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James Bond does not drink tea, but he does drink a lot of Martinis. If you enjoy your cuppa and wish to be as suave as the super spy here is your chance to do so with a tea Martini. Made with a specially harvested classic Darjeeling tea, the cocktails, reflect the classic traits of Darjeeling teas — attractive hue and aroma. If you happen to be in Delhi, you could try the new cocktails at Sidecar with the specially harvested tea collection from Makaibari. Named Summer Solstice, the harvest is from the Kodobari fields of Makaibari in Darjeeling. Using these teas, Sidecar has worked on six signature cocktails with the lush, second flush tea.

This is the first time a tea estate and a bar, Sidecar have worked together to create signature cocktails. Sidecar is currently ranked 16 on Asia’s 50 best bars and the Makaibari tea estate has the distinction of having built the first tea factory in the world.

Summer Solstice tea from Makaibari estate is harvested on June 21. This tie-up according to Yangdup Lama founder of Sidecar, will also go a long way into breaking the stereotype associated with tea drinkers. “Tea is considered to be an old man’s drink,” the mixologist and author comments. “The truth is tea is versatile and can blend into cocktails without overpowering taste. The collaboration took four months of intense planning and our team is proud of the outcome.”

Makaibari happens to be world’s first organic tea estate and produces India’s most expensive tea – Silvertips Imperial. Makaibari is also the first Fairtrade Certified Tea Estate in the world – 1988.

On choosing Darjeeling second flush tea, Yangdup explains, “Tea gardens in Darjeeling make classic style teas. The reason I opted for second flush is because it is not as delicate as first flush and the flavour of the teas can be stored for a longer period of time. First flush is definitely good but I feel it is best to enjoy as tea. When I started working on the collaboration I was sure I wanted the summer solstice from a terrain in Makaibari that enjoys all weather conditions throughout year. Which is why I chose the tea from Kodobari region.”

Talking about the drinks Yangdup said the motive is to expose the versatility of tea through the series of tea cocktails to the younger crowd.

The hiss of the espresso machine is back at the Araku Coffee Museum in Araku Valley, after a gap of almost six and a half months.

The museum’s small team of staff is busy attending to the sudden flow of visitors they had been witnessing in the past two weeks. It’s no secret the pandemic has affected small businesses everywhere. Araku Valley, about 120 kilometres from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh was not immune to it. From a bustling staff of 180 members, the Araku Coffee Museum is today being managed by just 45 people, all hailing from the local tribal communities. “Being cut-off from the main city during the second wave of the pandemic had hit us badly. It is only in the past three weeks that things have begun to change,” says Naresh Akella, son of Prakash Rao who along with his two brothers Santosh Kumar and Gopal Rao took over the reigns of managing the museum after the death of their father a few years ago.

The Coffee Museum sells 60 varieties of coffee beverages, coffee powders and coffee bean chocolates (chocolate-covered roasted coffee beans), all made from the locally grown and processed coffee beans. Arabica coffee is the main variety under cultivation in Araku Valley. Here, coffee is grown in the shade, employing environmentally sustainable methods. After battling a steep fall in their 15-year-old business, the recent spurt of tourists to the valley have kept the team on their toes and brought in a glimmer of hope. The museum has been getting about 700 footfalls every day which goes up to 2,000 during the weekends. “There has been a sudden increase in number of tourists. We did not witness this even during pre-pandemic days,” says Naresh. According to him, a majority of the tourists visiting the museum are from the States of Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. “The numbers peaked in the last 12 days,” he adds. Adhering to the safety protocols, the entire staff is fully vaccinated.

The colourful murals on the walls at the entrance of the museum narrate the journey of coffee from bean to cup. The bright art works depict how the cherries are plucked, pulped, fermented and dried till they are ready for roasting and grounding. Inside the museum, the soft lights bring alive the dioramas (three-dimensional figures made of fibre and cement) that reflect the long journey of the coffee bean from its discovery in Ethiopia to its popularity across the world and Araku. An audio-visual show gives a glimpse of the lush green slopes of the Araku Valley where coffee is grown under the shade of silver oak trees and pepper creepers.

