Here’s a wish-list of what, how
and where I’d like to eat and drink in 2016:
Less is more: There’s been such a burgeoning of new restaurants
it’s become hard to keep track of them. While the abundance of choice should be
good for diners, what we’ve seen in the last year is the opening of scores of
restaurants that have very little differentiating one from the other. In terms
of quality, some are just about average, while many fail to rise above
mediocrity. So, in fact, more restaurants hasn’t come to mean better dining
experiences. I’d like to see fewer, but better restaurants opening. That would
also allow the truly good restaurants a better chance of survival.
Celebrate Indian: Surely, Italian and wannabe Mexican has had its
day? The restaurant version of North Indian is also past its sell-by date. So,
isn’t it time we celebrated the wealth and variety of Indian cuisine? I’d like
to see restaurants that serve the cuisines from across the country – Bihar,
Odisha, West Bengal, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu – and from the sub-regions – Coorg,
Kutch, Kolhapur. The culinary traditions of our many communities also need
showcases. Think Moplah, Kayastha, Kashmiri Brahmin and more.
Keep it healthy: While restaurant-going is both recreation and
convenience, the way menus are planned and executed in restaurants in India
there’s very little focus on ensuring the food is good for you. An overdose of
oil, ghee and cream, flavour-enhancing additives, synthetic colours, processed
foods… it’s not a healthy approach. A few conscientious chefs are leaning
towards local, seasonal produce, organic ingredients and healthier cooking
techniques, but many more need to follow suit.
Think vegetarian: For a country that has so many vegetarians, our
restaurants are terribly neglectful of the diner who doesn’t eat meat. The
global trend prediction is that top chefs will heap more veggies on the plate
and reduce meat portions. Here, too, we need to look beyond paneer and baby
corn, celebrate our abundance of indigenous vegetables and create better dining
experiences for vegetarians.
Clean businesses: Because restaurants are such large users of
natural resources, they need to be conscious of the impact of their businesses
have on the environment as well. So, using local, seasonal produce is not just the
way to eating healthier, but also necessary to save the planet. As the
restaurant industry evolves, I hope it will look beyond merely buying supplies,
cooking and serving and possibly making profits, to being conscious of sourcing
from ethical producers, employing fair labour practices and suffusing
everything they put on a plate with a sense of goodness.
