Mumbai: When 148 chefs around the world swap recipes

Two dinners in the city on Tuesday night ndash one led by chef Thomas Zacharias of The Bombay Canteen and the other at Masque led by chef Prateek Sadhu ndash were part of a global food phenomena called GelinazIn its tenth year the initiative led by Lyonbased Italian food writer and impresario Andrea Petr brought together 148 chefs from across the globe to cook a meal in their respective restaurant kitchens but with a recipe swap Each chef contributed an eightcourse menu called matrix which was then put in a great shuffle Each chef received an unknown menu in the first week of November as a starting point to be served at their own restaurant without leaving homeChef Thomas Zacharias of The Bombay CanteenHong Kongs Tosca diAngelo menu at MasqueWhen midday spoke to Sadhu on the morning after the service he said We cooked over hip hop music and had a lot of fun I only came to know a few hours before the service that we were serving recipes from 1Michelin star Tosca Di Angelo in Hong Kong The restaurant does modern Italian food with an Asian fusion says Sadhu His contributing menu had pani puri moms rogan josh Katlam bread and mahuva dessert Pondicherry chocolate Turns out it went to AT a restaurant led by Atsushi Tanaka in ParisA menu is 60 per cent a chefs mind so I had to make sure that my reimagining of it did not disrespect the recipe For example my first course was a lobster salad with peach jus mustard sauce and caviar I created it on a paperthin mathri base and used kasundi instead of mustard and caviar from Iran that a friend recently brought for me Over all it was a lot of learning and ideas exchange says SadhuThe Laitang Kobiraji Cutlet and Mud Crab Jasmine Rice egg yolk served at The Bombay Canteen GelinazBandra resident Padmavathy Bindingnavale booked a seating at Masque R5700 as soon as she heard Gelinaz was featuring two restaurants from Mumbai We had no clue what the menu would be and once we were seated at the table our server explained the concept and a brief of what would follow Once the meal started each course was duly explained We were four of us and I opted for the vegetarian so that we could try all the dishes says BindingnavaleFor Bindingnavale the standout dish was a morel truffle and shiitake broth served with a Kashmiri katlam bread The fried rice was delicious with ginger garlic and pickled jackfruit The dessert was unique in a malted barley tartAnother customer on condition of anonymity said the ravioli was undercooked and chewy there was an overdose of truffle on almost all dishes There was a disconnect in execution a customer said on condition of anonymity adding One of the larger courses was a fried rice but I went home hungryBolans Thai menu atThe Bombay CanteenAt The Bombay Canteen Thomas Zacharias received a modern Thai menu for the great shuffle Each recipe contribution is called a matrix and it is really a Mission Impossible because so many ideas converge here We received extensive emails and when we sent out the menu we had to send plating pictures too For me it was the feeling of being part of something special says Zacharias whose menu went to a Parisian restaurant called DauphineZacharias who doesnt use international produce and sticks to regional availability broke the rule for the night Most of the recipes had pork but it wouldnt have worked in Mumbai so we recognised a parallel ingredient and worked around it For example one dish was Eggs Nest which is similar to the Parsi farcha We did a take on mutton Kabiraji cutlet but in a deconstruction format with a crispy pancake and crab salad We converted the Boat Noodle Soup into a Pork Thupka with a roast belly and morning gloryReshma Mane home caterer says while the dishes were Thai they all had chef Zachs touch to them Two dishes stood out for me the Kabiraji cutlet and the thupka were standout dishes though the duck salad was too chewy says Mane adding that the deacutecor too had a slight variation with orchids candles and coconut shells It was an exciting event where you dont know what the cuisine is going to be says Mane who paid Rs 2700 for the dinner Another customer on condition of anonymity said The food was average Not all dishes had a Thai connectCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates