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Showing posts from 2012

Emerging Cuisines

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 This is a simple and self-evident trend but it is worth unpacking; cooking matters more than ever. The best restaurants in the country demand that new cooks demonstrate excellent culinary technique before a permanent job offer is made. This has been the case for years but outside the fine-dining segment of the market the demand for culinary skill depended on the restaurant segment and ownership philosophy. This has changed as high-end chefs enter the full-service and fast-casual markets where culinary skill was often secondary to efficiency. These chefs have brought culinary talent and scratch cooking with them and flipped the regional and national chains, business that for years have selected centralized manufacturing and efficiency on their head. In turn, this has put pressure on local operators and regional and national chains to invest more in on premise cooking and culinary talent. Social networking is old news but the use of web-based networking continues to gain ground in food

Changing trends in Indian cuisine

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Close your eyes and imagine Indian cuisine - sinful desserts laden in oversized kadais, rich lentils simmered with spices served with a dollop of cream and butter.  The portions are large, the focus is on quantity, and are served with a rustic touch. Talking in present day scenario this is a story of past. The last two decades have brought in tremendous change in the gastronomic world of Indian cuisine. The enterprising chefs and restaurants are weaning the Indian palate away from fusion food to the delights of modern Indian cuisine. Innovative Indian cuisine is evolving in taste, texture and presentation. Now it’s about - Passion, Presentation, Pairing and a hint of GLAMOUR! Speaking truly the cooking method is still the same, but the presentation and flavours have gone global. The world is witnessing the success of modern Indian chefs. Less than a year ago, Vineet Bhatia, owner of Rasoi, which has a Michelin star in London and Geneva, launched Ziya, which is now arguabl

ORGANIC CUISINE

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Organic foods are foods that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Although organic food is considered as a healthy food but scientific research has never shown a proof that food grown organically and food grown conventionally has much difference when is comes to nutritive value or health aspect of food item. What is organic food? Though organic food can be produced with certain synthetic ingredients, it must adhere to specific standards regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture. Crops are generally grown without synthetic pesticides, artificial fertilizers, irradiation, or biotechnology. Animals on organic farms eat organically grown feed, aren't confined 100 percent of the time (as they sometimes are on conventional farms), and are raised without antibiotics or synthetic growth hormones. Organic farming reduces pollutants in groundwater and creates richer soil tha

What does it take for a student to be a good chef?

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You love food. You love to cook. You have a fantastic set of knives and you know how to use them. And you’re looking to turn your passion into a satisfying career as a professional chef. While you decide which culinary school best matches your career goals, you might also want to consider that it takes more to make a great chef than passion and training. The perfect recipe for success as a chef also includes some intangible personality traits. Desire to Learn : All professionals who are truly passionate about their jobs never lose the desire to keep learning, and this is especially true of creative professionals like chefs. Great chefs know they have to keep up-to-date with what’s happening in their field, and they also are interested in learning more about specific cuisines to an expert level. Testing new equipment, trying new ingredients, eating at new restaurants—these learning experiences are part of the joy of being a chef that happens outside the kitchen, but can enrich

THE FINE ART OF CHOCOLATE

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One of the greatest treasures ever discovered was the bean form the tree ‘Theobroma Caco’, the original source of chocolate. Smooth in texture, intense in taste, perfumed & elegant to behold, chocolate is rich source of sensory pleasure, adored by every one. “We can notice a smile on the face of an individual when chocolate is offered to him/her”. Just imagine how it will be if that delightful chocolate is molded into a beautiful, artistic sculpture or a show piece. Chocolate has never failed to make an impact, initiating comment from church, the medical profession, scientists, social reforms and royalty. Caco bea n has transformed from bean to beverage and fro beverage to today’s confectionary. A sculpture is a 3D art. The same techniques of making a wood or stone sculpture are used to even make a chocolate showpiece. Types Of Chocolate Sculpture Chocolate sculptures break down into basically three types. I have mentioned them here for sake of completeness, but will only