TADO, a bakery outlet at Vivanta by Taj, Surajkund, is creating a buzz for offering quirky-shaped breads in flavours like honey, chilli and orange. Shrabasti Mallik talks to chef Ganesh Joshi
There is a certain flavour, smell and texture of freshly baked bread, right out of the oven, which not many people are familiar with. When you hold that warm bread in your hand, the crust gives away a little and you can almost feel the softness inside. And we are not just talking about the regular, over-the-counter breads, but the ones in which chefs put their creativity at work. We are talking about Danish breads, croissant, baguettes and the likes.
Now there are many five star hotel properties in the Capital and the NCR region with their in-house bakery. But what makes TADO of Vivanta by Taj, Surajkund stand out in that crowd is the fact that it is perhaps the first concept based outlet of any hotel, offering exceptional gourmet food. We found out TADO is short for The Artisan and Deli Oven, during a visit. The glass counters were filled with every sort of baked goodies one can think of — bread, pastries, cakes, handcrafted chocolates, marshmallows, being just a few to begin with.
We settled down with chef Ganesh Joshi to know more about TADO, but he wanted the food to speak for itself. He treated us with a truffle chocolate cake. Generally when you cut and scoop out a piece, it leaves a small chocolaty trail on the surface, which we did not find. Chef told us that he uses the choicest of ingredients in his recipes and he does not compromise with quality. The chocolate was even different than what we usually taste. It was rich, dark and heavy but lacked the greasiness. “I make sure that I procure the best Belgian chocolate for my cakes,” chef Joshi told us.
After such a sweet start, we cleansed our palate with a cucumber drink. It was cool and fresh — best to beat the heat with. The specialty of this artisanal space is in-house conventional recipes made with organic ingredients. The raw components used to curate the TADO menu are unique whole elements like pure honey, wheat flour, millet flour, omega seed oils and in-house preparations of fruit mixtures. “Everything that is available here is made from organic materials. The breads and the patisserie are made with different grains which are healthy and organic,” he said.
Next, we tried a chicken quiche and it was nothing like we had ever tasted before. It was the right mix of the egg base and the chicken pieces and the crust was baked to the right temperature. Neither did it crumble under the pressure nor did it take too much force to cut through it. We wanted to know how chef Joshi proportioned his ingredients and he offered to take us on a tour to the bakery, or “the den,” as he put it.
It was like stepping into Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory — with chef’s assistants busy at work. We first stopped at a work station where the little decorations for pastries and cakes were being made like cigars, leaves, flowers and many more. Chef Joshi told us that all decorations are made there. “It takes a lot of practice to get this right and everyone is very skilled here,” he said as he insisted we try rolling out a cigar, the long cylindrical shaped decoration. It was tough and we realised that what we gobble in a jiffy takes plenty of toil and sweat to prepare. “We have to be very careful of the temperature as well because if we exceed the set temperature, the fat separates from the chocolate,” he added.
Chef Joshi finally showed us how he prepares his quiches. “The little secret is the cream that we use is fresh and sourced from reliable dairies. We do not use cream that is available in the market,” he said as he mixed beaten eggs, cooked chicken pieces, cream and herbs with expert hands. The herbs, too, are organic, we found out. After pouring the mixture into the quiche cup, chef placed it in the microwave to bake.
He then took us to the bakery where he experiments with flavours and bread shapes. He told us that people are opening up to new and bold flavours like orange chilli and honey in their bread and are also experimenting with pastry. “A few days ago I received an order for a pastry with black pepper,” said the chef, who likes to keep the number of pastries limited so that they are not wasted. He also experiments with masala breads and its ingredients. Instead of the normal wheat or flour base, he chooses to use oat grains, jowar and bajra in the bread mix. “Sometimes we also use beer or apple juice to make the fermentation better,” he said.
The breads that are available at TADO are all one of a kind and the chef is ready to guide and help anyone who wants to order healthy bread with different ingredients. “The whole point is to serve healthy food to customers. We will also be baking custom bread for those who would like to experiment,” chef Joshi concluded.