New Delhi India 2016

NewDelhiIndia2016
India
Blog1
MycookingtripstoIndiahavebeenanincredibleexperience,Ihavecookedat
theHyattinKolkataandtheParkHyattinHyderabad,bothtotallydifferentin
somanyways.Kolkataishard-coreIndia,horrendoustrafficandarealculture
shocktoanyfirsttimevisitor.
Hyderabadisalotmorerelaxed,youdon’tgetthatoverwhelmingfeelingthat
youhavearrivedincompletemadhouse.Bothcitiesarebeautifulintheirown
right,butdifferent.(Seepreviousblog)
MytriptoDelhibeganinSohoatRedFort,beforeanappointmentinthe
HouseofCommonswiththeRtHonKeithVazMP.
AnofficialpresslaunchandmessageofgoodlucktotheCurrylifeteam.He
evenaskedHugoSwire, Ministeroftheforeignofficetoaddhissupportand
bestwishesduringadebateinthecommons,andLordKaranBilimoria
mentionedthefestivalinhisbudgetspeechtotheHouseofLords.
LordKaranBiliamoriaandteam
MyflightleftfromHeathrow,adirectflighttoDelhi.Iarrivedat2am,Delhiisa
largeairportandhavingnegotiatedimmigrationandcollectedmybagsIwas
metbyadriverfromthehotel.
Thisyear’sfestivalwastobeheldattheITCMaurya,abeautifulfive-starhotel
thathaswelcomedPresidentBarrackObama,BillClinton,RobertMugabeand
manyotherworldleaders,aswellastopsportsstarsandHollywood’sAlist.
TheHotelishosttotheAfghanistan,IrelandandPakistanCricketteams,the
20/20cricketworldcupiscurrentlyoninIndiaandIndiahasadeepobsession
withthesport.PakistanplayedIndiainKolkataon19thMarch,thestreetswere
quiet,thehotelwasquietwhileIndiawatchedcricket.Indiawonandlife
resumed.
Havingarrivedlateatthehotel,Icheckedinstraightawayandhadabout2
hourssleepbeforeweallmetforbreakfast,itwaslaunchday,ahugepress
releasewithjournalistsfromIndiaandaroundtheworld.LordKaranBiliamoria
wasourguestofhonour,SyedBilalfromCurryLifemagazinewelcomedusall
toDelhiandtheninvitedmyselfandChefManishaBhasintosayafewwords.
ChefManishaisastrongIndianladythathasbeentrainedwithinthegreat
hotelsofIndiaformorethan30years,ahighlyknowledgeablewomanthat
controls150chefsandneversuffersfools.OnemorningIenjoyedwatching
herbusysouschefsarrivefora10o’clocktasting,morespice,moreseasoning,
slightlybiggerwerehercomments,thisonaselectionofmarinatedmeatsand
simplekebabs
TheWestView
MyroleatthefestivalistosupporttheteamofBritishcurrychefs,flytheflag
forthegreatBritishcurryandtalkaboutfoodintheUKtoday.Wearebringing
theBritishcurrytoIndia,aswellasFishandChips,ScotchEggs,Pickled
Herrings,braisedrabbitanddeliciouspies.Thefestivalsaresupportedbythe
BritishhighcommissionandbusinessleadersaroundIndia.Theyarealwaysa
greatsuccessandthepeopleofIndiaarehugelysupportiveoftheevent.
Iamgivenarestauranttocookinandateamofchefstohelpwithmy
preparation,therestaurantIamcookinginistheWestView,arestauranton
the18thfloorofthehotelwithbeautifulviewsoverthetheDelhiRidge,ahuge
forestandaconservationareathatmakesDelhioneofthegreenestcitiesin
theWorld.Greenbecauseofitstreesratherthanitsenvironmental
credentials.
TheteamattheWestViewaretrainedinEuropeanfood,alltrainedinfive-star
hotelsaroundAsiaandEuropeandveryenthusiastictohelp.
