What Makes A Master Chef? ISMAIL MERCHANT writes his first book (Indian Cuisine, Futura Publication, 1986) about how he developed a passion for food and got into cooking. |
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My friends say that my cooking is different from anything they have known. They call me a master chef. What makes a master chef? For me it means that he or she must have imagination, a flair for mixing conventional and unconventional ingredients, an appreciation of different seasonings and a desire for praise to satisfy his or her ego. A great cook should be able to do something well with the snap of a finger rather than to toil over it. He or she should be inventive, be someone who can whip up something from nothing. From two pieces of straw a master should be able to make a grand salad - well almost. My own knowledge of food and cooking developed gradually. I was born into a middle-class family in Bombay, with six sisters, all of whom are superb cooks. My father never cooked, but he appreciated good food. Men were generally not allowed in the kitchen, so male family members never had an opportunity actually to cook. In India when I was growing up most middle-class families had a cook as well as someone to do the shopping. My mother supervised everything, though she too was a first-rate cook. I could freely invite 20 guests home and everything would be provided for, the most perfect menu with eight or ten dishes. But I could only appreciate the meal, never be directly involved. Before leaving India I became familiar with Chinese cooking, but in America I learned about French, Italian and many other fine culinary traditions. I would often go to a small French restaurant that I could afford on 9th Avenue and 55th Street in Manhattan, The Brittany, have dinner and talk to the people there about food. Later, I spent a lot of time in France. Consequently, my cooking is not always purely Indian. Sometimes it is a combination of French and Indian. There are definitely some lighter elements in it from nouvelle cuisine. By the same token, when I make a spaghetti sauce, it's Italo-Indian. As with every chef, my cooking is the result of many influences, but it remains essentially Indian. It was in America that I actually learned to cook. As an Indian host I could not offer my guests hamburgers and hot dogs. They expected something more exotic. So in 1958, wanting to please my American friends, I learned how to do all the things I was not allowed to do in India: the cooking, all the shopping and the serving. In the US one has to do everything and it is best if you enjoy it; fortunately I do. I discovered that my cooking developed into more than just a way to please my friends. It helped me make headway in my profession. I have invited writers, actors, financiers, bankers and all sorts of interesting - and useful - people involved in all aspects of film-making home for dinner. I like to think that my cooking and the occasion softened some of them up a bit. |
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