The museum was set up in 2006, but its journey began much earlier, in 1954 when Prakash Rao, a migrant, set up a small coffee shop near the Araku Railway Station to showcase Araku’s Arabica coffee which continues to be the all-time-favourite here. While the menu has been curtailed due to the pandemic, it still includes the slow brewed craft coffee and other expensive varieties of coffee like the Kopi Luwak, considered the world’s most expensive coffee made from beans digested by a civet cat.

Here, one gets to not only learn about the history of the coffee variety, but also witness the entire process of making it. “We are planning to hire and train a team of guides who give dedicated guided tours around the museum for small groups of tourists,” says Naresh.

Even as he battles a pandemic-induced loss of over ₹15 lakh, Naresh says he has no plans to expand the business through retail chains or outlets. “Our speciality is to offer an experience in Araku which no other destination will provide. The only way to savour it is to drive down to the valley and relish a steaming cup of the refreshing Arabica coffee flavour,” says Naresh.

For the 90s kids, sausages from a cold cut store were the only gourmet food on the table. That was when cheese meant Amul cubes and salad was an assortment of vegetables like carrot, beetroot, cucumber and tomato. Fast forward to 2021, life is all about living with a pantry that gives a selection of cheese, wines, olives, herbs, meats and fruits. Easy accessibility is a post-pandemic phenomenon where suppliers are catering to individual consumers, irrespective of the scale of operations, not only the food and beverage industry, but also homes.

One can argue that upmarket stores had always stocked some amount of cheese and herbs. But did they stock artisanal cheese? Could we ever think of foods without preservatives?

Santorini-baked basa fish, available on Meatigo
 

Gayatri Tampi of Meatigo, an e-commerce retail brand providing a range of premium quality raw and processed meat products, says, “The game was changing even earlier; COVID just hastened the process and condensed five years of change into 18 months. Indian consumers have changed; most of them being well-travelled, have expanded food horizons. We are now open to experimenting with international cuisines and flavours, not only when we go out but also as we cook at home. Pandemic has made us question the food quality at some of our favourite haunts, especially when it comes to meats.” The other key factor, she points out, is the realisation of the need to eat healthy..

The availability of gourmet food is also influenced by the shifting gender roles and responsibilities while cooking. Meal preparation is being projected as a gender-neutral activity to be enjoyed with friends and family. Gayatri says, “This has opened our minds to re-imagine how we look at gourmet food.”

The elaborate weekend brunch at restaruants with friends and family also seems to have influenced the weekend menu at home during the lockdown, fuelled by social media feeds rolling out one cooking video after the other; enabling us to try to be on par with the likes of Gordon Ramsay. Gayatri confirms, “Much like at restaurants and malls, we see a hike in purchases on weekends and holidays.”

Lisa Suwal, Chief Growth Officer at Prasuma
 

Prasuma Momos saw a 40% spike in demand during the lockdown even though they launched at the end of 2019. Lisa Suwal, Chief Growth Officer (CGO) with Prasuma Momos says, “In just 18 months we are the go-to momo brand in the frozen section. Our momos are juicier than any other momo; we use a family recipe, hand-picked ingredients that are preservative-free, and the hormone-free meat is not treated with antibiotics.”

‘Not just ingredients, but quality’

Suppliers are happy to customise for clients as against the business of bulk orders. Rishiraj Dev, a Delhi-based supplier, says they were able to sustain their business despite losses only because he sold his stock to friends and discovered a completely new business trend. “It is a shame that we didn’t see this potential when we did big deliveries on bulk supplies to hotels. Consumers seem to be more aware of not just ingredients but quality as well. A lot of supermarkets do stock gourmet meats and cheese. But it is their stocking method that might go wrong.”

Gayatri agrees, “We realised the importance of temperature control and other processes.Even a small temperature change can alter the taste and texture of a product thus spoiling the experience.”

Venetian prawn and olive skewers, available on Meatigo
 

In Hyderabad, chef Shankar Krishnamoorthy sourced Oberoi Delicatessen meats that included gluten-free chicken franks, bacon prime and honey-glazed ham. Shankar says, “When regular diners at F9 started asking for the gourmet meats, I sensed there is a good market for it. Availability met demand in beautiful harmony.”

