The craze for comfort food has given chefs the liberty to innovate, says chef Noah Barnes from The Hungry Monkey
While dining at numerous places in Delhi, if you have ever wondered why most menus feature a mix of popular cuisine like Italian, Chinese, Indian and Mediterranean rather than focussing on just one cuisine, here’s a reason. “Now people want to try variety and when they go out to dine they primarily look forward to comfort food,” says chef Noah Barnes from The Hungry Monkey.
In a broader sense, comfort food is something the person can easily relate to. It need not be fancy in its presentation or highly priced. According to Noah, “Food lovers have had all the different culinary experiences. Now they want simple food.” The other reason why more restaurants are going for comfort food is because it is usually priced reasonably and thus attracts crowd easily. “That allows a customer to try a lot of different dishes. That is why the chef is constantly working on innovative menus and pricing them strategically.”
At his restaurant, Noah is careful to change the menu according to the seasons. The chef said that even in the simple platter customers look for innovation. He has introduced the California cuisine, a rendition of varied dishes from the European culture with a unique twist of fusion. He said, “California cuisine is essentially modern European cuisine with a fusion twist from other cuisines around the world such as Japan and India.” The chef uses Japanese ingredients like Japanese soy and sesame seeds and also a lot of regional spices.
Noah’s dishes are also heavily influenced by local produce. His technique of cooking is European which involves lot of roasting, baking and grilling. Coconut curry chicken confit leg, is something that is European in origin but has been tweaked to suit Indian taste buds. “Confit is the process of cooking the chicken in its oil fat so that it is moist, tender and has a distinct flavour. That is the kind of innovation that people look for in comfort food,” said Noah.