April 10, 2013

Blog Event | David Rocco, an Italian with a disarming smile. Of course he’s a chef too!

“I’m not a chef, I’m Italian.”
David Rocco

He can kill with his eyes, he can wound with his smile … David Rocco! Sigh!! An Italian with a disarming smile, words that roll off his tongue with an accent you want to hang on to, energetic, animated, full of life and fun! Such a good sport!! This Italian food guru was at the mercy of a bunch of women food bloggers to “Celebrate the Exquisite Flavors of Italy at ITC Maurya“. Or maybe, we were at his mercy!!

With Chef David Rocco, ITC Maurya, New Delhi It was an afternoon well spent at the rustic yet elegant West View, ITC Maurya, New Delhi, in animated food discussion. Indian food, Italian cusine, the cultures, the similarities yet the differences and Davids’ India experience. The charmer that he is, there wasnt a moment left silent, a table of 9 women geared up to quiz the Italian chef.

With Chef David Rocco, ITC Maurya, New Delhi Keeping him company was affable ITC Executive Chef Manisha Bhasin who I have been fortunate to meet at the Singapore Pop Up and at the Ozzie Master Chefs meet up. David is in India for a series called Dolce India.

Chef David Rocco, ITC Maurya, New Delhi 4 From the sambhar and dals that he experienced down south, to the Mcdonalds pit stop driving in Maharashtra, from olive oil to mustard oil, from complicated Indian dishes to simple four ingredient Italian meals, we had a banter going. The man’s Italian! That says enough for his style of cooking, his passion for food, his love for fresh produce … and above all his love for his family! His mantra is simple. Make cooking fun! He wants to bring food education back to the table.

David wears many hats – actor, director, chef, father, son. A charmer through & through! He learnt cooking from his mother, and his kids have picked it up from him. How inspiring that at 5 years old, his little twin girls can already stir up a mean risotto! Simple rustic meals, no fancy equipment and ingredients, fresh seasonal flavours, David’s an inspiration to home cooks around the globe. You can catch him on TV – “David Rocco’s Dolce Vita” and “David Rocco’s Amalfi Getaway.” {they air in india too}

With Chef David Rocco, ITC Maurya, New Delhi He steers clear of controversial questions {like the pomace oil vs olive oil type}, considers Indian cuisine quite complicated and involved, yet loves the vastness of our cuisine with infinite regional variations. At a culinary event with ITC chefs in Mumbai, the challenge was to create signature dishes using similar ingredients. While the ITC chefs were still listing ingredients for ‘galaouti kebabs’, our man here was done in a heartbeat stirring up meatballs using four standard ingredients!

We were deep in culinary banter as the the first course made an appearance. The meal consisted of David recipes. Primo! Penne com Pomodori e Melanzane, a neapolitan style pasta with eggplant & mozzarella sauce. It was fresh, bursting with simple flavours and quite addictive. Mine didn’t seem to have eggplants in it, or so I thought. David talked us through the recipe as we ate. Did I tell you that the bread served was excellent? It was indeed! Nice selection and very addictive.

Secondi! This was something I loved. Saltimbocca di Pollo, chicken with sage cooked in marsala wine. Lilting flavours, chicken done just right, the saltiness coming through beautifully, and the pairing excellent. On the platter was a Beet Risotto which was perfecto! Good to the bite, amazingly delicious. Was the portion too small? Maybe it was just me, but I did wonder if the portions served for lunch were tinier than normal!

Time for Dolce … and amidst much anticipation dessert was served. Looked really nice. Torta Caprese {flourless chocolate cake}, and Zabaglione con Fruitti di Bosco {mixed fruit with espresso zabaglione}. Neither delivered. One spoon into the zabaglione and Ruchira warned me off. ‘Eggy‘ she whispered, knowing my disdain for eggy desserts.

I tried a teeny bit. Eggy indeed. Sadly enough, even the Torta Caprese was overpoweringly eggy. It was disappointing. Nothing some good old vanilla beans couldn’t have fixed!

With Chef David Rocco, ITC Maurya, New Delhi We got over the disappointment soon as the 100 watt smile drowned the bunch of us. David left soon after lunch leaving us with his invincible charm and accent that seemed to hang in the air! Thank you ITC Maurya for organising the lunch. It was an afternoon well spent, and I love the stylish West View! The other food bloggers present were Anita, Reeta Skeeter, Charis, Sangeeta, Ruchira and Parul. We had a great great time!

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Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India

February 22, 2013

Food Event | Foodhall … an Olive Oil Bar, fresh brewed tea, spices … & more

“There is no love sincerer than the love of food.”
George Bernard Shaw

The Indian food scene is growing in leaps and bounds. New eateries are mushrooming across town, sometimes faster than it takes me to get the next meal on the table. Speakeasy bars a new trend, exotic ingredients suddenly commonplace, and Jamie Oliver practically rubbing shoulders with Ongs on every local grocery store! Taking this food festivity one step further, we saw the opening of the Foodhall, a unique high-end destination for food lovers; a new shopping experience.

While the concept of a foodhall is pretty common place in the West, Indian is waking up to a food shopping experience that will leave you spoilt for choice, returning often! The Foodhall from the Future Group in DLF Promenade Mall, New Delhi promises you the best of ‘everything food’{read gourmet} under one roof. A well stocked bakery with cakes, muffins, cupcakes,endless breads, flatbreads all baked fresh in their in house bakery.

You wander around through endless galleries with well displayed shelves full of everything you could ask for. Baking trays, fondue sets in colours that would make the heart sing, silpat, cupcake liners … and more. The baking trays are priced quite high, the silpat too; but the quality appears good. I did miss a dedicated baking ingredients aisle … the baker in me disappointed!

