CHENNAI:
My first cooking experience was 30 years ago…I was nine. Would you believe if I say it was a mess? (laughs) It started with the spices my parents bought from India. I was helping my sister, who was only a year older than me, to cut vegetables and marinate the meat with tomatoes and that was the fi rst time I smelled cumin and curry powder. I stepped into this fi eld when I was 14. During my summer holidays, I started working at a seafood restaurant to save up for a bike. When I started, I realised it was tough! I learned how to cut the fi sh and clean it before cooking. By the end of the summer, I bought my fi rst bike, and I decided not to give up cooking.
I joined another restaurant the next summer, and worked with them full-time. For me, cooking is all about fusion. I fuse different cuisines. My one dish called the Tuna Tartar is a fusion of Italian and Asian cuisines. The sesame seeds used in the dish is predominant in Asian cuisines. The sauce is made of mayonnaise mixed with wasabi and horseradish and a little bit of lemon juice. I try to keep my food simple and traditional too at times. Getting to cook a simple traditional dish right is important. A chef should start fusion only when he has enough experience.
I have noticed that cooking the simplest food is the most diffi cult. For instance, I have had pasta which was overcooked and smelled like oregano. Few main ingredients I always need in my kitchen are tomato pelati, extra-virgin olive oil (because it’s lighter), parmesan cheese, and parma ham. Having stayed in India for the past seven to eight years, I started using the herbs that I get here. I prefer using organic vegetables as it gives the food a genuine taste.
I remember when we were young we used to steal tomatoes from trees and eat it raw. The taste of the tomatoes is still embedded in my mind that I try to fi nd that smell when I buy tomatoes for my kitchen. Cooking used to be a big task in my family. My mother and grandmother used to get up early in the morning to prepare. Even today, I try to rememeber the taste of their food and remake the dishes from my childhood. I love cooking for my family, but that happens only when I am in Italy. I cook with my brotherin- law who is also a chef. My wife is the queen of the kitchen there (laughs) she says that I make too much mess and won’t let me cook.