Michel Roux, one of the most famous and respected names in the culinary industry was in India recently, along with his wife Robyn Joyce. Michel Roux is a French-born chef and restaurateur working in Britain. His restaurant Le Gavroche became the first in Britain to earn Michelin three stars, and The Waterside Inn, another restaurant of his, became the first restaurant outside France to retain Michelin three stars for more than 25 years.
I got a chance to meet Mr. Roux and Ms. Robyn at Above & Beyond, Kirti Nagar, as the owner, Mr. Anurag Chawla, invited me to his restaurant to share the dinner table with the guests of honor for the night and Mr. Anurag’s family and friends.
Michel Roux with Anurag Chawla
Usually people associate West Delhi with lounges and dingy places, but it is evolving and growing with great casual dining and fine dining options. Above & Beyond is one such place. It is a multi-cuisine casual dining family restaurant that serves North India, Mughlai, Chinese, and Continental.
The menu for the dinner was North Indian and was designed by Mr. Anurag. After a series of introductions, we settled down and started with the appetizers and the drinks. We were served a number of vegetarian snacks like Paneer Tikka, Veg Seekh Kebab, Dahi ke Kebab and Soya Tikka, and non-vegetarian snacks like Fish Tikka, Fish Orlay, Tandoori Prawns, Chicken Tikka, Chicken Malai Tikka, Chicken Seekh Kebab, Mutton Tikka, and Mutton Seekh Kebab.
The Chef and his elegant lady Robyn, both, really loved the paneer and the fish. Ms. Robyn even asked Mr. Anurag about how they make such soft cottage cheese in India.
The variety in paneer is really impressive. Some other items that really stood out are Dahi ke Kebab and Chicken Tikka.
It was a once in a lifetime opportunity for us to meet the Chef and a dream come true for all of us, food lovers. He is a very knowledgeable person and we wanted to make the most out of the night, so we bombarded him with question. He has traveled to more than 60 countries and has tried a lot of food from world over. It was an altogether different experience talking to somebody of his stature. Despite his achievements he is a very humble person.
We asked Mr. Roux about how he decided to become a chef. He told us that his family had been in the food business for generations. His great grandfather, grandfather, his brother and he, and now, his son and his brother’s son, all, are involved in the same, so it was something that came to him through his family.
We wanted to know how easy it was for Chef Roux to open a restaurant in Britain and if he had to adapt to the tastes of the people there. He answered us very patiently. He told us that his restaurants serve French cuisine, which utilizes the best quality ingredients and focuses on keeping the food closest to their natural taste. He further put it beautifully French cuisine is like the breeze grazing your cheek. He informed us that 3 out of 10 customers at his restaurants in Britain are regulars and that he cooks for himself and did not adapt to the tastes of people in Britain. He serves French food like French food is supposed to be served.
After some rounds of amazing starters and drinks with some great conversation, it was time for main course. There was a nice variety in North Indian. We had Dal Makhni, Kadhai Paneer, Chicken Lababdar, Mutton Rogan Josh, Fish Hara Masala and a lot more. Everybody loved the Fish Hara Masala. The Missi Roti was great too. It was really soft.
Our conversation ranged from very serious topics like why French Chefs prefer to work outside France to funnier things that made the room echo with laughter. When we asked Chef Roux and Ms. Robyn about who cooks at home, Ms. Robyn quickly replied that she did because there’s a rule at home that whoever cooks, does the dishes. She quickly added that, no doubt, Chef cooked great meals, but he left a huge pile of dishes after cooking that Robyn would have to do, so this rule was made. Both of them had us in splits.
Mr. Anurag and his staff took care of all the guests. With the amazing food, great company, and flawless service, we didn’t even realize how time flew. It was time for desserts and we had some ice cream sundae. Chef Roux told us about how he loved ice cream.
Post dinner, we all were served paan. Mr. Roux told us that he was having it for the first time and really loved it.
After that he posed for some photos on request.
The whole evening was like a dream come true. Chef Roux, such a well known personality in the food world, such a humble and knowledgeable man and his beautiful wife, who is a very kind and intelligent lady, sitting at the same table with them is such a privilege, a memory I will cherish forever. Above & Beyond made the experience even better with the amazing food, service and ambiance.
