Abroad you have great pomp and splendor around food and spirit rituals – the release of Beaujolais Nouveau at the end of the harvest (never mind that this is a fantastic way to clear lots of table wine quickly and at a good profit); the artichoke festival in Castroville, Monterey, California where Marilyn Monroe ( Norma Jean at the time) was Castroville’s first honorary Artichoke Queen in 1948: the celebration of white asparagus in Spring in Vienna to name just a few. Apart from mangoes which we don’t so much celebrate as just eat, we in India don’t do much to celebrate the bounty we have.
I am in Goa in warm sultry April to celebrate the ‘Cashew’ – this is the time of year when the cashew comes of age – the heavy yellow, capsicum shaped fruit is ripe, heavy and just oozing with aromatic juice. That juice is not drunk nor is the fruit eaten in Goa (although it is in Brazil where it originally comes from) – it gets stomped and the resulting juice is turned into that delectable Goan spirit ‘Feni’. At the beginning of April or thereabouts, the fresh juice is distilled first into Urak which is a fragrant drink, with a mild alcohol content of about 18%. Mixed with tender coconut water or a lemony mixer, this is a sublime afternoon drink to enjoy on the beaches of Goa. The spirit is then double and sometimes triple distilled into feni.
I am at the Park Hyatt where General Manager and visionary Thomas Abraham, has decided to make a yearly ritual out of Cashew in partnership of course with the Vaz family of Madame Rosa Distillery. I applaud this initiative. This is the third year and the 2014 Cashew Trail seems better than ever. There has been a five-course Goan degustation dinner pairing single estate fenis from the Vaz estate of Madame Rosa with such delectable creations from Casa Sarita such as a cold terrine of Chicken cafreal with urak and Pumpkin mergol soup with white egg espuma and 1 year old feni. We had this menu re-created for us again during our stay….then onto the Sea bass peri peri, dry prawn fou with a 3 year old Single oak bourbon cask feni and the finale…the most delectable white centre chocolate truffles with feni accompanied by a 5 year old Single oak port cask feni.
I experience the cashew ritual at the spa – two hours of hedonistic cashew scrub, wrap and a heavenly massage with virgin cashew oil
as well as a cashew after drink and cashew butter soap to take away. I can honestly say one of the best spa treatments I have had.
The second week of April is a culinary, spiritual and joyous culmination of 12 days of the ‘Cashew Trail’ with an exclusive Feni Master Tasting followed by a magical brunch. Wendell Rodricks and Jerome Marrel drive all the way from Colvale in north Goa to attend the Feni tasting. We are all curious and we all want to experience a vertical feni tasting organized perfectly like an international wine tasting from the youngest baby urak to the vintage 2008 port oak cask cashew feni. “It’s not Cognac or Armagnac”, says Jerome, “but it is definitely comparable to a fine French eau de vie”. “I am going to sack my supplier from Arambol after this tasting and switch to Madame Rosa” declares Wendell. This is truly a proud moment for Goans. We also agree that there is a market for the single estate honey scented, caramel and chocolaty fenis which will not only expose the world to how good feni can be but also elevate the image from a smelly beach shack intoxicant to something divine.
The next afternoon is the Cashew Trail brunch and a men’s cook –off with Weber barbecues which I host and where the criteria is to include either feni, urak, cashew fruit or nut in their dish. The winning dish by Richard and Conrad is a layered main course of fish and zucchini flambéed with what else….feni. The Park Hyatt culinary team outdo themselves with feni, cashew nut and fruit infused in many of the dishes. I drink a chilled pineapple, cashew fruit and green chilli gazpacho…outstanding as is the cloudy tender coconut feni cocktail and the feni infused salmon gravalax…and there’s cashew stomping with a prize for the prettiest feet, an auction for 2 garafaons of aged feni and lots of dancing to “Happy”, clearly the Goa beach song of the season.
I am hooked. I also hear that feni is fermented with no yeast and if the Vaz family can be tempted to part with some of their vintage brews…the big booze companies better watch out…..this is a story in the making and I for one am going to support it.