Sharp at 8.30 am on a Thursday, chef Hermann Grossbichler of Grand Hyatt in Kochi, strides into the fish market at the Vypeen Harbour. He inspects a wide variety of seafood—kingfish, tiger prawns, lobsters, squid, mackerel, sardine, and tuna. Accompanying him is the Air India Captain BS Parmar who is taking part in the Make Your Own Meal (MYOM) programme. Earlier, when Hermann asked Parmar what he wanted to eat, the latter said, “Whatever you would like to make.” That’s how they ended up at the fish market. Two red snappers are selected. and a stall assistant scrapes off the scales and skin.
Back at the hotel, Hermann heads straight into the open kitchen where his assistants are eagerly waiting. Following his instructions, tomatoes and onions are chopped at lightning speed with gleaming steel knives, along with coriander, chillies, garlic and basil leaves. The chef then pours olive oil and cooking wine into a pan and adds the ingredients. The fish is put into the oven, and baked at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.
Talking about the fish the chef says, “The quality is outstanding. You cannot get fish any fresher than this. When the raw material is good anybody can cook a good dish. Of course, the right ingredients are also important.” Meanwhile, he quickly makes Spaghetti Al Pesto because it goes well with the fish. He also whips up Black Rice Risotto and a grilled vegetable salad with coconut oil and lemon dressing.
After a few minutes, Parmar’s wife, Wing Commander Navdeep, and their daughter Risham join in. They keenly observe Hermann as he goes about his work. Finally, at 12.30 pm lunch is served. The family eats attentively, but with evident joy. “What I found amazing was the way Chef Hermann retained the natural taste of the fish. He did not overpower it with spices,” says Parmar.
MYOM is part of the global philosophy of Grand Hyatt hotel— food thoughtfully sourced and carefully served. “Through MYOM we want to serve the community. In other words, we want local farmers and fishermen to become stakeholders in our business,” explains the chef.
In an age of wastefulness and extravagance, the international hotel chain strives to be environmentally conscious. That means, it will not import fish from another part of the world when they can procure it locally, even though it may not be of the same variety. “Why waste fossil fuel? We don’t import butter from Denmark, even though it is of great quality, because we have good butter in India too,” exclaims Hermann.
He highlights that guests from foreign countries don’t appreciate imported food and look for a local experience. “If I were a tourist in Kerala, I wouldn’t want to eat Danish butter. A guest once told me, ‘Don’t serve me Norwegian sausages because I can get it even at the Dubai airport’,” says Hermann.
But Kerala’s dependence on Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh for produce is clear to the chef.
“I would like to see more local produce. The number of farmers who grow vegetables is far lower than what is needed.”