9 Chefs meet 9 artists: How India’s chefs are building a colleague future

A bamboo structure moves towards the sky, which is inspired by various headgier of tribal communities of Arunachal Pradesh. The reinstroined fishing nets in the walls surround a place that echoes the raw attraction of the toddy shops in Kerala. In other places, there is a visual feast for the Himalayas that comes to life on hand -painted tableware. Walking through ‘The Gathering’ is like stepping into a living artwork, where food, architecture and storytelling merge into an immersive experience.

We are at the Travancore Palace of New Delh, where the nine most famous chefs of India have come together for ‘The Gathering’ later this week, which is an experience of food contrary to another. This signature dishes are not a pop-up about showing dishes, but in discipline, with the cooperation of artists and designers, there is about preparing a completely new menu and concept tables built above the ground.

“As a chef, you often talk about perfection, seasonal and history, but it is about creating something new,” The Gathering ‘writer and co-co-operator Prasad Ramamurthy explains. He says that this brain yield of Sushmita Sarma, co-founder of the event planning company cab and the co-founder of ‘The Gathering’, is about trying to do something crazy, “Challenging chefs, from their rest areas Pushing beyond and giving them a platform, where they could express something that they had never tried before.

Cooking

Set out, in this event nine individually designed pop-up ‘restaurants’, each 50×20 sq.ft., and are re-designed by artists. For example, the menu of Chef Viraf Patel, titled ‘The Last Harvest’, imagines a future where the rising level of the sea has swallowed the land very much, forcing humanity to rethink the livelihood. Has gone.

Patel has worked closely with the sculptor Alex Davis, whose large-scale water-inspired establishments have set a platform for a thought-respective food place. At this booth, 20 dinners per dinner are found with the taste of cuisines such as Solu Kumbhu and White Bean Humus, which are added with laying crackers, and for other courses, charksh chox and ocean fish mousse, deep sea Mackeryl is characteristic of floss and brine-protected kelp. dust.

Chef Aurni Mutujee celebrates the paddy ground in his ‘Terra Firma’, where all the materials for their third courses, including shellfish and wild fungi, are a village pond or around it. Meanwhile, famous architect Vinu Daniel has created the Kerala-inspired ‘The Modern de Todi Shop’ by Chef Regi Matthew to replace plastic bottles and change waste into award winning structures. Matthew’s popular hyper-local menu, a immersive setting for the local menu, which includes staples such as the Kappa Kododi Fish Curry.

Chef Pretake Sadhu, is known for his deep relations to the Himalayas, to re -create the essence of his Pak philosophy with artist Aradhana Seth. His pop-up, ‘A Table in the Mountains’, takes inspiration from the rugged terrain and removes traditions. Guests are cooked with a delicate balance of Askalu, Kinu Marmalade and Smked Paneer, and Himachali trout, turmeric, coconut and radish.

Conversely and for those who seek provocation, ‘contradiction and dual’ of Chef Gresham Fernandes, in cooperation elsewhere in India, is known for its game design and AI expertise, presented a menu that the perception and unpredictable pair Plays with In addition to other surprises, there will be soy-marinated radish with non-racist chocolate (porceini and pumpkin) and a radish waffle with marine algae waffle.

Weddings and event design specialist Devika Narayan, designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee’s parties are known for their extraordinary grazing tables, partner with chef Advaita Anantwar for ‘The Durbar of Perception’. Their collaboration has cuisine such as cuisine, delicate handcrafts festive with food floral elements, and feast and flow, an interactive grazing experience.

A brave, multi-sensitive experience, ‘The Gathering’ pushes the boundaries of food by combining cooking artistry with immersive storytelling. But beyond its avant-garde cooperation, it is also redefined that dinners are ready to pay for extraordinary. The tickets cost ₹ 8,000 and ₹ 12,000. “People are not just paying for food,” says Ramamurthy. “They are paying for a moment for the time that will never be made again.”

A future of shared trips

Chef-centered festivals, and many of them share a kitchen, a will of the growing spirit of the community in the Pak world. Once he is fiercely competitive, the industry is now taking a centraestage of cooperation. For example, last year take Matthew’s ‘India’s Pak Odyssey’ in Chennai, where 10 national chefs came together to make a special food ticket per head at ₹ 1 lakh.

In this program, some top names of India such as Hussain Shahzad, Avinash Martins, Auroni Mukarji and Vinesh Johnny stepped into the kitchen without any egos, no competition in the kitchen. Recalling Matthew, “Energy in the kitchen was incredible.” “We turned each other’s dishes every time when we came out a course. It was about pure cooperation. Chhattisgarh, the new restaurant of the genial chef in New York, highlighted the Todi Shop menu in Kerala.

Chef Doma Wang, his experience with ‘The Power Play’ was shown by a limited of the power play, a limited-seating, five-worker Digstation menu last November, today describes the industry as one where ” There is no competition at all. We all take care of each other ”. Play brought the chef together to craft a separate meal, in which each course was led by a separate chef, Pooja Dhingra, Sifah Kachaiyo, Nurarsha Kelly and Vanshika Bhatia of many others. Credited as all of which have been praised by all, all of which have played a role in promoting this new sense of openness.

Chef Doma Wang with guests at ‘The Power Play’ Dining Experience last November.

“This is not the case with everyone,” Warning celebrates Chef Platek Sadhu, who works closely with artist and production designer Aradhana Seth in ‘The Assembly’. “There are real friendship, but let’s not pretend that the industry is a very happy family. If I praise someone’s work and they are a good person, then it all matters. ,

For Fernandes, the change is clear: “Back in the day, you praised a chef in a magazine and never expected to meet him. Now, I can only call Alex, Protec, or Hussain, and ask for help. ,

The feeling of collective development is that the ‘gathering’ finds so necessary because it exposes a community of open chefs for cooperation. As Ramamurthy explains, “Despite the scale, every chef and artist have fully adopted the associate process, relying on each other to really rely to make something unique. With open dialogue and shared creativity, they have come together to bring an unused concept into life. ,

So, what’s next? Some chefs like sages are focusing on their projects this year, while others, others like Patel are already thinking of their next major associate efforts. But one thing is certain – the era of the alone chef is disappearing, making way for the future, which is communal in his heart.

The author is a Pune -based lifestyle writer and editor.