Courtesy of Aurus Vicky Ratnani.Molecular gastronomy came to the forefront in India five years ago when Vicky Ratnani joined Aurus in Mumbai as a consultant and made it part of the restaurant’s core menu. Now the 44-year-old chef has expanded his modernist experiment in his hometown with the restaurant Nido, which emphasizes the use of fresh, seasonal produce and modern techniques like sous vide.
After spending 14 years working in cruise ship kitchens, including the Queen Elizabeth 2, Mr. Ratnani parlayed his experience into a starring role in four NDTV cooking shows: “Do it Sweet,†“Gourmet Central,†“Vicky Goes Veg,†and “Vicky Goes Foreign.†In August, he will release a cookbook based on “Vicky Goes Veg.â€
In an interview with India Ink, Mr. Ratnani explained why Mumbai diners are growing more open to new cuisines and the differences between the dining scenes in Mumbai and Delhi.
How did you first get interested in cooking?
I joined the hotel industry not thinking that I was going to be a chef. I wanted to work in the business side of things. It was only when I started at The Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition [I.H.M.] in Mumbai, and my teachers asked if I had considered becoming a chef as a career. I enjoyed cooking and got deep into it and, after that, there was no looking back. That was about 22 years ago.
Through I.H.M. I did some industry training at The Leela and Oberoi, but my heart was in travel. I wanted to see, experience, and taste the things I saw in my college books. I decided I had to go abroad and I got a job with Costa Cruises.
How did your experience on cruise ships shape your cooking today?
I have a lot of memories from that time of travel, good food, and encounters with celebrities and dignitaries. It was also a lot of hard work. You have to work long hours and are under a lot of pressure. The experience makes a man out of a boy.
Each year we would have two months off where we could go home. I would go back to India for three weeks, and spend the other five weeks working in small, family-run kitchens in Genoa and Venice. I learned family-style Italian cooking thereâ€"the kind of stuff you didn’t see on menus.
I also had the opportunity to train with Todd English. Todd used to have his namesake restaurant on the Queen Mary 2 and I was the executive sous chef of the ship. I visited Todd’s restaurants in New York City and Boston and had the opportunity to observe and learn new things.
What did you learn from Todd English and how has it shaped you as a chef?
I love his food philosophy of using fresh produce with different international flavors. Take for example his signature restaurant Olives. It’s Mediterranean but there is a little Middle Eastern in there too, as well as some dishes with a Latin influence.
He’s been a good influence in my life. I have seen what he does and thought that you can get some old school, slow-cooked dishes and at the same time get some hip food in the same place. That’s the kind of mantra I follow in my cuisine. Like with Nido’s menu. For example, you could order a modern dish like Cajun-spiced watermelon with goat cheese toffee and liquid olives, or a classic roast chicken meal.
Courtesy of Aurus Argentinian spiked chicken served at Aurus.How are you involved with Nido and Aurus?
I joined Aurus as a consulting chef five years ago. At Aurus, we were the first to bring molecular gastronomy to the restaurant table in Mumbai. We used techniques like sous vide, cooking food in vacuum-sealed bags, and created vegetarian caviar and foams.
We’ve brought some of that across to Nido. We’re produce and technique-driven here and have been trying new combinations and a few different methods, like marinating our fruit in vacuum-sealed bags and brining our meat overnight. We’re also using microgreens and edible flowers, which is relatively new in India.
Courtesy of Aurus Chilean sea bass fillet served at Aurus.What other food trends have you noticed in Mumbai?
The culinary scene is strong here in Mumbai, and I’m not talking about just fine dining. It’s everything from vada pav [a fried potato patty served in a bun] to our equivalent of a Thomas Keller restaurant.
Our food culture is constantly evolving, and people are more open to new cuisines. They don’t just like spicy food. Other flavors and more subtle cuisines, such as Japanese, are becoming increasingly popular.
Where is Mumbai’s culinary scene heading?
There are already many international brands and foreign cuisines here, but I think we’ll see a lot more. People are willing to spend more money on good food and organic products. Awareness about the benefits of organic food and things like using a high-quality olive oil is being created through various channels: chefs, cooking shows, online. As consumer knowledge increases, a lot more people are opting for more organic products.
I think that farm-to-table will increase too. There are a number of farms and agri-businesses that are working on the logistics to improve the supply chain between farm and restaurant.
How does Mumbai’s culinary scene differ from Delhi’s? What are the strengths and weaknesses of each?
Bombay is typically the trendsetter when it comes to what happens in the country. People here are a bit more cosmopolitan, more adventurous and experimental when it comes to food.
In Delhi, people still often eat at five-star hotels when they go out for dinner. In Mumbai, there is more progress in the restaurant scene and more hip places to eat. Also here, the standard of European food is much higher than in Delhi. On the other hand, Delhi has the best northern Indian cuisine in the country. In Delhi, there are a lot of big spenders and a lot of extravagance.
In terms of real estate, you can get a better location in the capital. There is more space. In Mumbai, that’s not the case. The prices here have skyrocketed, and we’re used to working out of much smaller spaces.
(The interview has been lightly edited.)
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