Being A Top Chef Is So Cool!

 

What a lethal combination he has, talent and good looks. To top it, he is immensely likeable. Grounded, respectful, helpful only adds to his persona, making him most approachable and terribly popular. That's Ranveer Brar, a celebrity chef with fashion model looks, who has come a long way in a comparatively short time, thanks to his commitment and sincerity in taking his work seriously.

I have kept an eye on him ever since he retu ed from USA where he had his fair share of a tough life on a path-breaking career. Now he has every reason to smile and look how he is beaming!

 UpperCrust in its soon to complete 20 years of existence has covered loads of cuisine-strong destinations of India, believing in the formidable strength of its regional food. After exhaustive coverage of most of India, we focus now on places worth visiting inte ationally, for sight-seeing and for food. So this travel season see if any of our destinations interest you. Tokyo, Washington, Vancouver or even Murrumbateman, a quaint town in Australia known as wine village. Travel and food has never been more inter-connected...

 Few things match the wondrous joys of creativity. I flew down to Delhi and then drove up the hills to Bhowali, about 10 kms before Nainital to spend a couple of days at Anardana, Nimi Khanna's Himalayan abode, a place bursting with the unusual at every tu . Nimi was once the designer for The Oberoi in Delhi, as well as ITC Hotels and is a total creative junkie. She sees art in a smashed silver lota and has it ado ing her coffee table at her Delhi home sitting juxtaposed with dozens of objet d'art collected over four or more decades. It is amazing how human perceptions differ. Nimi is a marvel!

I am glad the recipes we bring to you find favour. Feedback is our recipes are eminently do-able, they work. Well, what can I say except that we try... So in this issue there is much to rejoice. In addition to recipes of all that was cooked at the excellent cookery demos by 11 top chefs at the 16th UpperCrust Show, we also have fusion recipes by Sarah Todd and Diana Chan, healthy ones by Chef Bhairav and ancient ones from the royal house of Patiala, recreated by Chef Parvinder Singh Bali who cooked it all up for a dinner at The Oberoi, Bangalore, enjoyed, among others, by our very own Kaveri Ponnapa. Kaveri as is her wont has put it down meticulously in an article especially for UpperCrust, a magazine she respects and loves to contribute to, she says.

P.S. Since summer is round the co er I have also picked four super cocktail recipes for you to chill with. Check Editor's Choice.

In a few months the suspense will end and we will know who will form the gove ment, but in the meanwhile do see what Busybee has to say on the subject of voting... as usual a brilliant piece of writing and amazingly holds true even today, 28 years after it was written. Like they say, nothing changes in India, alas, nothing for the better, at least in this domain.

But we can always hope and MUST!