The novelty of food lies in its detail. It’s about every ingredient amalgamating coherently to tell the unified story of a preparation. When this happens successfully, a plate of food seizes to hold on to its humble form. It becomes a bespoke piece of culinary conversation that impresses the eyes as well as the appetite.
A selection of such well-received dishes from the kitchens of reputed restaurants, have come together as part of the first edition of Gourmetlicious 2018 dining experience, wherein visitors can enjoy special menus with a buy one get one free offer.
The menus have been curated by Rocky Mohan, author and food connoisseur. He has worked on these in collaboration with specialty chefs of each of the restaurants, to bring edible luxury to a diner’s table. “The food industry has to keep evolving like all other similar industries through various formats, one of them being this, to attract guest by giving them an exposure to what chefs in this country are capable of,” he says.
Mohan had to work carefully at striking a comfortable balance between what the chefs wanted to display and what he wanted them to present keeping guest preferences in mind. “I am sensibly emotional and have above average intelligence and I use a combination of both these faculties in most things that I do, including this. Obviously the two are not used in equal measure in all situations,” says the curator.
Participating restaurants at Gourmetlicious brought together by Gourmet Passport, on the Dineout app, are Zanotta, The Leela Ambience; Amaranta, The Oberoi Gurgaon; Tian, ITC Maurya; Dum Pukht, ITC Maurya; Spicy Duck, and Orient Express, The Taj Palace; Varq, The Taj Mahal Hotel; Le Cirque, and Megu, The Leela Palace; Indian Accent, The Lodhi and more. “The best part about this entire exercise is to make some of these well-known restaurants reach out at a struck-down rate with set-menus that pack in the punch,” he says. The festival has stretched its gourmet bandwagon to Mumbai and Bangalore as well.