Reaching millions of hearts through stomach
“Your body is not a temple, it’s an amusement park. Enjoy the ride,” the late culinary expert Anthony Bourdain once said. So we decided to hitch one on a Sunday.
Master chefs from 40 countries across the globe converged upon the holy city of Amritsar for the world culinary festival recently. It was a special occasion for foodies who thronged the venue, the historical Gobindgarh Fort, in droves.
For me, an invitation to spend a day with the passionate artists, who strive hard to tickle our taste buds and lend elegance to the arrangement and styling of food in plate, was a god sent opportunity.
The aroma of the dishes wafting through the nostrils was enough to make our mouths water and brains shed some dopamine. It was a wonderful opportunity to observe men at work, who knew the art and science of reaching to millions of hearts through the stomach.
Julia Dragol from Romania prepared a perfect ‘mamaliga’ (a versatile food prepared with milk butter, mushrooms and fish) to rekindle our senses. She said, “Preparing mamaliga with ingredients derived from India has added brownie points to her karma.”
Fish curry by Gérard Mendis from Sri Lanka was simply delicious. “The first and foremost requirement for preparing a dish is cleanliness. Working in an unhygienic environment is a gross violation of the unwritten laws of culinary,” he said.
Harish Padmanabhan was the connoisseur of all eyes as he made pancakes with filling of ashta (a mixture of milk, sugar, corn flour and bread) and garnishing with bits of almond and roasted pistachios.
Chef Kay of Thailand prepared prawns with noodles coiled around them and presented it in such a beautiful way that none of us could dare to disturb the enchanting beauty. We preferred to click it and move ahead rather than have a bite.
Avraj Marwa shared the recipe of Mursik (cow milk fermented in a special gourd lined with soot of different trees), better known as a champion’s drink in Kenya. He laughingly cited it to be the reason behind the numerous Kenyan marathoners.
Croatia was represented by chefs who shared the recipe of ‘Mlince’, bread made with fat and egg, usually eaten along with stuffed turkey by the peasant community.
Then, there was Himachali and Hyderabad cuisine which surpassed our expectations by many a mile.
Chef Majed from Syria was seen wearing a badge that read: Let’s plant peace and love on earth. “The line is attributed to the God of Rain in Syria. I always wear it whenever I get a chance to represent my country. What’s happening in my country is unfortunate but I am hopeful, the conditions will improve one day,” Majed said in an interactive session.
We bade a warm farewell to the doctors of food, who keep on devising ways and means to ensure we keep on falling in love with the food and satiate our senses to the fullest.
MASTER CHEFS FROM 40 COUNTRIES CONVERGED UPON AMRITSAR FOR THE WORLD CULINARY FESTIVAL RECENTLY