madhu Neotia, wife of Ambuja Neotia Group Chairman Harshvardhan Neotia, and Mariam Ram, wife of N. Ram, Chairman of Kasturi & Sons, the company that publishes The Hindu.

In the past, Singh says, the committee included former Pakistani cricket captain and politician, Imran Khan, as well as media baron Aveek Sarkar (Star Ananda and Ananda Bazar Patrika), Indian Hotels Company Managing Director Raymond Bickson, celebrity chef Hemant Oberoi and the former boss of ITC Hotels, Syed Habibur Rehman. You can't question the credentials of these committee members, but as Singh points out, she has no control over the restaurants they choose to frequent.

"Any list (even if God made it) will attract criticism and controversy," says Singh, adding that this one is "a democratic snapshot of dining trends, not a definitive guide". She goes on to make the point that we should celebrate the inclusion of six Indian restaurants on the list. "We must not forget we're up against Japan, where Tokyo has more Michelin-starred restaurants than Paris," she says. "We have at least put our foot in the door."

Kalra shares Singh's optimism. "I am happy to see so many Indian restaurants," Kalra says. "It shows the world takes India more seriously now." Malhotra of Indian Accent counsels patience. He says: "Look, there was a time when Bukhara used to be among The World's 50 Best. It then dropped to The World's 100 Best. And now it's not even on it. Lists keep evolving, so will this one." His fans, for sure, hope it does.

DINING OUT AT UZURI: A Terrace to Die For and A Menu With Winners

This restaurant review first appeared in the 08/11/2013 edition of Mail Today. Copyright: Mail Today Newspapers.

To set the original, follow this link:
http://epaper.mailtoday.in/mailanartical.aspx?parentid=87186&boxid=133052203&issuedate=8112013

By Sourish Bhattacharyya

WHERE: Uzuri Deck & Dining, M-40, M-Block Market, GK-II. It's on the Chungwa lane on top of Market Cafe.

WHEN: Lunch and Dinner. High Tea to start soon.

DIAL: 011-41623623 / 25

AVE MEAL FOR TWO: Rs 3,500+++

The restaurant doesn't have a liquor licence. But you can buy a day licence and have a party on the terrace.

STAR RATING: ***1/2 out of 5

Animal prints and African artifacts are all
over Uzuri's fine dining section to reinforce
the restaurant's positioning as the purveyor
of European fine dining suffused with
 uniquely African flavours.

I DROPPED in at Uzuri Deck & Dining almost on an impulse at an unsually sleepy Greater Kailash-II, M-Block Market (post-Diwali fatigue, I guess!), with my good friend and man-about-town, Shaun Lobo, whose father Ronnie is a much-revered name among hoteliers. Shaun's mother Fatima is one of the three owners of Tres, which has become a must-go-to fine dining destination, thanks to the combined talents of her chef-partners Julia Carmen De Sa and Jatin Mallick.

I was therefore in good company -- and I was particularly keen on meeting Guy Clark, the Masterchef South Africa finalist who had guests at the wedding of Max India Chairman Analjit Singh's daughter (it was the wedding where Lionel Ritchie sang) eating out of his hands. Clark is one of the two chefs steering Uzuri, which bills itself as a European-African restaurant (the name itself comes from the Swahili word for 'goodness'), but he was vacationing in Rajasthan.

That gave me an opportunity to meet the restaurant's young executive head chef, Rishim Sachdeva, who has moved back from London, where he went when he was 16, after studying hospitality management at Oxford Brookes University and working at Fat Duck, Heston Blumenthal's celebrated Michelin three-star restaurant at Bray, Berkshire. I was particularly impressed by the last bit of the young chef's biography.
Rishim has actually worked for two years and half with the god of molecular gastronomy and was promoted to sous chef at Fat Duck, where most youngsters consider themselves lucky to be able to work as unpaid interns, just to be able to flash the name on their CVs. On the Uzuri menu, Blumenthal shows up with his invention, chocolate soil, on which rests the restaurant's must-have dessert with semi-frozen truffles, caramelised nuts, pickled grapes and butter caramel ice-cream. A silent tribute from a proud student.
I chose the two-storey restaurant's tastefully turned-out terrace, which was a delight on a nippy evening, and I could see it becoming the city's favourite party zone when the place gets its liquor licence only after the assembly elections. This hiatus may hurt the restaurant in the short run -- and it is showing in its uneven occupancy -- because its food is made for wine and long conversations. Frankly, I didn't say 'wow' after each dish, but the meal left me with a sense of satisfaction and a desire to return soon.

