The fine food carnival

“There may be few similarities because Indian civilisation is the oldest and Asian food surely has Indian influences, but this Lamb Rendang is different,” says Chef Kuan Lal from Malaysia, who is one of the six chefs visiting Westin Hyderabad for the food promotion ‘Culinary Treasures of the World’. He served the Rendang with Jasmine Rice cooked in coconut milk and served on turmeric leaf that he says is from Nyonya cuisine.

What makes this promotion unique is that the participating chefs are recreating specialities of their land in the different restaurants at the hotel; in short, it is festivities of the food kind happening all around at Westin Hyderabad at the same time. Chef Rungtiwa from Thailand, Chef Nicola Costa from Tuscany, Italy, Chef Akram Ali, the Executive Pastry Chef from JW Marriott, Kolkata and Chef Gopala Krishnan from Sheraton Grand, Bengaluru are part of the promotion.

“It is exciting and maddening at the same time with these speciality chefs cooking up dishes from various cuisines from across the world. Our purchase guys responsible for procurement of various ingredients are working overtime, I am having sleepless nights, but it’s worth all the effort, we have had an amazing response,” said Mahesh Padala, executive chef, who has been harbouring the idea for some time now.

Chef Nicolas from Tuscany recreated classic Italian dishes, and while many ingredients were procured locally, he had brought with him the Truffles that his region is popular for. The Italian Truffles added amazing flavour to the mushroom risotto. The chef’s menu at Prego also has some amazing cold starters like Salmone Ricola E Mele – cured Salmon apple and rocket salad served with pickled red onions and Parma Ham served with focaccia bread, fig compote and Parmesan shaving – In addition to being fresh and full of flavours and textures these salads represent the food habits of central Italy.

“We like our fish to be fresh. Some of the Italian dishes taste better when we leave them for some time even days, for example, Tiramisu. You should never have it on the same day,” Chef shares some insights into Italian food. His Mud Pie and Almond Cake are brilliant additions to the dessert menu.

Chef Samar Bera from Kolkata serves delicious Bengali food at the Indian restaurant Kangan – Kosho Mangsho, Chingdi Malai Curry with Luchi. And then as the afternoon draws close and it’s evening, Daily Treats puts up a dessert buffet that gives a glimpse into French Classic High Tea. The Charlies stand has the scones, pies, sandwiches, madelline, Opera Cake, Choux buns, pannacotta etc – fine desserts from the finest of cuisines. The promotion ends today, but for the finale, the hotel decided to present dishes by all the chefs along the lobby by the coffee shop Seasonal Tastes to allow easy access to guests during the Sunday Brunch. That promises to be one hell of a fine food carnival.