The Lalit’s Francis Luzinier is inviting guests to join him at his Chef’s Table in the hotel kitchen.
Be careful about questioning the hygiene of Chef Francis Luzinier’s kitchen — he might lock you up in the freezer. That’s the fate that befell an American guest who asked the hostess at Baluchi, The Lalit’s signature restaurant in Delhi, whether it was safe to eat there. Luzinier, the executive chef at the hotel escorted him into the kitchen, showed him how clean it was and then popped the unsuspecting chap into the freezer — for a few seconds. “He proceeded to have every meal at our restaurant for the rest of his stay,” says Luzinier. The French chef is now throwing his workplace open to guests who wish to join him at his Chef’s Table, right inside the kitchen, an experience Luzinier has invited me to share as part of the concept’s soft launch.
After the last tardy guest has arrived, we proceed to the bread counter. Though Luzinier is the host, we will be savouring the creations of his able deputy, Chef KP Singh. The breads are kneaded, punched and pummelled in front of us before some are thrust into an iron tandoor, and others into the Moroccan oven at the back. We sip on a Moet & Chandon and sample the eight different kinds of bread. Luzinier is constantly pulling Singh’s leg, while the latter explains what we are eating. It would have made for a double act except that Singh, who is much more comfortable in Hindi, is more intent on ignoring Luzinier than engaging him in repartee! The winners, for me, are the gilafi naan and a Moroccan bread stuffed with cheese. Bread and champagne over (you are welcome to have extra rounds but be sure to leave enough room for the main course), we enter the kitchen.
We take our places at the table, with a bowl of fruit at the centre and Luzinier at the head to explain and entertain. The starters include a tomato shorba flavoured with cumin, achari paneer tikka, mutton chapli kebab and the outstanding mushroom ki galouti, Singh’s own creation.
As the meal proceeds through four main courses (mostly very good apart from a not too interesting gobi), Singh becomes more confident and it is with great pride that he announces his pièce de résistance, the intriguing paan ki biryani. Wrapped in a paan leaf, the rice has just the right amount of flavour. But his moment of glory is when the lights are dimmed, and he enters with a dish full of gulab jamuns which he then set on fire. The gulab jamun flambé would have made for a dramatic end, except that it wasn’t. We were invited to try our hand at making jalebis, a highly recommendable pastime (in air-conditioned environs).
The Chef’s Table is not a new concept in itself but it’s the first time The Lalit is trying it. And with Singh’s cooking and Luzinier’s constant patter and antics, diners will not come away disappointed.
The Lalit charges Rs 4,000 per head for an 8-person group at the Chef’s Table in Baluchi. The writer was at Baluchi at the invitation of the hotel.
