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Home > Mumbai Guide News > Mumbai Food News > Article > Chef Manu Chandra and cheesemaker Aditya Raghavan discuss food over coffee

Chef Manu Chandra and cheesemaker Aditya Raghavan discuss food over coffee

Updated on: 25 April,2017 08:01 AM IST  |  Mumbai
Shraddha Uchil |

Over tumblers of piping hot filter kaapi, Chef Manu Chandra and cheesemaker Aditya Raghavan discuss culinary theatrics, why we latch on to senseless trends, and the fad of earning the tag of a celebrity chef

Chef Manu Chandra and cheesemaker Aditya Raghavan discuss food over coffee

Aditya Raghavan. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar


"We've been planning to collaborate on making cheese together," says chef Manu Chandra as he smiles and greets Aditya Raghavan at Brooke Bond Taj Mahal Tea House in Bandra. Raghavan was a physicist before he decided he would rather make cheese. He now consults with farms and cheese businesses across India, while also foraging for local ingredients and hosting pop-up meals under The Danda Food Project at his Mumbai home. Cheese is on Chandra's mind because until he launches the Mumbai outpost of his restaurant Toast & Tonic this year, he is busy building a glass structure near his Bengaluru restaurant, one that he says will be a greenhouse "with a section for cheese."


Aditya Raghavan and chef Manu Chandra discuss all things food at Brooke Bond Taj Mahal Tea House in Bandra. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar
Aditya Raghavan and chef Manu Chandra discuss all things food at Brooke Bond Taj Mahal Tea House in Bandra. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar


The duo has their calendars full; Chandra is in Mumbai for business at two other restaurants he is chef-partner at, while Raghavan is working on the menu for his upcoming mutton nose-to-tail pop-up dinner.

Manu: We're going to take urban farming and local sourcing to another level altogether. The plot is 200 metres from Toast & Tonic in Bengaluru, so I can go across on a Vespa, holding a wicker basket, which is something I've always wanted to do (chuckles).
Aditya: For cheese, the most important thing is milk. If we can find good milk, we're good. I think Bangalore has a good climate for cheesemaking.

(Filter coffee arrives)

Manu: This is so funny. I drink filter coffee every single day in Bengaluru. But never ever has it been served to me in a tumbler, which is happening in Mumbai, of all places. 

Aditya: I think of filter coffee as a product of India, because milk is such an important part of Indian food. You can't have filter coffee black. It's disgusting.
Manu: Oh yes, it's terrible.

Manu Chandra
Manu Chandra

Shraddha: What is your take on the trend of creating theatrics using molecular gastronomy?
Manu: Did you read that Jay Rayner review? The one where he trashed this reputed Parisian restaurant, Le Cinq?
Aditya: Oh yes, I read that the French are very upset, too. It was very entertaining to read, for sure.
Manu: In this day and age, if a restaurant with three Michelin stars is trying to push spherification, then something is definitely off. Molecular gastronomy was designed to help cooks make better food, but this got turned on its head by a bunch of chefs. Then it became all about theatrics. It's not even an iota of what the science is all about.
Aditya: One element I think should go away is using liquid nitrogen foam around a dessert. I guess there is room for drama, but I'm never that interested.
Manu: Theatrics existed even in the early days. But there was merit to those preparations. Now, it's become more about presentation; it doesn't transcend beyond that.

(Ragi Masala Dhokla with Roasted Star Anise Tomatoes, and Taj Mahal Tea House Special Fluffy Omelette with Toasted Besan Bread arrive)
Manu: This omelette is nice and fluffy. I remember when I was growing up, if an omelette didn't have onion and chillies and coriander, and wasn't completely flat, it didn't even classify as an omelette.
Aditya: My dhokla is plated well, and it's tasty. I think we could try more from the menu. This mango pulao from the summer menu looks interesting.

Pic/Pradeep Dhivar
Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

Shraddha: Both of you have spent time overseas. Where do we stand as far as culinary innovations go?
Aditya: I love black coffee, and got used to it while living in Canada, where it makes sense because it's a cold country. But as a culture, we're not used to drinking black coffee, but suddenly cold brew has become all the rage. I feel like people here just want to latch on to trends, which don't always work because there's no real Indian context to them.
Manu: You're right. But, I think at the end of the day, they will figure out how much of a trend is hogwash. Red velvet, for instance, has almost disappeared off the shelves.
Aditya: We need to start looking within. We have a lot of Indian cheeses, like the Kashmiri kalari and bundel from Kolkata, which I'm trying to bring into the spotlight, but I think it will take a while. Right now, my new obsession is ghee. I've tried this beautiful ghee from Spiti Valley, which almost tastes like blue cheese. I think we can push the boundaries with ghee.

(Mango Pulao and Pan Seared Black Pomfret Fillet arrive)
Manu: It's a very well-executed sweet potato puree. There's somebody in there who really knows their technique. You know the chef is French when you can see how much time and care has gone into perfecting this crust.
Aditya: This pulao is interesting. It has little bits of mango pulp in it. And the rice is a curious mix of Maharashtrian and South Indian flavours.

Pic/Pradeep Dhivar
Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

Shraddha: What do you think of the new generation of chefs?
Manu: A lot of what you see on plates today at restaurants essentially highlights a disconnect with reality. Sometimes, when the junior chefs at my restaurant put plates in front of me, I end up asking them, "What are these two things doing together? What's the connection?" That level of common sense is largely missing. Now, everyone wants to be a celebrity chef within the first six months of them starting work. Or at least have a blue tick against their name on social media platforms. 
Aditya: As a kid, I used to accompany an elder to the market to shop for vegetables. I don't think millennials are doing that anymore. That taught me a lot about simple things, like how to identify a ripe pineapple, or how to check coriander for freshness. Those are skills you can't pick up from supermarket shopping.

Aditya: You started working in kitchens in before even Google was a thing. Do you feel like things have changed since you started out, when it comes to the young chefs of today?
Manu: Oh yes, they've gotten worse. The problem is, when there is too much information available to you, you also don't know what's correct. Also, in metros, we are so disconnected from nature that we forget that certain things are best eaten in certain seasons because everything is available through the year.

Aditya: I agree, we hardly have any seasonality, especially in southern India.
Manu: The Koreans and the Japanese are very in tune with their veggies. The Chinese, not so much. They're a little like us -- they want everything masala maar ke!

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