British food is beyond lamb and potatoes. MasterChef Daniel Ayton laid the table with his repertoire of over three decades at Kafe Fontana, Taj Palace. Karan Bhardwaj sampled the fare
Matthew Barzun, the United States’ ambassador to UK probably undermined the British cuisine when he complained of having his fill of “lamb and potatoes” since arriving in london. While attending the British Food Festival at Kafe Fontana, Taj Palace, we could only pity the senior diplomat’s choice of words and imagine how vastly he would have been deprived of the best of the British platter. At least, Master Chef Daniel Ayton’s sumptuous delicacies made us believe that. There was an assortment of British and Indian delicacies but we were really smitten by the exclusive dishes from the West. Butchers pie, British mutton cooked in rich gravy with chunky carrots was topped with puff pastry. It was the dish we immediately got hooked to. Served with peas and potatoes, yes we didn’t mind potatoes here, it just melted like a cream. The extensive menu was prepared with two choices, the a la carte which had the old favourites of the British food like Sunday roast and fish and chips and then the buffet menu which consisted of the lesser-known dishes like billingate fish pie (white fish and shellfish cooked in a creamy sauce and topped with mashed potato).
The ‘fish n chips’ served were traditional battered fish and English chips with homemade tartare sauce, mushy peas and aged vinegar. “While cooking, make sure the dishes are piping hot. Fish should be lightly cooked, full of omega 3 which is healthy for the blood and bones,” the chef said. The classics like césar ritz salad (crunchy leaves of romaine in a creamy dressing with rustic croutons) were the favourites with the guests.
As we chatted over lunch, the chef also shared his views on the modern British cuisine and how it is coming up in the global platter.
“The modern British cuisine is moving forward. As we are a collection of small islands, our cuisine has variety. Obviously Indian influence is very good. One of the dishes I made was a poached pear which was poached in saffron and is served with cardamom ice cream and I made a filtered puri with some pistachios and so that’s all on the plate. So the concept of the Indian dish with a classically poached pear blends very well,” he said.
Telling us about the Indian and Southeastern influence on British cuisine, he said, “A lot of flavours now are coming with the use of tamarind and then fish curries are very popular in Britain.”
like India, he said, food varies every few kilometers in Britain. The Britishers believe in sourcing their ingredients from the nearby locations. “For instance, in london, we would not buy food products that come from the distance of more than 250 miles. So everything is now locally sourced. But on my a la carte menu, we are pushing those boundaries. The cheeses that we used in the menu were from various places like from Como, leicester,” he said.
This is Ayton’s maiden visit to India but he has been familiar with Indian cuisine. As an experienced chef with over three decades in fine dining as well as banquet operations, he has worked alongside chefs such as Pierre larapidie of the George V, Paul Bocuse and Gastone lenotre. “I have been working with Taj for seven years now and I am very familiar to Indian cuisine. I actually have tried some dishes while I am over here, including the malai chicken tikka. It’s nice to see all the flavours are slightly consistent, however, in England we tend to have it a little bit hotter but here it’s cooked in the tandoor to have a smoky flavour,” he said.
Ayton’s father owned a restaurant. “Since the age of eight, I was washing dishes in his restaurant and then I started serving tables and later I prepared some pastries in the same restaurant. I went to college and then started my journey in a five star market,” he shared.