Celebrity chefs bring world on a plate to Chennai

While the convenience of online food delivery platforms deters many millennial Indians from taking up cooking on a daily basis, gourmet food festivals seem to have become the platform for these youngsters over the past few years to gain inspiration to get comfortable in their kitchens. World On A Plate, one of the country’s largest culinary festivals, began in 2016 as a common ground for master chefs, amateur chefs, food lovers, restaurant pop-ups and culinary artists to come together and celebrate all things food. From learning to create a gourmet dish using local ingredients from a celebrity chef they would have spotted on television, to learning to appreciate food from around the world — the food fest has been allowing foodies to do all that. Its latest edition is set to take place in Chennai with chefs Vicky Ratnani, Sarah Todd and Saransh Goila helming the master classes.

Speaking to DT Next ahead of the fest, chef, television host and cook book author Vicky Ratnani says the event’s up-close and personal nature allows people to bond over food. “People who attend the event are true lovers of food, who are eager to learn more about food. There’s also a tete-a-tete that happens between chefs and those who enjoy good food. Over the years, the younger generation has been more in attendance for food festivals, which are definitely going to make people want to start cooking more. The festival is about passing on the right messages to youngsters and food lovers — that the ideas that we chefs showcase can be recreated at home by students and home cooks too. For instance, a recent dish I made used olives served alongside a porridge of legumes, rice and beans. I want to show that olives can be used in a variety of dishes,” asserts Vicky.

As part of the master class that he will offer Chennaiites, he revealed his plans to cook up wild mushroom falafel, that will use the local sundal (chickpeas). “Whenever I plan to cook in another city, I want to know what is in season at that place. I’m trying to use ingredients that every Tamilian has access to, but instead using it in a different way that I would. The food is hyper local, yet global,” adds the chef, who finds Chennai to be a retro city, with a whole lot of originality, finesse and history.

During the fest, Chef Sarah Todd, who rose to fame through her participation in the telly cooking show MasterChef Australia and later became the face of several culinary television shows in India, and popular chef Saransh Goila, will also be creating dishes using local ingredients from Chennai. “The idea of gourmet is not to fly down caviar from a foreign country, but to use local ingredients in new techniques,” stresses Kiran Soans, the founder of the food festival.

Besides the three celebrity chefs, city-based culinary experts like chefs Sandesh Reddy, Tenzin Phuntsok, Harish Rao, among others, will also be offering master classes at the event. There will also be pop-ups of Chennai’s restaurants and patisseries like Tao of Peng, Soy Soi, Sea Salt, Toscano, Fromage, Bombay Brasserie, The Brew Room, Sandy’s Chocolate Laboratory and Brownie Heaven. The fest will be held on November 10 from 10 am to 10 pm at VR Chennai mall.