Consumers who are constantly looking at a selection of gourmet cheese, meats and condiments say this is the best time to get cooking and following recipes from any cookbook without having to tweak them or look for substitute ingredients. . Keerti Kumar a consultant as a software startup says she was pleasantly surprised when a Mumbai-based artisanal cheese brand Spotted Cow Fromagerie even delivered her some halloumi cheese. Such service would not have been possible earlier.”

What is going to be your choice of cuisine on weekends in Thiruvananthapuram? Would you like to sink your teeth into a lasagne dripping with cheese or pamper your taste buds with a honey-soaked Russian Medovik? There are choices galore with Thai, Creole, Mexican, and Sri Lankan, in addition to a plethora of meat-based dishes and desserts like kunafa sold under the generic name of Arabic cuisine.

The lockdown resulted in a mushrooming of home chefs across the country. Armed with FSSAI licenses and confidence, many of them satiated hunger pangs of people stuck at home without domestic help or restaurants to fall back on. Several people turned to their culinary skills to put food on their table too. With successive lockdowns spelling the death knell for small-scale businesses, many women found that their home-cooked dishes had takers in plenty.

Sharlotka, a traditional Russian apple pie, made by Anna Sankar in Thiruvananthapuram
 
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Thus it was that homemakers Sanda Toma and Anna Sankar, chef Priya Roy, entrepreneurs Susan Jaymohan and Kasthurika Rajasegaran found themselves starting cloud kitchens.

Say cheese

Romanian Sanda was a busy homemaker and mom when her husband Younis Khan’s company folded up. In August 2020, Sanda began baking apple pie as a favour for a friend running a restaurant. What began as a hobby developed into a successful enterprise when she enlarged her menu to include lasagne.

Sanda Toma, a resident of Kovalam, Thiruvananthapuram, serves lasagne, pasta with meat ragu and a couple of other bakes
 
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

“Although there are places that offer Italian cuisine, authentic Italian food was rare. When I launched Mamma Rosa in August 2020, I began with the lasagne. Soon, I added quiche and fresh pasta with meat ragu,” says Sanda, a resident of Kovalam for seven years.

The response was overwhelming. “My menu is limited but, often, I am over booked and have to turn down orders. Now my husband and daughter Iris pitch in to help.”

Everything is home-made, right from the pasta, the sauces and the chocolate. All the ingredients are sourced from the city itself and Sanda has a devoted clientele.

The world on your plate

Saturday Night Diner has something new on your plate every Saturday — Mexican, Italian, Korean, Creole, French, Thai, German…

“I was a little worried when I offered Korean Bibimbap comprising Korean rice with Gochujang sauce, kimchi and cucumber salad, topped with sesame vegetables and a choice of grilled shrimps, chicken or tofu. I was taken by surprise when I had nearly 50 orders for it,” recalls chef Priya Roy.

After working in cruise ships and upmarket hotel chains in India and abroad, Priya had become an entrepreneur. But the lockdown forced her to down shutters temporarily. “That is when a friend suggested that I monetise my passion for cooking. I had the experience and the confidence, but I was not sure what to cook, how it would be accepted and how profitable it would be,” recalls Priya.

Her first customer was her neighbour Anitha Jacob who insisted on paying for a lasagne Priya had baked. With her family’s backing, Priya launched Saturday Night Diner in January 2021. The first Saturday was a disaster as orders came pouring in, more than she could manage. “It was a nightmare as my oven could not cook so many dishes at the same time. However, the positive feedback helped me stay on my feet,” admits Priya.

Fish Escovitch from Chef Priya Roy’s Saturday Night Diner
 
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Since then, it has been smooth going. Customers are more when she offers familiar food like Peri Peri chicken or stuffed chicken breast. Nevertheless, Priya is not complaining. She plans to continue even after the lockdowns are lifted.

Sugar and spice from Russia

Feast on Medovik or Sharlotka, a classic Russian apple pie made by Anna Sankar, who hails from Moscow. Anna explains that the pie does not use butter. Instead, it has fruit, sugar, eggs and flour. “While, the traditional one uses only apple, we also make one with seasonal fruits. I bake both,” says Anna, a resident of the capital city since 2008.

