Indian chefs are pushing the envelope of food every day. Experimenting with flavours, technique and textures, the whole eating out experience is getting redefined. Executive Sous Chef Abhishek Gupta just got back from the recently 
closed Danish Michelin starred Noma and is already putting that experience to use. He uses local produce from India and turns out into something international. Fermentation is one technique that he uses to preserve his produce and add a plethora of additional flavours to it. Now, innovative menus require a setting deserving of them.
Where?
A truly magnificent setting it was. The Eliatire lounge on the first floor of The Leela Ambience Gurugram is one of the most resplendent places to be. With plush leather bound chairs and dark hardwood panelling, it looks straight out of an exclusive colonial club. The well stacked wine bar does no harm to its reputation. His jars and pots of fermented ingredients line one table.
Chef Gupta’s Global menu starts us off with a fermented beetroot juice served inside a beetroot itself. There is a sense of earthy forms of plating rather than the clean, white, instagrammable plates. The slight amount of tang due to the 72 hours of fermentation goes perfectly with earthy flavours of the juice. He changes the common old Gajar Methi into something celestial. Four different types of carrots are cooked with a hint of fenugreek, some fermented black carrot juice and some honey. Combined with a low fat soy milk yoghurt, the combination of sweet, sour and a hint of spice works fervently upon your palate. The Methi ka parantha just adds another layer of complexities to it.
The Tawa Chicken Brulee pays homage to the core of poultry, the Chicken Supreme. Braised with yoghurt, coriander and chili it is served with a Ulte Tawa ka parantha. The Idli Podi spiced garden on the other hand, is an explosion of colours and fermented flavours. There is a smoked quail egg, fermented gooseberries, some pickled courgette, cucumber and roasted young shallots. Their Sommelier Ekagar Sharma, combines these two with Grover Zampa‘s Vijay Amritraj Viognier.
The mains at Epic
Presentation is paramount while serving progressive food and the kitchen staff at The Leela outdoes itself with a plate of Koliwada shrimps served on a fish jar. But it’s the mains which becomes the hero for the night. A grilled chunk of lamb served on a bed of barley. Accompanying it is a sweet pumpkin mash, a nasturtium and parsley emulsion along with a pistachio sauce. The application of the earthy taste along with the sweetness and umami of the meat is something that you need to experience to understand.
For dessert, Patisserie Chef Anurag Barthwal takes us back to his hometown in the foothills of Garwhal. The Sheep Grazing in the Himalayas has some lacto fermented berries along with some citrus soil, a fresh mint sorbet and some cotton candy. The dessert focuses a lot on flavours other than sweet and is one of the ingenious ways to end such an innovative meal.
This epic proportions of taste and texture is appropriately named as Epic-Global Cuisine. It will play out every Saturday as an exclusive menu. You can book your seat for INR 6250++ for a wine paired dinner and INR 4250++ for the menu paired with gourmet juices.
