Taj Taal Kutir, Kolkata is a city resort that doubles up as an urban escapade, and keeping that in mind, executive chef Tanuj Bahuguna has created a menu that’s classy yet full of easy choices. t2 sat down for a quick chat to learn more about the chef who’s an expert at tapping into local influences.
How do you like Calcutta?
I like the city very much. In fact, this is my second time in the city.
Oh, when was your first time?
I started from Calcutta. I used to work for The Oberoi Grand, and then I moved to Jaipur, within Oberoi only. After that, I was with Hyatt, and then spent seven years with Marriott, in Kochi and Bhutan.
As a chef, how would you describe your food philosophy?
I believe in something that is fresh, organic, should be good for the palate and easy for everyone to digest.
Tell us a little bit about the concepts that you have introduced at the various F&B properties at Taj Taal Kutir, Kolkata.
So, basically, the concept is local cuisine with a hint of colonial touch, especially in terms of the look and feel. We used to have a restaurant in Marriott Kochi that used to serve authentic Kerala fare but the overall feel was very colonial, so I was very inspired by that idea. Our menu is also family-style, based on sharing concepts.
As a chef, what would be your cuisine forte?
As a chef, my forte would be European. I would say, Italian and French because I have spent almost 10 years of my career with expat chefs and have learnt a lot from them.
What has been your most significant learning in the culinary sphere?
As a chef my most significant learning has been that there is no end to things and every day you have to explore and learn new stuff. It is very important to revive yourself and you cannot keep being stuck on the same things. Having said that, the basics always remain the same.
The cuisine of Calcutta has a plethora of influences. How has that impacted your cooking and menus, and how have you imbibed this at the hotel?
From my experiences over the years, I have learnt that for Indian diners, if you talk about only one kind of cuisine such as European, or authentic Asian, people are not very comfortable. We have designed the menu keeping these preferences in mind. Our dishes are very homely and comforting. A very good example is that we have dishes like Kadhi Chawal, Rajma Chawal, Chole Kulche on the menu. These are dishes that you will not generally find in five-star menus. This is how we have made it easy for everyone that will dine with us.
Amritsari Chole Kulche is another speciality at the restaurant. The chole are tangy and full of flavour and the kulchas are baked, saving against the guilt of deep-fried kulchas
You mentioned that you have travelled quite a lot, how has that coloured your cooking?
I have been all over the country, right from North to the South, Bhutan, etc. So, Kerala and Chennai influences are there in my cuisine, plus having worked in the Himalayan belt, and being a pahadi myself, my food has those touches also. One of my longest tenures was in Jaipur, so I also learnt a lot about vegetarian, Marwari and Rajasthani food.
Lastly, what are your plans for the property?
We are soon to open a speciality tea, coffee, beverage and small bites-inspired place that the city must be on the lookout for. Every six months the plan is to keep changing the menu so that our regular customers have something new to look forward to.
Bhetki takes a new avatar with this Tempura Bhetki Platter that has crisp fingers of the fish fried in tempura batter along with vegetable tempura. This is served with a pungent Japanese ponzu sauce.