Unlock Destination is an interesting and by all accounts very successful attempt by the Le Meridien chain (now owned by Starwood hotels) to engage their guests and encourage them to experience the culture of the local neighbourhood.
When Le Meridien was owned by Air France, it prized itself on its ‘Frenchness’ but over the years slipped into a bit of a coma. With Starwood pumping resources and creativity into the brand the resurrection looks bright. Apart from ‘destination unlocked’, the brand now stands for innovation in food and art, what they like to call ‘culture’. This begins in the lobby which is now called ‘the Hub’; an interactive place which transitions from meeting place to coffee house to a lounge bar in the evening. They also have an international group of creative people known as LM 100 who they fly around the world to promote their new concepts. Very clever! From a world champion latte artist called Ester Maasdam to our very own Thukral and Tagra who have created an interactive installation on the lobby floor of Le Meridien New Delhi. Art is much like food. I don’t have to like molecular gastronomy to understand its value in culinary world. It is a similar story with interactive installation. I may not ‘enjoy’ the work in the same way as I would enjoy a painting but I do recognise it as an important experience in the evolution of art. As part of a recent international press trip to Delhi we followed the trail of Johnny Iuzzini, a pastry chef from New York who was invited to do a tour of India to eventually create an eclair based on his travels. He called this the Darjeeling Express which he based on flavours like Darjeeling tea, ginger, jaggery and paan cream.
Our first stop in the Unlock Destination is the Heritage transport museum in Taoru outside Gurgaon. It is a bit of a trek even from Gurgaon but well worth it. An amazing result of International curation and great passion! It really should be on everyone’s itinerary of those visiting the capital. The collection of vintage cars and aircrafts is told with intelligence.
The other discovery of the trip was old Delhi. Yes, we have all been to Chandni Chowk at some point but the rather curious duo of Dhruv and Anju, part of a group called Masterji ki Haveli, took us up paan stained staircases to see the roof tops of old Delhi. We wandered through bazaars and jostled with traders
, climbed into cycle rickshaws and experienced pigeon calling in Chawri Bazaar. We ended up in a haveli sharing a family lunch. The Asian journalists – from Japan, China, Singapore and Malaysia lapped it all up with quiet enthusiasm. For me it was a wonderful morning spent dreaming and experiencing, a la Thukral and Tagra. And did it unlock the culture of old Delhi for me? Yes, it probably did.
To end the trip we had a complete juxtaposition – a modern Indian dinner at Monsoon at Le Meridien Delhi. The term Modern Indian has been flung all over the place with such inaccuracy. For me Modern Indian food at its best is food which is reliably sourced, well prepared and presented in courses on individual plates, European style featuring flavours of India. Chefs like Atul Kochhar, Vineet Bhatia, Vivek Singh, Manish Mehrotra and Abhijit Saha have perfected the term and do India and themselves proud. Monsoon is trying hard and produces interesting well thought out dishes without a captain at the helm.
The drive to the airport through Lutyens Delhi is always one of the highlights of any visit to the capital for me. India Gate with its sprawling gardens is such a treasure. This was definitely one of the most enjoyable press trips I have ever been on. So Unlock Destination clearly works.