2012 a foodie’s odyssey

Yet another exciting year draws to an end, leaving in its trail some serious excitement for the Bangalore restaurant-goer. We got the taste of our first microbrews, the distinctive flavour of unseen regional cuisines, a resurgence of sorts of Italian trattorias and some swish bars with breathtaking views and equally gasp-inducing bills. Recession it seems became a thing of the past.

I foresee the start of 2012 with as much fervour and enthusiasm about eating out as one experienced at the end of this year. There will however be some pleasant surprises in store; and it will truly help put the oomph in the dining ethos that was lagging behind its metropolitan brethren. Bangalore, I feel, will lead the way in the creation of new and approachable products that rival Mumbai and Delhi on quality and novelty; yet will do so at far more attractive price points. Much of this, I feel, will be fuelled by a young and eager demographic itching to break out of a previously conservative mindset.

Bangalore will also lead the way in the successful run of microbreweries, which if the grapevine is to be believed, will swell to almost five to seven in number by next year end. The ‘Pub City’ will be generously kind in keeping these establishments full and buzzing. Not dissimilar to this genre will be the mushrooming of many a dive bar and speakeasy, establishing the concept of the neighbourhood bar firmly in a city so clogged with traffic that the thought of travelling for a night out is a bigger deterrent than any single reason. The small, fun bar with good food concept is one that I am most bullish on. It’s a way to establish a great restaurant atmosphere from the grassroot, similar to what Bangalore was about 15 years ago — a revival of sorts.

At the same time I see a slight dip in the ‘fine dining’ headspace. There are already too many players vying for a piece of a very small pie, and opening another new one wouldn’t be without substantial risks for the owner. There has always been a big gap between the basic places and the top end ones I feel, and the prevailing trends will bridge that and open up to very large set of people who found both ends of the spectrum a misfit for their liking. Hotels too are becoming aware of the fact that to keep all their establishments doing brisk business, they need to pander to a slightly populist concept and not always a signature one.

As far as experimenting with new cuisines is concerned, be it Spanish, Mexican, Vietnamese, North African or Korean etc., I keep my forecast a little skeptical. It’s not that I write these off as non starters in a city, which I feel has tremendous potential to learn and absorb, but 2012 maybe a little premature for this. There are already a variety of cuisines and concepts that we need to do justice to before launching off into completely uncharted territory. Exotic flavours are exotic for a reason, and one will see them emerge in time, but not just yet.

The other very encouraging and prevailing trend is the opening of gourmet stores; well stocked groceries, patisseries, bakeries, chocolatiers and the likes bring to the neighbourhoods of Bangaloreans more than just the mundane, run-of-the-mill, packaged products. Their growth is also driving competition amongst them, and hence the quality has seen a marked improvement. It’s not difficult to get a good croissant, a crusty bread loaf, fresh herbs, soba noodles, xacuti etc., as it once was. The culinary horizon of the average cook is leagues ahead of what it was a few years ago. 2012 will see this trend get concretised as a necessity thereby giving rise to a whole new generation of foodies — aware foodies!

The coming year promises to be a trailblazing one of sorts. Successful concepts are already successfully multiplying and many newer ones finding their way to our hearts and stomachs. I sincerely feel that it’s only a matter of time before Bangalore will proudly be at the top of the game nationally than ever before. If only 2012 could fix the 11:30pm deadline — time shall tell.

— Chef Manu Chandra is the Executive Chef, Olive Beach Bangalore and Olive Bar and Kitchen Mumbai. Manu graduated with top honours from the Culinary Institute of America. As Executive Chef at three restaurants over two cities, Manu blends creativity with classic ingredients to create spectacular Med-inspired dishes.