Why Indian chefs are adopting to a 'farm-to-table' approach

I am out shopping for dinnerhellipbut instead of a trolley and credit card I am holding a fishing rod and net The azure blue seas of the Indian Ocean in the Maldives is my playground for a culinary feast of the freshest seafood ever imaginable I salivate over the freshest and firmest catch of the day from tuna red snapper to Green job fish and juicy prawns While the journey from net to table is minimised because of our geographical location in a setting like the Maldives itrsquos heartening to know that in big cities around the world including back home in Mumbai the farmtotable concept is being embraced wholeheartedly A mixed bed of carrots and radish farmed by the Grand Hyatt in Goa PIC courtesyu00a0Grand Hyatt Goa Freshness defined Simply decoded this food trend lobbies for fresh ingredients and purer tastes with a disconnect from processed foods and flavours The movement towards farmtotable at its core is the concept of connecting communities to local farmers in an effort to make richinquality ingredients more accessible This growing trend is seen as an excellent way to support onersquos local community too After my tryst with fresh flavours and tastes in the Maldives I was curious to see whether our local chefs had also embraced this concept Happily many of them indeed hadu00a0 Seasonal Grilled Vegetables with Garlic Chilli Oil and Rocket Leaves served at 212 restaurant in Worli As early adopters of the farmtotable philosophy the kitchens of Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai do not go far to source food ldquoImporting international quality produce is a challenge in Mumbai and we have acquired the use of a farmland just four hours drive from the city It gives us an opportunity to be involved in the process of farmtotable from start to finishrdquo says Executive Chef Oscar Gonzalez u00a0This fertile land is ploughed regularly for a majority of seasonal vegetables to maximise the produce This crop rotation concept helps in quality control provides accessibility to key ingredients but also supports sustainable farming It ensures that the ingredients are fresh retain their natural flavours and are healthy to consume Gonzalez explains ldquoWhile these benefits have a direct relation to how great the food can taste at our restaurants it also makes us conscious about our carbon footprint Who doesnrsquot want to have a better tomorrowrdquo A historical journey Perhaps one of the pioneers of the farmtotable concept was an American culinary legend Alice Waters whose iconic restaurant Chez Panisse is one of the modern forerunners of this concept Her story bears a mention in connection to this trend Eating out in the Rs 70s in California meant burgers and fries Then a young Alice Waters returned from a trip to France in 1971 and changed all that Mesmerised by the use of fresh produce simple ingredients and bold flavours in French cooking she opened Chez Panisse in Berkeley inadvertently creating a new style of cooking California Cuisine The emphasis of this cuisine is on the use of fresh local ingredients which are often acquired daily at farmers markets Menus are changed to accommodate the availability of seasonal ingredientsu00a0 Organic veggies being grown at the Pinto farm in Goau00a0 There are many clones of this iconic restaurant including the wildlypopular Zuni Cafe at Market Street known for its divine Caesar Salad famed roast chicken and gnocchi oozing with the softest ricotta cheese ever Closer home in Mumbairsquos tony Colaba district at Ellipsis Executive Chef Kelvin Cheung is the first to bring this into practice in the city with a menu which changes every day ldquoWe are truly dedicated to educating our customers on quality ingredients so leading with a farmtotable concept seemed like a natural progressionrdquo says Rohan Talwar CEO of IB Hospitality the parent company of Ellipsis ldquoIt has not been an easy initiative and in order to maintain our high standards Chef Cheung works with local farmers to teach them about picking and packaging their producerdquo Freshlypicked lettuce is used by fivestar hotels for saladsu00a0 According to Cheung local ingredients are not as plentiful as hersquod like and changing the menu gives him the flexibility to frequent the market and offer guests whatrsquos the most fresh and in season ldquoBy changing our menu daily we ensure that we only serve the best local ingredients availablerdquo says Cheung A stonersquos throw away at The Table the produce is grown at the ownerrsquos Jay Yousuf and Gauri Devidayalrsquos the owners of the Table farm in Alibaug ldquoThe longterm goal of The Table Farm is to provide us with as much seasonal produce as possible over about an acre of land Currently the farm grows spinach beetroot radish carrots mizuna and other leafy greens heirloom varieties of tomatoes herbs and several different micro greens In the future we would like to invite restaurant patrons to the farm to learn more about natural food growing methods and participate in this farmtotable experiencerdquo says Executive Chef Alex Sanchez Fresh cardamom produce from Malabar Housersquos kitchen PIC courtesy malabar house Another Mumbai chef who goes to great lengths to serve veggies that literally squeak of freshness is 212rsquos Sous Chef Mohammed Bhol Even a simple dish of seasonal grilled vegetables gets elevated to an epicurean delight thanks to his precise and manic sourcing of the best ingredients Many hotels such as the ITC Grand Central Parel take the concept of lsquoResponsible Luxuryrsquo very seriously Hence the farmto table concept fits well into their corporate ethos Chefs at this hotel are building relationships with local farmers and producers and changing their purchasing habits supporting the local food economy and the eco system ldquoWe also produce at certain times homegrown sprouts such as flax sunflower pumpkin mustard and fenugreek etc grown in soil free tubs This approach of ecoresponsibility is in the interest of reducing carbon foot prints reducing food miles increasing sustainability and improving eco consciousnessrdquo says a spokesperson for the hotel Meen Pollichathum Fresh Pearl fish steamed in banana leaves served at Malabar House Irsquom pleasantly surprised to find properties not just in Mumbai but in smaller metros such as Kochi too being farmtotable fans For breakfast at The Malabar House Kochi a boutique hotel Chef Manoj Nair dishes up scrambled eggs with prawns and red peppers fresh using organic farm eggs from Kodaknath hens Tiger prawns coated in crispy noodles or cuttle fish sticks are savoured as the seafood comes daily from local fishermen ldquoFreshness is the soul of the kitchen and the team realises that From jams and marmalades for breakfast to pickles and preserves for our lunchtime Thali to our homemade ice creams and sorbets all are prepared inhouse from the basic produce Our creative cooking is based on the availability of fresh products and the emphasis on local produce is very visible in our menu We change the menu with the seasons therefore we use a larger variety of materials and have never to compromise on the availability of the finest quality Itrsquos paramount that we realise the importance of fresh and less travelled food and reemphases the roots of our food habits This has not only an impact on local small businesses but helps also to build up of a responsible health consciousnessrdquo says chef Nair My final stop on this culinary adventure is at the Grand Hyatt Goa which receives organically grown fresh farm produce for all the dishes made at their seven foods and beverage outlets from a small store in Talegaon called Green Essentials The hotelrsquos Executive Chef has travelled across the state of Goa to search for organically grown fresh farm produce Here the kitchen team makes sure they visit the local vegetable fields in Talegaon regularly to ensure that standard and quality is maintained To make the soil more fertile segregated kitchen waste for composting is supplied by the hotel The collaborative effort not only supports the local community but also aids in reusing waste as well as reduction of the our carbon footprints Traditionally as Indians we have always insisted on home cooked fresh meals To keep up with the fast moving world we recently slipped into adapting precooked industrial food Unfortunately many restaurants utilise this as cost effective sales tool However itrsquos lovely to see and taste the revival of that which is pure fresh and free of chemicals finding its way to our tables and stomachs for a healthier lifestyle and friendlier earthu00a0