Team Viva speaks to chefs across the city for the exclusive Christmas menu making the festive meal a complete breeze. Bon appetit!
Christmas - the very word conjures up images of a beautifully decorated tree, gifts wrapped in red and gold, twinkling fairy lights, and a table full of finger-licking food. So, what would you like to have for your Christmas feast this yearIJ The same old roast chicken, baked veggies and plum cakeIJ We advice you to take a break from this customary fare and go for some exotic meals served in the town for this Christmas.
With the festival round the corner, the city dons the festive colours of celebration. With restaurants putting out exclusives in their menus, chefs are leaving no stone unturned for giving a wholesome experience to their patrons. “Most of the restaurants have a basic European roasted turkey. This year we are giving the traditional turkey an Indian twist for the Christmas brunch. The turkey will be marinated in Indian spices and it will be a tandoori desi turkey,” said Chef Piyush Jain, Molecule, Gurgaon. While some go for a fusion, others still like to stick with the traditional menu. “During this festival, we generally see there are many tourists coming in and celebrating. Keeping that in mind, the elaborate al-carte menu for Christmas will have traditional international cuisines served for the Christmas eve,” said Sanjay Chowdhary, GM and Director, World Art Dining.
About desserts, Chef Akanksha Rathi Kaul of Café Shunya, said that this festival is incomplete without desserts. “The festival of Christmas is all about sweets for me. like back at home, every year at this time I use to make chocolates for all. This year I have included that same thing in our menu as well but they are tad exotic. We have white chocolate with cardamom and rose and dark chocolate with hibiscus and star anise. These chocolates are inspired by Indian flowers.”
To make the Christmas merrier, the hotels and restaurants in the town have also decorated the lobbies with edible Gingerbread trains and huts. Keeping in line with the spirit of the festival, Courtyard by Marriott Gurugram Downtown has decorated their lobby with giant ginger bread train. “To make this goodie train come to life and make this Christmas special; a team of six chefs worked hard for forty-eight hours converting 150 kgs of flour, 20 kgs of butter baking continuously for 14 hours to make magic. The X-mas train has 1526 gingerbread cookies on it - all edible and yummy,” said Chef Amit Dash, Executive Chef at Courtyard by Marriott.
During many generations, Christmas has brought along with it several traditions, from decorations to Christmas trees, and of course, preparing special Christmas delicacies. These traditions, in line with the Christmas spirit, inspire happiness and a sense of identity. They also help shape fond and cherish-worthy memories for the young and the old alike. “This Christmas, just like every other at l’Opéra, we have launched our Christmas biscuits, mainly our Gingerbread men, a classic Christmas treat throughout the world, as well as the Bûche - a French variety of Yule log cakes - but with two new variants: the immensely popular Red Velvet and the German origin Black Forest. But we have also crafted four special loaves: Panetonne, one of Italy’s finest sweet cakes made with candied citrus fruits and raisins, whose preparation takes over 24 hours; German Stollen bread made with dried fruits and Marzipan; Brioche Chocolate Hazelnut, made with our homemade chocolate hazelnut paste and Brioche de Provence, a buttery, tangy delicacy with dried lemon and zest,” said Amit Sinha, Executive Chef, l’opera.
With year-end festivities round the corner, Roseate House, is all set with a dazzling selection of delectable dining options with Kiyan. The restaurant will lay out a special five-course Christmas Eve dinner as well as brunch buffet curated by Chef Nishant Choubey featuring delicacies such as Suckling Pig with Apple Sauce, Roast Turkey with Cranberry and Maple Shallots, Ham leg or Pork with Honey Mustard Glaze, Plum Pudding with Brandy to name a few.
The specially curated menu at the Machan, is set to make the festival all the more filling. With its array of vegetarian and non-vegetarian delicacies like roast turkey with classical accompaniments like cranberry jelly, sweet potato casserole, roasted apples with Brussels sprouts along with signature desserts like the Christmas special minced pie, plum pudding, ginger spiced pudding and textured yule logs.