The French connection

Regional French cooking is making a comeback. Is India ready for it?

For all our hesitant dalliances with foie gras and smelly cheese, gastronomic snobs in France have discovered a brand new "it" dish. Reports in the French media claim the chutney to be the latest "symbol of modern cuisine".

Last year, 2,10,000 pots of chutney were apparently sold in France, according to www.worldoffoodindianews.com that quotes both L'Express and Le Monde.

And since this latest "chutneymania" is being ascribed to British exports, "Parisian gastronomes" have been quoted as saying that "the chutney is an evidence that British taste may not be as bad as they thought"!

But while the French may enjoy their brie with chutney and other such possibilities "" at a cafe near the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris, for instance, the chef serves an aubergine and cumin chutney with cod, lamb and roast bananas "" the fate of French cuisine in India itself is a lot less clear.

Places like the uppity Zodiac Grill in Mumbai, of course, continue to do well with their trademark Camembert souffles and pepper steaks, and god-of-the-kitchen, chef Hemant Oberoi is convinced that "classical (French) cuisine is going to make a comeback" even in India, where there aren't too many places where you can go for a petit or otherwise bite.

So last week, when Ploof, a standalone seafood speciality restaurant in Delhi, decided to go ahead with a French food (and wine) festival, it came as a breath of fresh air.

My experiments with French cuisine in the past had all been awesome. At the Imperial one enchanted evening, I remember being served dishes whose names I couldn't quite remember the next morning, in delicate gold-edged crockery, shimmering candles on the floor, and some excellent Bordeaux "" which I do remember "" giving the maincourse of "milk-fed" baby lamb chops splendid company.

At Ploof, I expected much the same: formal service and an ambience of somewhat intimidated reverence. But as we began the evening, crowding around a selection of fresh cheese, sipping on our pleasant chablis, chattering on about nothing, I began to realise that this would be unlike all those other meals.

For one, there was none of the ceremony and splendour that you normally associate with French cuisine. And instead of the beautifully pre-plated format, the first course was rolled in matter-of-factly "" chilled seafood, including oysters, heaped on big platters, inviting everyone to the delights of communal dining.

Incidentally, if your idea of French also involves artistically presented platters, it would help to know a little history: Traditionally, service a la francaise comprised food on platters from which guests would help themselves.

When the first restaurants (as opposed to taverns) opened after the French Revolution, it was some enterprising cordon bleu chefs (the royal cooks went out of work and opened public restaurants to earn their living) who introduced service a la russe (Russian style), where food was individually plattered.

But moving on to our own meal. The next course was a seafood broth "" traditionally poor fishermen's meal "" paired with wine. This once again cocked a snook at fanciful wine etiquette "" that two liquids don't match.

Our final course was, of course, lamb chops, presented with a glass of Bordeaux, but till you sipped that you could have fooled yourself into believing that here was a cuisine much "easier" than "French". Italian, anyone?

But French cuisine is easy too, protests Thomas Sauzet, a marketing manager with wine importer Brindco and our sommelier, who helped Ploof's chef Manav in demystifying the cuisine. Hemant Oberoi, who specialises in French cooking, sees the future in the less stylised regional cooking.

"Even in France, Sunday lunches where mothers and grandmothers cook and serve dishes from their local regions are becoming popular again", he adds.

The world over, regional French cooking with its roots in the old style is making a comeback.

In India, Sopexa, the body for promotion of French wine and agro-products, promises a slew of French food promotions in the metros in the coming few months. So, will India finally accept the new French?

Pasta up

Italian cuisine has always been easier than French, which perhaps explains its wider popularity. Now, it is finally getting to mean more than a slice of pizza.

Food festivals are attempting to introduce regional flavours. Olive, Delhi, for instance, is currently holding a promotion where chef Massimiliano Orlati (Max, without the tongue-twist) advocates "healthy respect for mama's cooking"! The festival has been fairly popular in both Mumbai and Bangalore in the past.

The Claridges, Delhi, is holding a Sicilian food fest, while West View at the Maurya Sheraton unveils flavours of Emilia Romagna, two districts that merge at Bologna, and are known for their culinary delights.