In these days off social distancing and lock downs, it may seem not only strange but also inappropriate to talk about fine food. Or maybe not? I find in times like these when you are confined to spending long hours at home, food becomes very important – more reading than cooking. I have never been asked so much about recipes than in the last couple of months. So maybe this will transport you temporarily to another time and space.
When I asked several people who eat out frequently, travel internationally and who have a genuine interest in food, what they understood by the term “fine dining”, I received very different replies. “Expensive” and “table laden with cutlery and glasses” were common responses; “fussy presentation” and “five star hotels” were others. What about the food itself? That evoked mixed responses too. In the ‘old days’, you knew it was fine dining when French words were used to describe dishes and there was caviar, lobster or truffle on the menu or if the ingredient was imported or if the recipe required a high level of culinary skill like a soufflé. Most of the preparations claimed to be French or thereabouts. And you had to dress up. In fact many establishments even specified a dress code. And we don’t have three courses anymore; we can “graze” which means order several small portions altogether. My conclusion? Perhaps the term “fine dining” is obsolete or has it taken on a totally different hue? Most importantly, where is “taste” in all this?
One trend I think is here to stay in the new “fine dining” brigade is “provenance”. In these days of global warming, fast food, junk food, additives and food adulteration, it is becoming very important that we become aware of where our food comes from and what we are eating. Exotic ingredients is another nouveau fine dining trend; unusual mushrooms from faraway places…is it responsible to eat a delicious but large ugly faced fish weighing sometimes 400 lbs, found in the depths of the Patagonian waters called Chilean sea bass? Does chocolate have to be organic too? Today Japanese has probably replaced French with words like “umami’ and sea urchin, nori, nigiri used as ingredients and yes some international Japanese chefs like Nobu and Tetsuya happily marry soy with truffle and caviar with konbu. Whichever cuisine, fine dining still means a high level of culinary skill and ingredients which are both sought after and/or difficult to come by.
Today, expensive or up market restaurants are distinguishable more by the menu itself and the complex descriptions. Meats and vegetables are not just “roasted” they are “oven or pan roasted”. Posh chickens are “corn fed”? What do ordinary chickens eat, I wonder? And do we really need to know the fat marbling index of the beef to enjoy it? My conclusion? Has fine dining become a fad? Is it all about spectacle and performance and less about gastronomy?
When I lived in France, life was much simpler. The French have very clear classifications: a bistro is a family run little place usually serving a limited menu and whatever is fresh that day or whatever has a short shelf life or more realistically whatever the cook wants to get rid of really quickly! Then you have the brasserie, an overgrown café where proper food is served. Dishes are standard, service brisk and prices, what the French call, “correct.” Then at the top of the pyramid is the “restaurant” and even higher, the much coveted, much hyped, Michelin star restaurant, which is definitely “fine dining” by any standard, old or new. And you don’t wear white sneakers and torn at the knee jeans for a fine dining experience.
In the 70’s, Europe witnessed a trend know as ‘nouvelle cuisine’, a reaction to the classical, stuffy, orthodox style of traditional cooking. It was both elegant and light with an emphasis on presentation. There were many jokes about Nouvelle cuisine for at least a decade after that: people complained about the small portions – the famous joke doing the circuit at the time “waiter, waiter, I’ve ordered steak and I can’t find it on my plate. Waiter – move the pea over and you’ll find it underneath…” Food started becoming theatre. Molecular gastronomy was the 90’s version of nouvelle cuisine. The king of this style of cooking has to be Ferran Adrià, whose restaurant El Bulli in the obscure village of Roses near Barcelona made waves in the International culinary arena for at least 10 years, winning major international awards year after year. It must be said that he took the world by storm with his with ‘compressions’, ‘foams’, ‘froths’, ‘vapours’, ‘spherification’ and ‘deconstruction’, But then molecular gastronomy is very clearly a scientific discipline. Classical dishes are deconstructed (product – garnish- sauce) and reconstructed with a more intense and defined flavour which takes the diner completely by surprise. In India we have our own “star” of progressive cuisine, Abhijit Saha whose uber trendy Caperberry restaurant and tapas lounge in the heart of Bangalore successfully integrated some classical examples of molecular gastronomy with traditional Spanish dishes. Alas, it is no more but there is a lovely cookery book.
Traditional Indian food was never on the international culinary radar. Michelin doesn’t even consider India when it comes to stars and mentions. However in the last 10 years, our taste buds and intellect have suddenly been aroused by all sorts of food experimentation whether it is ‘progressive Indian’, Burmese on the beach or Farm to Table. We are embracing the best of all worlds and specialised ingredients and in the cities at least, are willing to pay a hefty bill for the experience. Is this the new fine dining? Is the price tag now defining the term? In the Conde Nast Top Restaurant awards a few years ago, only two restaurants (Indian Accent and Dum Pukht) could be considered “fine dining” in the traditional sense of the term – top of the line crockery cutlery, glassware and service….and of course food! Indian Accent doesn’t show off with fancy ingredients…in fact they take pride in elevating simple Indian ingredients to a level of sophistication you never thought possible. You have to admit there is something very very special about Manish Mehrotra’s baby truffle naans and his teeny weeny cucumbers with their flowers which he has specially grown. Dum Pukht with its Awadhi ancestry needs no introduction, neither do the velvety smooth salaans and melt in the mouth kababs. The other 8 in the top 10 were Bombay Canteen and O Pedro, certainly great experiences with really well thought out and executed dishes, The Table and Toast & Tonic, Black Sheep Bistro from Goa, Izumi from Mumbai (there you go, Japanese creeping in again) and Meenakshi Myappan’s Chettinad wonder, Bangla. Is regional Indian food the new vernacular? Will it be fashionable one day to serve on a banana leaf instead of a plate? I experienced the food of Ziya at The Oberoi in Mumbai where Michelin star Chef, Vineet Bhatia, hot off his International runaway successes, sets the town on fire with his broccoli khichdi, makhni ice cream and chocolate samosa. It is extraordinary food that demands understanding and appreciation. The décor is elegant, the service thoroughly professional and informed and to call the menu a “modern interpretation of Indian cuisine” would be a gross understatement. This is sophistication of the highest level.
Is today’s fine dining all about instagrammable dishes? Some of my all time favourite experiences certainly have photo worthy food- Anne Sophie Pic’s foie gras crème brulee with green apple whipped cream in Valence; Tetsuya’s confit of ocean trout in Sydney; Martin Berasategui’s dessert of lemony white chocolate with basil sauce in San Sebastian; Ben Shewry’s crab with silk – like macademia mayonnaise in Melbourne.
Is Fine dining today more about legitimising the spectacle and performance and not about gastronomic reflection? Surely not