Chef Susanta Mitra, Keys Select Hotel Hosur Road, says he’s been lucky as his family and friends happily turn to ‘guinea pigs’ for his culinary experiments. The chef loves to experiment with different ingredients. He shares tips with his mother and wife too. In an interview with City Express, the chef says how he finds cooking a meal for his family to be a stress buster. Excerpts:
What’s your favourite ingredient to work with?
Fruits and vegetables with exotic flavours and natural sweetness such as parsnip, mushrooms, avocados, sweet potato, courgette and beetroot, interest to me. I always experiment with ingredients to come up with
innovative flavours that appeal to different palates.
If not a chef, what would have been your alternate career option?
I was always inclined to pursue architecture as a career path.
Do you cook at home? If no, why?
Yes, I love cooking for my loved ones. It is one of my biggest stress busters, to treat my family with sumptuous meals on my days off.
Do you give cooking tips to your mother and/or wife? How do they react?
Of course. I always pass on new culinary learnings to my wife and my mother. They always appreciate it and take pride in having a chef at home.
What are your hobbies, apart from cooking?
My kitchen is my playground in every sense. Honestly, I find cooking very therapeutic and I look forward to planning my meals every day. Besides, my family and friends have always been patient and supportive, and happily turn guinea pigs for my experimental recipes.
Do you watch cooking shows/reality shows? If yes, which shows and contestants are your favourites?
I like Chef Gordon Ramsey’s Ultimate Cookery Course. His 100 essential cooking tips are really useful.
What’s your family’s most favourite dish that you prepare?
Chicken Roulade is my signature dish and an absolute favourite of my family. It is flattened chicken breasts, stuffed with garlic, feta cheese, oregano and lemon zest, grilled over a skillet and topped with red wine reduction.
If it were your last day on earth, where and what would you love to eat?
I would prefer to spend the last day at my home in Shantiniketan and enjoy a meal made by my mother.
Any famous personalities you’d like to cook for? What would you cook for them?
Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I think it’s fascinating to see his simple food choices. I would cook Khandvi for him.