The late American celebrity chef, author, and travel documentarian Anthony Bourdain had said when asked about that one ingredient he hates: “Truffle oil. It’s about as edible as Astroglide and made from the same stuff.” Television personality Martha Stewart, too, turns up her nose at the mention of truffle oil. The host of Bizarre Foods, Andrew Zimmern, may profess his love for fermented walrus anus, but he would rather give walnuts a miss and the Hell’s Kitchen ‘Devil’ Gordon Ramsay would run in the opposite direction if served pineapple and asked to cook with it.
While it may come as a surprise to many of us, chefs do have some pretty strong feelings about one ingredient or the other. From strong flavours such as crayfish and asafoetida to textured tastes such as okra and artichokes, some chefs would rather look the other way than having to touch these ‘unmentionables’. Executive Chef Gautam Mehrishi of Vivanta New Delhi, Dwarka, says, “Mace is one ingredient which I really hate using. It imparts bitterness and while slow cooking, roasting and braising mace loses the texture in such a way that it is least appealing to the eye. Even when using as powder, it does not compliment or marry well with most of the spices. Rather than using mace, I make use of nutmeg, which has a similar flavour, but definitely more pleasant and easily incorporated.”
A bitter aftertaste, like the one mentioned by Mehrishi, might put one off from using spices such as mace; but imagine cooking in a restaurant that serves fish and not being able to take in the smell of raw fish? Chef Anurudh Khanna, Multi-Property Executive Chef of The Westin Gurugram and New Delhi, and The Westin Sohna Resort and Spa, has a similar problem. “I struggle with the smell of fish and the older the fish, the more horrible is the odour. I try to overcome the same by purchasing the freshest fish I can find in the market,” he says.
Many chefs are also not keen on using packaged and bottled flavourings. Neeraj Tyagi, Chef, Pullman and Novotel New Delhi Aerocity, would rather make fresh stock than use vegetable or chicken broth powder. Likewise, Chef Akanksha Dean, Chef Manager, Imperfecto Shor Café, steers clear of using peeled, sliced or minced garlic from a bottle. And like many true blue chefs, she would rather treat garlic with her hands and knife rather than using a garlic press. For Chef Dhruv Oberoi of Olive Qutub, incorporating a typically Indian root vegetable such as colocasia into the European cuisine is a task and one that he does not really cherish. “Its taste is bland and the vegetable is slimy,” he rues.
Even the cooking medium can be a put off for some. Chef Anahita N Dhondy, Chef-Partner, SodaBottleOpenerWala, Gurugram, does not like canola oil. She opts for mustard, peanut or even sesame oil. Similarly, Anooj Wadhawan, Executive Chef, Roseate House New Delhi, does not fancy salted butter as he believes it is unhealthy and does not enhance flavours. So, if you thought not enjoying the flavour of cumin or maybe nigella was making you less of a chef, think again. After all, as the American author, Marilyn Wann so simply puts it: “Life is too short for self-hatred and celery sticks.”