HYDERABAD: Taj Campton Place in San Francisco is one of the few (25, to be precise) restaurants in North America to have achieved a two-star Michelin rating, and Srijith Gopinathan is the only Indian-American chef to have attained this distinction.
He specialises in what is popularly known as ‘Cal-Indian’ cuisine, in which the ingredients are sourced based on the changing seasons in US.
Products such as cherries, peaches, plums, apricots that are available in Summer, pumpkins from Fall, potatoes, etc. from Winter, and others from Spring are combined with Indian spices and cooked in his signature style.
As a young boy, he used to observe his grandmother cooking, and was mesmerised by her ability to transform everyday ingredients into delicious dishes. It was this passion that made him join The Culinary Institute of America at New York. The rest, as they say, is history.
Srijith is in the city for the three-day International Vine and Food experience (ends Sunday) being held at Taj Falaknuma Palace.
Curated and handcrafted by Srijith, today’s dinner is a closed event featuring 101 guests. It comprises a five-course meal with chilled soup, morel mushrooms from California, John Dory fish from New Zealand, stuffed quails, scallops, black truffles, squashed blossoms and more.
On the specific food-wine pairings, Srijith said the vegetarian dishes would be paired with Sauvignon blanc, Fish with Chablis wine, Quail with an Italian red wine, and desserts with Ice wine. Wine cognoscenti Keith Edgar, Jancis Robinson MW, Fiona Beckett, and others will share their knowledge to guide guests on their culinary journey.
The menu is co-created with in-house Executive Chef Sajesh Nair. The event also includes horse carriage rides, champagne receptions, croquet on the lawns and tours of the Palace.