Anna Sankar, who hails from Moscow, Russia, opened Annushka Russian Bakery in Kovalam. She bakes traditional Russian cakes and pastries
 
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Anna and her husband were running an Ayurveda wellness centre at Kovalam since 2009. Her husband passed away in 2015. After that Anna has been running the centre on her own until the pandemic forced her to shut it temporarily.

Medovik, a layered cake with honey, is made by Anna Sankar in Thiruvananthapuram
 
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

“I started Annushka Russian Bakery at Kovalam two months ago. My speciality is traditional Russian cakes like Medovik, quite new to the city. My customers have welcomed it, as well as my Russian pastries, with open hands,” she says.

Her customers don’t mind travelling to Kovalam, about 18 km from the city, for her cakes; many of them cannot stop at one helping of her bakes.

Thai break

In the case of Susan Jaymohan, her son Suraj Rajan is the driving force behind The Weekend Lunch Club. Specialising in Thai cuisine, Susan has a menu for the month and serves lunch and dinner on Saturdays and Sundays. She serves Chinese too but Thai is the bestseller.

The Weekend Lunch Club launched by Susan Jaymohan and her son Suraj Rajan provides Thai food on weekends
 
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

“It’s simple and the use of coconut milk, tamarind, chilli and spices would be familiar to Malayalis. But some ingredients like dry shrimp, fish paste, Kaffir lime leaves and galangal give it very different flavours; one has to acquire a taste for it,” says Susan.

She points out how the popular Som Tan Papaya salad is just grated green papaya with dressing. “Malayalis usually make a thoran with it. But the dressing changes the taste completely. It is the same with the red and green chilli sauce that are a must for many Thai dishes,” she says. Begun in February 2021, Susan says she is relieved by the demand for Thai food. She plans to add some popular soups and starters to her menu.

Spice island

Kasthurika Rajasegaran cooks and serves Sri Lankan specials
 
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Homesick for comfort food, Kasthurika Rajasegaran, born and brought up in Sri Lanka, decided to cook a few of her favourites once she settled down in the city after her marriage. Her in-laws enjoyed the food and so did her mother-in-law’s friends who encouraged her to cook and serve her cookies and patties. Participating in a flea market in the city proved to be a morale booster.

“I made Black curry chicken, sambol, a cherry cookie that is made with local cherries in Sri Lanka, signature biscuit cooking, very different from what we get here, and meat patties,” she says.

In September 2020, Kasthurika launched Kassi’s. With the demand for her short eats going up steadily, Kasthurika plans to introduce lunch and dinner on select days.

“Ambul Thiyal, made with tuna, is one dish that should do well here. It is made with kodampuli, called goraka in Sri Lanka,” she says.

Chef Soundararajan P was in uniform when we lost him, participating in a culinary webinar. Founder general secretary of the Indian Federation of Culinary Associations (IFCA), he was active all through his career, teaching and inspiring chefs, and dedicated to the hospitality industry till the very end.

Hailing from Coimbatore, the 64-year-old chef, who passed away from a heart attack, did his Bachelors in Mathematics and Statistics from the University of Madras, and then got a degree from the Institute of Hotel Management in Chennai.

I was executive chef in one of the Accor hotels in Mumbai in 1999 when I first met him. I still remember a tall chef walking into my kitchen to request me if he could use it for a VIP event. Although he was already a well known chef, I was charmed by how humble he was, and I soon found out how motivating it was to work beside him.

We discussed forming a chefs’ association in the western part of India, and went on to organise a meeting with chefs from across Mumbai. This is how the Western India Chefs Association was formed.

Friendly and well-connected, he played a great role along with prominent chefs from across India to form the IFCA. He was also founder general secretary of the South India Chefs Association (SICA), and put together an Indian delegation, encouraging us to participate in the International World Culinary Congress.

Over four decades, chef Soundararajan left an impact in the hospitality industry: he began his career with the Taj group of hotels, and then worked as corporate executive chef at Club Mahindra Holidays and Resorts. He received the Golden Hat Award (2004) and SICA Golden Star Chef Award (2008) from the South India Chefs Association for two decades of continuous contribution to the profession.

When he was not working, he spent a lot of time and energy bringing people together.

