Japanese Tobiko that pops in your mouth like tiny bubbles of joy, French Foie Gras that melts like butter, a generous slice of Black Forest ham from Germany, or softshell blue crabs from Chesapeake Bay in the US – hotel chefs have long believed that the way to a good menu is via great ingredients. Some of this is to do with the fact that Indians are becoming more experimental in their choice of food, forcing chefs to seek out foods so exotic that they are almost obscure. BY SIMONA TERRON
Kuoni Holiday Report 2011 shows that Indians on holiday are more open to trying out something new, particularly the local cuisine. Having sampled the cuisine, they are keen to visit restaurants serving food that they had on holiday.
Hans Vriens, chief innovation officer at Barry Callebaut chocolates, which supplies chocolate to manufacturers and hospitality industry, says, “In the hospitality industry, obscure tastes are more premium and chefs are looking to bring indulgence to customers. One of the chocolate trends we foresee is customers looking for more indulgent small portions with the highest quality cocoa.”
Suppliers such as Callebaut not only source exotic products from all over the globe, but also innovate at the very basic level. One of their chocolates, Cara Cocoa, is so pure that it has no defects – the company has spent millions in research to create it by introducing a bio-liquid at the fermentation stage.
“We have about 2000 new innovation products each year. In the last five years 70% of our volume came from innovation,” Vriens says.
Chef Viraf Patel, partner, Urban Spoon Hospitality keeps up with consumer demand and supply of more and more exotic foods. “As a chef and with the help of importers, I am able to bring newer flavours and ingredients to the plate,” he says, listing ingredients he works with – white asparagus from ltaly, France and Germany. Green asparagus from Thailand, Black Cod (Atlantic), Chilean sea bass, squid ink, Hamachi from Japan, heirloom tomatoes, black cherry tomatoes from Maharashtra, Irish lamb chops from Ireland and hand crafted cheese from Italy and France.
Suppliers who take pains to source foods keep abreast of the latest. Jehangir Lawyer of Fortune Gourmet Specialities supplies exotica and obscura to roughly 97% of the five star hotels in the country. He finds himself sourcing products from Europe, the Far East, Australia and USA.
“Whether it is cheese, charcuterie, fish or dry items like pasta, people are now looking past country-wise produce and seeking more regional varieties. There is a trend leaning towards artisanal products that are especially handmade from certain far flung areas, such as butter from Normandy and cheese from Catalan.”
A demand for authenticity is fuelling this trend. Avijit Ghosh, Corporate Pastry Chef at The Leela Palace Kempinski Bangalore, speaks about using single origin chocolate brands such as the Italian Amedi, which he claims is one of the best, and the French Valrhona. “We always use high-end chocolate for our confections, besides using products like Philadelphia cream cheese for our cheesecakes, Elle&Vire butter and cream, Darbo jams from France and fresh berries like raspberries and blueberries,” says Ghosh.
Products on the obscurity list are sometimes one step away from extinction. Salmon is passé, says Lawyer, talking about how the fact that they are bred on farms now has affected the demand. Instead wild, smoked salmon is what’s on everybody’s mind.
As companies look globally to increase consumption with focused effort, CSR has now given way to innovation at source of origin. “One of the trends is that soon the world will face a shortage of cocoa. We work with farmers to increase productivity and create innovations which may double their production,” says Vriens.
Another well known shortage is of varieties of fish that are endangered thanks to callous overfishing. Take Chilean Sea Bass, which is on endangered species lists. Lawyer says, “You can’t die without having tasted Chilean Sea Bass, there’s nothing that comes even close to it.” Yet, he mentions, it is highly unlikely that the next generation will get to taste this species, a fact that makes it all the more desirable for the current generation.
Led by their taste buds and imagination, spiced with watching shows that dedicate hours to eating, diners are losing squeamishness. Slightly more bizarre are unappetising-sounding ingredients that are becoming popular, such as Casu Frazigu, more commonly known as maggot cheese, which is served during special occasions like weddings in Italy; scorpions on a stick which is a popular dish in China; goat dung oil and finally finger limes, which are found in China and do look like fingers. Lesser freakish-sounding ingredients are Matsutake mushrooms from Japan, saffron from Spain and Almas Caviar from Iran.
Sourcing ingredients
Having to work in close tandem with distributors, chefs often share with them information about the constantly evolving tastes and preferences of the guest, so that they can source out products accordingly. “Distributors often understand the market demand well enough to go ahead and place the order with the confidence that the products will find takers among hotels,” says Chef Marco Priolo, Stella, The Leela Hotels and Resorts, Mumbai.
One of the main challenges, most chefs concur, is to find a knowledgeable supplier who offers good quality of products at the right price.
“Our focus on getting the right ingredients is very high as our promise to our guest is of a superlative dining experience,” adds Priolo. Procurement managers have their jobs cut out for them, what with having to source new items that are
requested by chefs or guests.
The purchase department usually identifies a reliable supplier who generally deals in similar products and provides them all the information of the product.The supplier in turn sources these items and provides them with the costs. Once these costs are evaluated, the procurement manager places the orders and the items make their way
to the hotel.
Exotic becomes local
Another facet to this scenario is the sourcing of ‘exotic’ fruits and vegetables from local farms surrounding urban areas. What started with strawberries and button mushrooms a decade ago, has now grown to a fully fledged business for most companies who grow all kinds of hitherto exotic fruit and vegetables, which they then supply to five star hotels and restaurants. Items like starfruit, Singapore cherries, herbs such as Arugula, Italian limes, mangoes and 24 varieties of bananas are what Hideout farms supplies to restaurants like Indigo. “Our produce is all organic, which is what appeals to my customers.
They are also quite keen on trying out new things. I never thought a hip restaurant like Indigo would be keen to stock up on items like chikoos but they have and are very happy with my produce,” says Hemant Chhabra of Hideout.
Ghosh, who uses products that can be sourced locally such as vanilla beans from Kerala, says, “If you have the money to spend, you can have anything. Our hotel has an import license, thanks to which we get most of the goods from suppliers who we have a tie up with. Only if we can’t procure certain items do we approach the marketplace and ask for them to be imported for us.”
This is good news for hotels, since the cost factor of sourcing these products is considerably lowered, along with a reduced carbon footprint due to sourcing locally available produce, as a bonus.
