Since the time The Indian Accent has made strides into New York and London, It has become a beacon for Indian restaurants back home. With Manish Mehrotra’s food reaching out to foreign shores, a decision was made to bring back some of London’s finest to India. While many of you might have marveled at Jon Favreau’s outburst in the movie Chef, there is actually a precedent in real life. Chef Claude Bosi, a two-starred Michelin Chef got into a Twitter war with a food blogger in 2012 over a dish he had served at his restaurant, Hibiscus. Six years later, at the Claude Bosi popup at the Indian Accent, I try but can’t really fault his food and his flavors.
Now at the Bibendum Restaurant in London, the Claude Bosi popup is a four-week extravaganza that will be presented at the newly opened Upstairs at Indian Accent. As light pours into the space that previously housed On The Waterfront, it shimmers off the stainless steel that dominates the restaurant. The wine paired menu starts off with a Cava and a bread made out of Parmesan Cheese. Although you pop them in your mouth, they never explode with cheese, instead of circling around with the cheese flavors until you use the acidity from the Cava to break it up.
What all we tried out at the popup of Chef Claude Bosi?
The first course is a Mushroom Custard which combines its earthy flavor along with the creamy flavor of the coconut. Generously sprinkled with the Curry powder that is commonly used in French kitchens, the flavors range from creamy to spicy in a single instant. This next course not only shows his mastery of the French techniques but also the heart to experiment with it. He creates a terrine out of multiple layers of Beetroot and combines with a salty Feta cheese and some tang from the passion fruit.
Although the next combo of Morel mushrooms and Kaffir Lime had me hooked, trying out the Kanyakumari Crab with its typical taste of the sea is something I won’t forget soon. Combined with a lemon apple and a Sauvignon Blanc, the mixture of flavors is astounding. The wines for this paired meal have been sourced from La Cave by Brindco and they make quite a lovely addition to the menu that has been curated.
Even dessert here has two courses. The first one is a quenelle of mango with black sesame while the main dessert is a chocolate tart with vanilla ice cream and Mulled Wine. The opalescent surface of the sheer chocolate tart lights up with the reflection of the Stainless Steel again as a drop of the ice cream stabs across it.
The 7-course meal is available for INR 3400++ and a flight of wines is available for INR 2000++