When I moved to Chennai from Mumbai in 2003, as executive chef at Le Royal Méridien, I sought chef Soundararajan’s help in familiarising myself with the city’s culinary landscape. There was a SICA executive board meeting next day, for which he invited me, and introduced me to most of the city chefs, who were all at the event.

He was a great mentor not only to me but many senior and junior chefs all over the country. His demise has left a great vacuum which will be very difficult to fill.

Chef Jugesh Arora is director of the Chef’s Table Studio, and honorary president of the South India Chefs Association.

Can a restaurant transform a community? Spanish chef Xanty Elías believes it can do that, and more. So when his former restaurant, Acánthum, in the Andalusian province of Huelva, became the first in the Spanish province to earn a Michelin star, he knew his journey was just beginning.

Chef Xanty began to direct his imagination, influence and energy into driving social projects to benefit Huelva, which has the highest unemployment rate of any province in Spain. In 2017 he co-founded Fundación Prenauta, joining hands with local businesses to provide consulting services and promote economic growth in the community.

Fundación Prenauta also collaborates with companies and institutions in Andalusia to teach students traditional recipes, and educate them on healthy eating. With this programme, where chefs travel to schools to teach masterclasses, the foundation reached over 6,000 children across more than 100 schools in Andalusia, and now plans to expand nationally.

For his impact as a change maker, Xanty has just won the Basque Culinary World Prize 2021. The BCWP, now in its 6th edition, celebrates gastronomy as a transformative force, awarding chefs who add value to their community and beyond.

The winner of the €100,000 award, which was created in 2016 by the Basque Government and the Basque Culinary Center, is chosen by a jury made up of some of the world’s most influential chefs: this year it included Ferrán Adrià (El Bulli Foundation), Elena Arzak (Arzak Restaurant), Dominique Crenn (Atelier Crenn) and Yoshihiro Narisawa (Les Créations de Narisawa).

Exerpts from an e mail interview with Chef Xanty

Why is it important to educate children about food, and what is the most powerful and memorable way to do it?

Well, for the same reason that they are educated in other subjects, so that knowledge and culture evolves for the benefit of human beings and the environment that surrounds them. Mathematics is used on a daily basis, like eating. Both are basic and necessary.

We have found a way to reach the depths of children’s consciousness, through their emotions and their senses. The kitchen is the best way to transform the food we eat, and we all have a responsibility to do it in a healthy way.

The program focuses on teaching the students traditional Andalusian recipes: why did you choose to do this?

Because it is the basis of our identity. We are what we eat, and our diet makes us feel connected to one society or another.

The food we eat reflects our personality, our climate, our respect for our environment. This itself is part of the magic of the project, because it can be replicated in every part of the world. Part of that education is teaching kids about the culture of each area, thus reinforcing the identity of each individual.

The recipes are salads, gazpachos, traditional stews, with rice, fish and meat, all part of the base of the Mediterranean diet.

This generation struggles more with obesity than their grandparents ever did. How do you encourage children to eat fresh, healthy food when packaged snacks are being engineered to be delicious and addictive?

The way we behave has changed, due to advances in technology and globalisation. Before, people were forced to move around more over the course of their day; now we have vehicles, machines and tools that make work easier and generate less kilocalorie consumption.

The key to reversing it, I think, is adapting our diet to the rhythm of our life. Our work is not based on indoctrinating children, we want them to generate their own ideas.

We believe in the responsibility of each human being, and we base it on knowledge. We believe that each person can decide for themselves about what is best for their body. We’ve already seen that it works, there is no substitute for education and empowering the consciousness of the human being.

How will winning this award help you continue and expand your work with Fundación Prenauta?

We hope that winning the Basque Culinary World Prize will increase our visibility at the international level. This recognition will help us to make the decision-makers and politicians open their eyes, and take action before it is too late.

Your latest project, the soon to open Finca Alfoliz in Aljaraque, will be focused on sustainability. Is it more difficult and expensive to build a responsible restaurant? Why do you think it is important to do this?

It certainly has a higher cost. All evolution and disruption drives up costs. However, it is a matter of personal and social responsibility.

Now it is difficult because sustainability does not interest large companies and investment funds, but it is a future that is here now! In the world of tomorrow, a restaurant is either sustainable or it doesn’t exist, and this is the new reality.