Socially responsible feasting

Pure is a noble attempt to introduce Indian diners to wholesome, processed-free, and principally, organic eating habits.

Are Indian diners ready to embrace organic food, price premiums and general scepticism notwithstanding? Ready or not, the Taj Lands End Mumbai recently launched its first organic venture "" Pure.

The philosophy of the eatery, as Taj Hotels grand chef Hemant Oberoi explains, is simple "" you are what you eat, and therefore you will walk out of Pure healthier than when you arrived.

The cuisine is a re-engineered amalgamation of several years of culinary enterprise from well known American chef Michel Nischan (known for his firm endorsement of sustainable farming practises). The ingredients are predominantly organic, although there is the rare peppercorn that is not, and fowl that isn't free range.

"We don't claim to be serving 100 per cent organic food," reiterates Nischan, "but it's healthy, seasonal food. Which means no thickening agents, no artificial flavours and no frozen foods."

Nischan debuted his revolutionary cuisine at Heartbeat in New York eight years ago and was managing director of f&b for W Hotels, New York, for years.

Heartbeat became renowned for its healthful, locally grown, organic food menu. "How we eat relates directly to issues of sustainability of natural resources," says Nischan, "It's a very spiritual decision to shift to organic foods."

The menu at Pure doesn't run into pages. "It's narrow and deep, not broad and shallow," says John Mooney, Pure's executive chef and Nischan's right-hand.

"I am not sure I like the taste of organic cuisine," said a diner next to me, as we dug into mounds of goat's cheese in a rich tasting herbed tomato broth. "It tastes healthier," says another, predictably. I am not sure you can really tell an organic tomato from an inorganic one by taste.

You can, however, taste the novel flavours of Nischan's cuisine, which, as he explains, has its roots in American food tradition but supports the spirit of well-being.

Don't mistake it for granny's "soul" food though. It all looks terribly refined, and has unambiguous flavours... like the grill cured salmon on a bed of caramelised cauliflower, and the lamb chop lollipops with pomegranate molasses.

A revolutionary menu cannot be let down by its decor. Pure boasts the cutting edge creativity of Yabu Pushelberg, one of the leading interior-designer duos in North America in the glam arenas of retail and hospitality (Four Season's, W Hotels, Tiffany's).

You'd expect an organic restaurant to be a hard-sell but Pure is not gimmicky at all. The only inferences to the theme are some organically shaped tables and the seamless blending of a white (pure, light) area with a reddish brown (warm, dark) area, that implies a certain balance (a la yin yang).

Pure has plotted its coming together cautiously. For two years now, Oberoi, Mooney and a team of microbiologists have toured various "organic" farms in India testing soil and farming conditions.

As much as an organic lifestyle might sound like a return to the simplicity of the past, the business of organic cuisine is anything but uncomplicated. A predominance of uncertified marginal growers, an incomplete range of ingredients and irregularity and inconsistency of supply, all make for a tricky supply-demand balance.

"We source from Trikaya Agriculture and organic cooperatives in Auroville," says Mooney. The organic wines and beers are imported. In view of potential organic labelling fraud, consumers are wary of trusting, but with the Taj that worry is allayed.

"What about uncertified farmers cooperatives," asks a spirited scribe. Will Pure result in backward integration of the marginalised organic farmer? Is this another case of a big corporation buying into the booming organic marketplace? Organic food is an estimated $ 30 billion global industry, but is still just 2.5 per cent of total retail food sales.

"Imagine what it would do for the industry if everybody ate organic food for just one day of the year," says Nischan.

Imagining Pure will, at some point, transcend beyond the business of a restaurant to igniting an entire movement is probably altogether too ambitious even for well-meaning celebrity chefs and luxury hotel chains.

However, Pure's success will mean more organic food will reach more people and everybody will see what a profitable business opportunity organic food is.