He started his career with The Oberoi Grand in Kolkata, and is now back as the executive chef with big plans to bring back old classics, while at the same time bringing in fresh new changes to the menu. The Telegraph spoke to Prafull Aina, who’s all set to make waves with a new menu at Threesixtythree, The Oberoi Grand. Excerpts.
Welcome back to the city. How does it feel to be an executive chef in a place that you really started off from?
A lot has changed since the last time I was working here. When I left the hotel had La Terrasse, now it’s Threesixtythree. The hotel overall has changed a lot. I was over here as the pastry and banquet chef and in-charge of La Terasse. Now coming back feels like home. It’s a beautiful feeling.
What do you miss about those older La Terrasse days?
The ambience, the colonial structure of the restaurant, the wood work, the chandelier. But yeah, moving on with the new world, this is a very vibrant and colourful restaurant. It’s very energetic. You feel that energy and it’s the need of the hour and very well done.
What is your food philosophy?
I believe in simplicity with beauty. Food has to be simple, needs to look nice, have out-of-the-box thinking but at the end of the day it should taste good. That’s what I believe. Simple, beautiful and tasty.
You have a special connection with Udaipur, having worked there. What’s your takeaway from that city?
When I was there, there were very limited options in terms of dining and ingredients in Udaipur. The guests there were well travelled and expected variety but nobody was showcasing that. The first thing that we did was we started introducing really exotic things like a green tea mousse cake, tiramisu, 70 per cent dark chocolate desserts and lots of truffles and edamame, which wasn’t a part of the hotel culture there. We introduced it and the people loved it.
Secondly, the hotels there were sticking to very safe recipes. So we tried the rustic way of cooking. The food there is very rustic. We as a team travelled a lot and did very home-style recipes. It was well received. I feel that we need to go to our roots, so even when it came to serving, we used a lot of brass, earthen pots and so on. to create the feel. My endeavour was to make every meal an experience. It needs to have a story behind it.
In terms of ingredients, what are your quintessential ones ?
I’ve been a pastry chef for over eight years so the best thing I love working with is chocolate. It can be done in any course. You can mould it the way you want. You can even use it in a main course, for example, if you make a nice seared salmon with a chilli chocolate sauce. You can do chicken with jalapeño and chocolate sauce. Chocolate is a very versatile ingredient.
And any ingredient that you’re not fond of working with?
I’m not really fond of mustard. I don’t enjoy its pungency. But I feel that it’s something that goes well with veggies and all types of meats.
With regards to The Oberoi Grand, what is your vision in terms of food?
My first task is starting the sushi bar here. I feel the city has a client base for sushi. My team is well trained in sushi and I want to tap into their talent. You get all the good ingredients for sushi here.
Secondly, I feel Kolkata still is in touch with its colonial identity. So I want to bring back the Baked Alaska, and incorporate stuff like the tetrazzinis and the a la kievs and the Wellingtons. They never get old.
I also want to do new-age dishes with currently loved ingredients such as truffles and edamame etc. I feel that when the guest opens the menu they should get the best of all.
In terms of cuisine what’s your preference to work with?
I love Italian a lot. My pastas, my meats, my risottos, are my strength along with bakery and pastry.
Kolkata as a city, especially when it comes to the fine-dine section, has a very strong vegetarian client base. How do you plan to tap into that?
So, I feel there is no limitation to food. Dishes with meat can easily be replicated with vegetables. The world is increasingly moving towards vegan, gluten-free, lactose-free stuff and our new menu will also cater to that demand. As I said, the market is growing and we want to use as many varieties of ingredients as possible.
Is there any chef that’s been your role model/idol?
In India I loved working with chef Vikas Bagul. I feel he is a pastry God. He’s currently doing his European School of Pastry. I love his style of working. As a chef he’s very England-oriented, and also focused on his guests a lot. We are in touch and I always call him up in case I need anything.
Post pandemic a lot of food trends have been incoming. What trends do you think are here to stay?
We’ve spoken about molecular gastronomy and stuff, but they’re all passé now. What’s coming back is the old-world style, authentic and rustic cooking. Staying true to ingredients and flavours. We’re getting back to our roots. Indian cuisine is making a major comeback. People want that now. You can do so many things with Bengali cuisine, but at the end of the day you want your luchi, your kosha mangsho. The world is getting back to nature. We’ve grown up on bajra, ragi and so onand now they’ve become superfoods.
At home, do you cook? And what’s your family’s take on it?
I love cooking at home. On my day off I make sure my wife doesn’t enter the kitchen. I look forward to cooking meals on my day off and deciding that aaj kya khayenge. My wife is very happy. I get up in the morning, and I’m like: “Let’s do something. Let’s plan a dinner.” We do drinks, starters, desserts, and main course. Like full-blown guest treatment. My wife loves Mexican food and my parents love my Sindhistyle mutton curry. I have my own brass and copper vessels that I use to cook these curries in. I do authentic slow cooking.
What are some of the special dishes that you’ve been inspired by when it comes to Kolkata?
I feel that when you open a menu, it should be a combination of flavors, textures and colours. This is what we’re working towards at The Oberoi Grand. I want to do away with the misconceptions that a gravy can only be a certain way. I’ve been all over India and have imbibed flavour from each place. I strive to introduce these differences to the guests. Kolkata is a foodie city and very willing to experiment. People here are happy about trying new stuff. And that’s why it’s a dream for a chef to be here. Even our banquet menus are experimental and we enjoy doing those.