Chef David Rocco tells Divya Kaushik about discovering his secret spice, garam masala, in India and exploring cooking methods in the villages of Rajasthan
An Italian croquette on a panino,” this is perhaps the most unusual definition of vada pao you can come across. But that’s probably the most natural way to describe it for an Italian, who has been on a mission to find similarities between Indian and Italian cuisines and cooking. Chef David Rocco said that he can’t get enough of vada pao. “I was in heaven when I first tried it,” he added. If you watched the episode of Dolce India on Fox Traveller, where David scanned the streets of Mumbai to try out the local cuisine, you would know that he was in love with the city and its food. “Surprisingly, it is not the restaurants that serve the great food in Mumbai, I had kebabs on the streets and tried other street food, which was such an incredible experience, visited local markets and I also visited a small garage where people cooked gobhi masala with mint, coriander, ginger and garlic and it was just out of the world. The discovery of different flavours was just amazing,” said David, while he was here for the official celebration of the launch of his show, Dolce India.
The chef was beaming with the response that he has been receiving for his show. He says that his formula was to just connect with real people, to have first-hand experience of Indian cooking and spread awareness about Italian culture in India. “I was not interested in competition or in just to add to the list of the cookery shows on television. I wanted to connect with people. Thanks to this show, I know what real India is, how warm are people here. I have had a fabulous experience wherever I have gone. The most poignant moments have been the most dramatic ones,” he said with a smile.
While in the first season, David visited metros like Delhi, Mumbai and Banglauru, in the second season the chef will explore villages and smaller regions. “Rajasthan is a great place. I cooked laal maas and a special dal with the chef at ITC Rajputana Sheraton in Jaipur. I also visited villages, interacted with families and at the countryside I met a family that cooked a meat dish. They told me that the animal was sacrificed as a tradition, which is passed from one generation to the other. The tradition of cooking in most of the families has continued for generations and it was so wonderful to known those traditions,” he shared.
Among things that he owe to his Indian experience, is the discovery of mustard oil and garam masala. “The latter is my secret spice now that I use in my Italian cooking to add a different flavour. Mustard oil is now second on my list, after olive oil,” he smiled.
If you thought his Indian experience was only about knowing our cuisine and people who cook it, you are wrong. He had a gala time riding an elephant, playing with colours on Holi and interacting with people on streets. “In the episodes, you can watch people following me and hovering around wherever I go, I wanted it to be like that. All this added to he fun and great time I had here,” he said. His list of friends he made in India includes chefs, restaurant owners and families with whom he cooked. Actress Neha Dhupia is also on the list now.