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| Edited By: Ismat Tahseen |Source: DNA |Updated: Jan 22, 2011, 10:23 AM IST
He’s a food expert, globe-trotter and experimenter, in that order and when you put Michelin star chef Igor Macchia on the grill, the answers are interesting and refreshing. Presenting interview excerpts…
You’re known for your contemporary and eclectic take on Piedmont’s Italian cuisine. Please elaborate on the need to contemporise cuisine....
In context of a chef, I believe contemporary cuisine means adapting to styles and ingredients of the modern era, not altering the traditional cooking style. At La Credenza, we steam tenderloin for 24 hours at 80 degree centigrade in a vacuum packed environment. My grandmother used a similar technique many decades ago with the basic amenities available at home. The cooking method is similar, though with the innovation of technology, styles have evolved and assure more consistency in preparations today.
The newer ingredients in it are...
I use a variety of ingredients which are old classics but were forgotten decades ago, for example, hazelnut oil dressing was commonly used in Italy until the produce of hazelnuts became expensive and olives
became more affordable. Therefore hazelnut oil gave way to olive oil...
Do you find stimuli to do this through travel — please elaborate...
I believe travelling is essential to hone the creative mind. My travels have added to my experience and understanding, teaching me new methods of cooking, experimenting with ingredients and tracing the lineage of each.
Can we have some examples of you lending an eclectic and contemporary touch to traditional methods...
Well, we cook a beef cheek for 24 hours to lend it a moist texture. The tenderloin is paired with green apple and tonka beans, found in South America. The acidic green apple
reduces the fat texture of the tenderloin.
If you had to lend an Indian twist to an Italian dish — what would you choose to do and why?
I would like to recreate a tandoori chicken as it is much sought after in Italy. I have to say it is my personal favourite too. I enjoy its flavour and style of cooking.