The pleasant surprise was the Olive Oil Bar from Leonardo. A unique concept where you can taste different varieties of quality olive oils from Italy in addition to infused olive oils. I loved that they have pretty little 100ml and 250ml jars that you can fill with your choice of olive oil from caskets stored on shelves.

The spice market was intriguing. Wooden boxes with little partitions were being readied for display and maybe sale with some of the finest hand picked spices from across the globe. The folk manning the spice counters were sadly aloof and rather preoccupied. Sad because spices can conjure up fascinating conversations, and have a huge connect with the Indian soul!!

With a well stocked frozen section and delicatessen, daily essentials, fresh produce, herb plants, cereal dispensers, a ‘dips and anti pasti’ counter, a kanafa counter, desserts, ready to eat food too, Foodhall is ready to rock the food scene in the capital. Never has the interest in gourmet food been so great!

It was an enjoyable launch with plenty of good food making the rounds. There was a ‘live kitchen’ dishing out a variety of culinary delights. Each one of them were excellent, especially the kanafa. Absolutely delicious.

The Foodhall is a great beginning for food lovers, home cooks, adventurous foodies, passionate foodies. The Future Group has taken food retailing in India to the next level. However, I do hope we see some support for more locally sourced produce in the near future.

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Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India

Posted: February 22, 2013 by Deeba @ PAB |Filed Under: blog event | Delhi | India | blog event, Delhi, food, Foodhall, Future Group, India, review 1 Comment

February 15, 2013

Food Event | Bloggers Night @ Dirty Martini, Olive Bar & Kitchen, New Delhi

“Happiness is…finding two olives in your martini when you’re hungry.”
Johnny Carson

Dirty Martini, Olive Bar & Kitchen, New Delhi It’s hard to say no to an invite from Olive at the Qutab. Always the promise of a fab fun filled time out, great hospitality, innovative food and drinks, relaxed company … all that jazz! I knew I couldn’t make it. It was midweek and I don’t do late night events on weekdays, both kids were under a flu attack, there were virtual floods in the city with incessant rains. Yet Olive beckoned, and I succumbed. It was time to visit Dirty Martini!

It was a perfect night out. How better to describe the ‘prohibition era‘ of the 1920′s so well captured by the immensely innovative and talented award winning Chef Saby and his team. {As dimly lit as a bar could possibly be, my low light camera skills were severely tested. I got a million shaky blurry shots, befitting of the 1920′s! The camera was soon abandoned.}

‘The Dirty Martini”, Olive at the Qutub is a 1920s speakeasy inspired bar set in Europe. The hedonistic 1920s encouraging you to enjoy the sweet seductions of the prohibition era when cocktails were served in tea cups; and where live bands, silent cinema and floor shows marked entertainment. An era of molls and gangsters, of flappers and flamboyance.

The menu offers a combination of “speakeasy inspired” concoctions and European cocktails which are twisted, tweaked and crafted for The Dirty Martini at Olive Qutub’. The Dirty Martini is India’s first “speakeasy inspired” bar and not a “speakeasy”.

The tradition of Speakeasies is rooted in the time of prohibition in the US. They were basically illegal bars which usually had a secret back door entry through dirty alleys, tricky doors and basements and access to which was screened or through passwords. A speakeasy brings to mind a smoky bar with bluesy music, dancing to a jazz combo, aromas of comfort food wafting out from the kitchen and a fun, relaxed celebratory atmosphere. Bars where drinks were served in tea cups and the bar could be hidden at the touch of a button.

It’s a beautiful recreation, a step back in time to capture the fascinating era. We were greeted by warm cups of mulled wine in mud glasses {Chef Saby’s stamp all over}. A typical back door entry {through the kitchen}, we ‘stumbled‘ into the dimly lit quintessentially ‘speakasy‘ ambiance. Extravagant décor accentuated with lavish mirrors, art deco furniture and lamp shades, a piano … and the beautiful Olga who crooned out 1920′s music !

A Smoking Gin made it’s way over, beautifully presented, and as always, perfect to the ‘t’. Very Olive & very intriguing!! Classic and contemporary martinis, beer bottles wrapped in brown paper bags, 20′s floral cups and saucers to clandestinely serve cocktails … every detail covered!

Dirty Martini is run by a team of young talented chefs headed by Chef Dhruv Oberoi who has just returned after training with Chefs Ferran Adria and Albert Adria of the El Bulli fame! The food is inspirational .. and of course ‘eat easy’! Classic sliders, hot dogs, finger foods, the menu focuses on fresh produce and easy to eat food. Finger licking good too with inventive names that do a merry dance in the head.

Dirty Martini, Olive Bar & Kitchen, New Delhi Big Boss Toast which kicks the taste buds with goat cheese, chili jam and berries, a Shebeen Sandwich with Harissa, artichokes, feta pate and apricot chutney … good food, fresh and flavourful! The TDM Chicken, batter fried and yum, served with chipotle mayo. Delicious … as was the Shrimp Jammer. Another huge favourite was the Gangster Slider … perfect flavours to the tenderloin patty!

One of my favourites was the soul warming and indulgent Godfather’s Stew. Casablanca was the vegetable version – seven veggies in there, and the non vegetarian version, the Starving Mafia, a slow cooked lamb goulash that hit the ball out of the park. Both outstanding! {Sangeeta managed to get the goulash recipe from ever obliging and large hearted Saby.}

Prohibition ended sweetly with desserts that warmed up the winter night! The Smoking Cigar … a chocolate fountain gurgled happily as ‘live churros’ were piped into a huge bowl of simmering oil. Little glassfuls of chocolate sauce were on offer. Nice, but what I absolutely loved was the Nutty Auntie ; charming little apple and walnut tarts with a drizzle of maple! ’twas a night to remember!