It was the mustard lamb shoulder, cooked for 48 hours and served on a bed of wild spinach with hazelnut salsa verde, that made me silently pray for this restaurant's long life. I had it with the herbed quinoa salad, bush-style smoked vegetables and truffle-scented pesto, whose charming simplicity won my heart, and the trio of beetroot and goat cheese mousse, toasted pumpkin seeds and warm bread. I just loved the bread, though I couldn't decide whether I loved the accompanying beetroot jam more (even the butter trio -- paprika, garlic and pesto -- accompanying the bread basket will make you consume a lot of carbs)!

The opening was heart-warming, but then came two jarring notes -- the Cape Malay fish cakes made me wonder why I was having aloo tikki in a restaurant that otherwise takes its food seriously and the pressed pork belly resting on an apple cider mash was left half-eaten. Before we could start complaining, though, we were blown away by the palate cleanser -- an unbeatable lemon souffle -- followed by the African-spiced leg of lamb with mint puree, onions carmelised for 48 hours, confit garlic and caper jus. I just loved the interplay of textures and tastes and how well they sat on my palate, and the twice-based cheese souffle served with braised edamame, sun-dried cherry tomatoes and balsamic fondue can give the grand-daddy in this department, Orient Express, a good run for its money. This is one restaurant that'll see more of me.

Delhi’s Hippest New Restaurant to be Steered by Masterchef South Africa Contestant

By Sourish Bhattacharyya

THE NEXT chef in the city who’ll surely have the women eating out of his hands (and maybe land a couple of Bollywood roles) is the South African Guy Clark, a former property broker who was unanimously voted the ‘cutest’ contestant and '

Guy Clark, seen at the first season of Masterchef South
Africa, has cooked for Analjit Singh and is now opening
the Uzuri restaurant at the M-Block Market, Greater
Kailash-II, New Delhi. (As seen on vimeo.com)

Mr Nice Guy' in the first season of Masterchef South Africa last year. Since then, he has had a busy, busy year, which took off when he cooked for Max Healthcare founder-chairman Analjit Singh at Franschhoek, a small town in the Western Cape Province that is today South Africa’s most sought-after residential addresses studded with wineries and chic restaurants.

Singh was so impressed with Clark that he got him over to New Delhi to redesign his private kitchens and then cook at his daughter Tara’s A-List wedding this year whose high point was a performance by pop and R&B star Lionel Ritchie that left the privileged invitees dancing ‘All Night Long’. One thing led to another and now Clark, who stood 11th in the first season of Masterchef South Africa and got eliminated because his soufflé wasn’t right, is busy with the pre-opening rituals of what promises to be Delhi’s hippest new restaurant, Uzuri (the word means ‘goodness’ in Swahili), which will serve up ‘European food with a touch of Africa’ at the M-Block Market, Greater Kailash-II. And yes, there will be the famous bunny chow, or hollowed-out loaf of bread filled with curry, a Durban Indian invention which at the moment is being served only in Kush Nagrath’s Firefly bar at New Friends Colony.

Leading the show with Clark in the kitchen is a young man named Rishim Sachdeva, who was a sous chef at Heston Blumenthal’s celebrated Fat Duck restaurant. My source, the man about town and (when he’s not being one) management consultant Shaun Lobo, who attended one of the trial dinners on Saturday night, said the duo cooked up quite a memorable meal. “Delhiites are looking for something new and South Africa is a sought-after destination,” Clark was quoted by the South African publication, Weekend Argus, as saying. “Delhi is all about the bling. This is the first African-European fusion restaurant in India.”

Clark, who started cooking when he was 14 to impress his then girlfriend, had said in the Weekend Argus interview that he’s in a “serious relationship with food right now”. We’ll get to sample it very soon when Uzuri opens its door.