How these Mumbai chefs are indulging in fire cooking to serve delicious food to you

Social media is wrong Our eyes never eat first The best food spots are discovered where the scent leads in Ask the bold unapologetic and skilful smokers in the city who spend 2448 hours to tempt our olfactory senses before carving us a bitelsquoYou have to befriend the flamesrsquoHearth in Churchgate has a dramatic entrance Up the refurbished iconic Eros building the entrance features a Victorian wireless doorbell and opens into a suave dullgrey setting with maroon curtains The embers crackle at the kitchen stage engulfing all the attention The cook fire has main character energy and chef duo Dhriti Mankame and Chef Mehul lsquoSabbyrsquo Sabharwal treat it as their third partner during service ldquoOne has to befriend itrdquo Sabby tells usChef Dhriti Mankame works the asado grill at Hearth PICSASHISH RAJEThe space is designed to handle the heat of the hearth which runs at roughly 400 to 500 degrees Celsius ldquoWe use specialised fire brick that absorbs and retains the heat without expanding Ventilation stocking fire blankets fire curtains and extinguishers are all part of a tight protocolrdquo Mankame explainsThe open kitchen layout places the dispensing area at the centre where staff plate food on the central island table On the right is the main grill area with the chimney marked by stickers The charcuterie smoker and the rational oven for baking sit at the back The hearth on the right is an asado elevation grill based on an Argentinian design that lets you move the grill using a pulleySome dishes go from grill to plate others are a combination of work in the hearth grill and finished in the panldquoIt takes 45 minutes to start the fire The wood changes with the season and wersquore currently using jackfruit The intensity depends on what the chef desires for the dish subtle flavour charred texture or slowcooked juicinessrdquo says MankameThe fish grilled on a net and finished over an open hearth has a smoky juicy texture The stirfry gives greens a meatlike treatment on the grill ldquoWhen fire touches the vegetables they earn a crunch an additional dimension of smokiness and are finished with a touch of thecha brown butter and bread espumardquo says Sabby adding that some dishes are straightforward they go into the grill and come to your plate ldquoSome dishes are combination work in the hearth grill and finished in the panrdquo Mankame addsMeat being loaded into the smokerWell before service ends the team stops adding more wood and lets the fire die knowing they have enough to finish the last orders as the embers fade The trained staff wear special masks and remove the ash The beauty is in the second life of the hearth after the embers are cleaned out It transforms into a fire pit just as dal makhani is slowcooked on a dead tandoor ldquoWe use it to slowcook a pork belly or meat that does well on reducing residual heatrdquo says SabbyAt Hearth first floor Eros Theatre Building ChurchgatePork ribs being finished on charcoal the smoked brisketrsquos crosssection has a welldefined pink smoke ring along the outer edge which is a clear visual indicator of properly smoked meatlsquoAmerican barbecue is a labour of loversquoAmerican barbecue restaurant Border Bean Barbecue in Lower Parel takes the concept of slowcooking meat over a wood fire and replicates it on an electric smoker induction stoves a flat top and a fryerChef Shantanu Jagtap rubs the meat with a spice rub before brining at Border Bean Barbecue Kamala Mills PICSHADAB KHANldquoSmoke is the star flavour Our lamb takes 10 hours to cook and our buff brisket 12 hours at a low temperature of 120 degrees Celsius Pork belly and ribs take four to eight hours depending on their agerdquo chef Shantanu Jagtap tells us who first started the eatery in Bandra in the year 2022 and moved to Kamala Mills in 2026Charcoal and wood being lit for the smoking processSmoking meats is an instinct used to gauge how long they will take to cook ldquoAmerican barbecue is a labour of love as it takes patience to master The meat shouldnrsquot fall apart at the same time comes out soft and tender having soaked in the flavours wellrdquo adds Jagtap He has built a Texasstyle offset smoker and hopes to start using it soonLamb Birria Tacos with ConsommeAT Border Bean Barbecue Kamala Mills Lower ParellsquoPatrons call us in advance to start preprsquoAt Andyrsquos Deli amp Grill in Versova Anirudha Patil aka Chef Andy follows wet and dry brining ldquoThe pork ribs are dry brined We trim and clean the meat then cure it with salt and an inhouse spice mix It stays in the refrigerator for a dayandahalfrdquo says Chef Patil explaining the process Opencook at a low temperature for three hours then finish in the oven to form the top crustBrining The first step to making roast chickenldquoA mop sauce is sprayed to keep the meat moist We then build a chamber in the oven using kitchen foil to create steam A mix of mop sauce apple cider vinegar brown sugar and whisky enhances flavour Three hours at 120 degrees Celsius results in falloffthebone pork ribsrdquo says PatilLight rub of homemade mustard to help the spice rub stick to the pork ribs PICSSATEJ SHINDEThe wet brine is mainly for the birria lamb used in tacos and sandwiches and one is for the carnitas for tacos and burgers the meat is marinated for a day in a wet masala The trick he tells us is to pick up a piece with a fork and see if it falls off freelyPork shoulder wet marinadeOne of their most popular orders is the half roast chicken which is brined for 24 hours before drying then further marinated and cooked to order taking 45 minutes to reach the table ldquoPatrons call us when they are on the way to give us a headsup to ready itrdquo he saysAT Andyrsquos Deli amp Grill Gold Crown JP Road Aram Nagar Part 1 Aram Nagar VersovaBrined and Roasted ChickenlsquoIf we run out we run outrsquoChef Nicole Gonsalves has clocked in 18hour shifts under Gordon Ramsay and she confirms that everything we hear about him is true ldquoFlinging pots screaming his lungs out but Michelinstar experience taught me precisionrdquo says Gonsalves who also spent four years as a senior sous chef at Rules under master butcher and head chef Richard SawyerSmoked Boston Butt Pork Chilli Bowl with a spicy chilli garlic sauceldquoTime at the game restaurant showed me what kind of a chef I wanted to be Managing zero waste comfort food and precisionrdquo says Gonsalves Inspired by a sandwich shop The Black Pig that sold 2000 pieces in Borough Market confirmed flavourful comfort food was her styleSouth African Braai Pork ChopWhen she returned to India she worked for a product development company where she batched sauces All this led her to Tavora a smokehouse where she can flex her skills in smoking meats and grilling barbecues in South and North African flavoursChef Nicole Gonsalves at Tavora Smokehouse in Pali Hill Bandra PICS SAYYED SAMEER ABEDIAbout 500 meters from the eatery is her smoking setup where meats are brined and smoked for 3648 hours ldquoThis helps lock the flavours in and breaks down the salt and the sugar in the brine making the meat more tender We make a batch every 48 hours Smoking is a science in itself People donrsquot always like oversmoked flavours so we moderate the heat If we run out we run outrdquo she saysNicole GonsalvesAT Tavora Smokehouse Shop number 1 Dr Babasaheb Rajgir Mansion Pali Hill Bandra