CHENNAI: For millennials, chef Sanjeev Kapoor has been an inspiration to enter the kitchen and dabble with dishes. Notebooks after notebooks were filled with simple and complex recipes by ardent viewers. At a time when reels and food blogs have kept people enthused, the mere news of the renowned chef coming to the city on Saturday had chefs, aspiring cooks, and foodies throng Phoenix MarketCity’s central atrium in the hopes of learning different cooking techniques and styles from him. Visitors gathered in the hallways of each floor to catch a glimpse of him. To celebrate the mélange of finest business, the mall hosted a masterclass by the celebrity chef to teach Chennaiites quick tips, cooking techniques, exquisite dishes with fruits, flowers, rice, savouries, etc. that would help them in their kitchen.
Lauding Chennai’s welcoming makkal, and the joy it brought to be back here, Kapoor addressed the press on the current culinary scene in India. He went on to praise the greatness of Tamil Nadu cuisine. “Excellent food comes from places with rich histories, among them is Tamil Nadu,” he said. Despite whipping up dishes from different cuisines, home food is his go-to. “Local food, homestyle food, like idli, dosa, are my favourite,” he said, adding that he is fascinated by the supreme nature of local foods. “Wherever I travel, I eat the food of its place, if I’m in Spain or New Zealand, I try their cuisine.”
With a belief that one’s health is in their own hands, he pointed out the current obsession among people is to fill their tummies with tasty food, which is often fast food and fatty food that are harmful to health. This is why, promoting healthier foods has become his primary goal. “Eat local, fresh food. Home food is the best option as we all deserve healthy food,” he told CE.
Post Covid, food reels have your Instagram feed flooded with tonnes of recipes. In a way, it is through these abridged recipes, individuals who never set foot in the kitchen are now decent cooks. However, the finesse of the cooking comes with consistency. “These reels might be of great help to amateur cooks, and also serve as a huge source of entertainment,” he noted.
The unwavering love for regional foods would never die down is what we understood when Kapoor shared his view on the slight shift of interest in Western food in India. “No matter what, the authenticity of our country is never lost. Whatever western food we eat, at the end of the day it is Indian cuisine that defines us as Indian,” he said.
Kapoor did a live demonstration of fusion cooking offering both vegetarian and non-vegetarian recipes along with desserts in the two-hour workshop, including Blue Pea Fried Rice with Chili Garlic Prawns and Biryani Arancini with Raw Mango Kadhi Baked Yogurt with Kaffir Lime & Pistachio. For a special tasting session, the chefs from the in-house brands of the mall were invited. The masterclass exposed the participants to a variety of cooking methods and styles, be it the blending of Indian with Italian, or of two Asian cuisines.