Thekitchensatany5-starhotelarealwaysimpressive,atTheITCMauryathere
ismorethantendifferentfoodoperationswith-inthehotel,Chinese,Indian,
buffet,banqueting,finedinningIndian,Roomservice,astaffrestaurantand
more.TheITCMaurya’soperationworksthroughamazeoflifts,corridorsand
systemsthathavebeendevelopedformanyyears.Manyofitschefshave
beenwiththecompanyfor35+years.
ThehotelisalsohometoBukharaandDumPukht,bothrankedamongstthe
top50restaurantsinAsia,previouslythetop50intheworld.Bukharaisworld
famouswiththestars,ratedasoneoftheverybestplacestoeattraditional
foodfromtheNorth-WestfrontierofIndia.Foodthatispreparedinaclay
oven(tandoor)orcookedovercoalsformanyhours.Therestauranthasbeen
herefor35years,notchangeditsphilosophyormenuin35yearsandstayed
truetoitsroots,thefooditproducesisdelicious,packedfullofflavour,honest
andincrediblyenjoyable,mykindofcooking.
ChefJPSinghisareservedman,fullofexperienceandknowledge.He’salso
verypassionateabouthiscraft,hisingredientsandtherestaurantheandhis
teamhavecreated.Bukharaisafinerestaurant,steepedinhistoryandamust
visitonanytriptoDelhi.
TeamatBukhara
OurteamofBritishcurrychefsareworkinginthePavilionrestaurant,thisis
basedonthegroundfloorofthehotel,theyproduceeightdifferentdisheson
adailybasis,aswellasbreads,riceandvegetables.AbulMonsuroftheTaj
Cuisine,Medway,Kentleadsthissideoftheteam,withVijayPanwarfromthe
RedFort,London,SyedIslam,theCapital,CountyDurhamandAbbasAhmed
fromChillilounge,Hertfordshire.TheyareinchargeofbringingtheGreat
BritishcurrybacktoIndia.Classicdishessitalongsideamoremodernoffering.
TheinfamousChickenTikkaMasalanexttoShatkoraLamb,ChichingaChingri,
BroccoliMasalaandPumpkinChanaMasala.Abulandhisteamworkincredibly
hardtobringthebestofBritainandouramazingcurryindustrytoIndia.
Theirfoodisalwaysdelicious,Abulisamanwithhugestandards,hedoes
thingsproperlyanditsevidentinhiscooking.
TheRedFort,Delhi
ChandniChowkSpiceMarkets
Thefestivalissomuchmorethanjustcooking,weshareideaswithother
chefs,visithistoricalsitesliketheRedFort,TajMahalorPresidentialPalace.
Wevisitthewonderfulstreetmarkets,experiencethesounds,coloursand
smellsofIndia.Weenjoyinvitationsfromexclusiveprivateclubs,tryavariety
ofstreetfoodsandanyhighlyrecommendedrestaurant.
Weexperiencethespicemarkets,wherespicesarepiledhighinthestreet,as
wellastealeaves,lentils,beansandmanyotherpulses.
Delhihasawealthofinterestingplacestovisitandisaneasycitytoget
around,bothTaxi’sandTukTuksaregood,theundergroundisbrilliant.
Incrediblevalue,cleanandeasytonavigate,ahugelyimpressiveunderground
systemandanotherexampleofhowdiverseIndiais.
ThebiggestmarketinAsiaisChandniChowk,abovegroundthemarketsis
intenseandnotforthefainthearted,inthemiddleofthistotal,“madnesson
earth”isatrainstation,onceyouenterthisstationandbegintodropbelow
grounditcouldn’tbemoredifferent,thecontrastsofIndiaareextremein
everyway.
StreetFood
ITCMauyraisaverybusyhotelandwellknownthroughoutIndiaasahotel
thatdeliversgreatfood.TheCurryLifefestivalsarealwayspromotedwellwith
foodjournalist,bloggersandlocalprofessionals,thehotelsPRteamsadvertise
theeventonposters,flyersandglossymagazines.Theseareinthelifts,on
advertisingboardsaroundthehotelandplacedinallofthe450bedrooms.The
TimesofIndiawroteabrilliantintroductiontothefestival,probablythe
biggestpaperinIndia,awonderfulstartfortheteam.Wenowneedto
performandmakesureourfoodisworththehype.
DominicChapmanMarch2016