What follows is a pumpkin soup, considered rustic, yet when presented in an elegant setting breaks the confines of its definition to blow one over with its aroma and taste.
So how is American food different, is the obvious query. Chef Ashwin, explains that American food is an amalgamation of two different cuisines — European and African. Together, they create a huge repertoire of dishes in the form of grills, sea food, soups and baked goodies. The main two categories are Cajun and Creole. The word ‘Creole’ refers to French colonists and their descendants who came to what is now louisiana starting in the early 18th century. The roots of Creole cooking come from the traditional French foods these colonists would have made. They had to change their cooking to use the food sources that were available in the hot, wet climate of America.
Other settlers came from countries including Spain, Germany, Italy and England. The food traditions of those countries also influenced Creole cooking. After I have a good filling of the starters and soups, Ashwin takes me to the aisle in the corner where the main course waits. There is sea food, Australian lamb, Indian lamb, pork sausage, pineapple skewers and sweet potato skewers that is to be slow roasted on fire. I pick up nearly all the items and watch them getting grilled outside on the terrace where Ashwin gives me more information about the food. He has experimented with making a barbecue sauce using beer and apples that he brushes on to the food. “There are two ways of grilling the food. The first is the direct method where you place the food on the grill, directly above the coals. The other is an indirect method where the food is cooked via indirect heat,” he says. Within seconds of placing the food on the grill, the aroma of the meats mingled with the beer sauce creepts into the air.
The Indian lamb is a spicy preparation, that adds a hint of classical to rock and roll. The Australian lamb finishes off smoothly with a glass of wine. Beer and wine in one dayIJ Rock and roll can be so much fun.
The dessert is a lava cake that seems to set the idiom, “have your cake and eat it too.” It bursts with melted chocolate the moment my fork dips into it. Slurping the gooey chocolate, I feel the need to say in my head, “yee haw!”