I have a close friend whose father was the Chief of the Coast Guard in the 80s . The three sons went abroad to study and live , the Chief and his wife shifted to live on the land in Dharuhera . The wife grew the best exotic vegetables for the first time in Delhi region and the top hotels of Delhi (No NCR then !) would send their interns and chefs there . Later the vegetable supplier contractors moved in to supply annually every vegetable so the growers had to go via them. It became unfeasible so they started selling to the vegetable mandis . But at that time not many had the taste for these exotics . Now one can see exotics even on a thela ! The wife is now unwell, but the 80 year old Admiral will still come with kilos of cherry tomatoes and rocket leaves and much else when he will come over ! Guess there is a coming back home happening for many people the world over . The roundabout methods of production and access of modern economics are not working anymore ;-) By the time the imported produce reaches hotel kitchens, almost 40% is wasted, which is a loss of money, said Naveen MV, managing director of First Agro. The company grows exotic vegetables such as a pepper from Trinidad called Bishops Crown, Peruvian chilli called Aji Amarillo, Japanese greens such as Mizuna and Mitsuba besides Thai greens, all of which are largely sourced by hotel chains. While some hotels that do not have space to grow their own veggies are reaching out to people such as Naveen to source their greens, there are others who are either using their own land like ITC or are hiring farmlands nearby such as Four Seasons. Fresh produce right off a garden next to the signature restaurant of a hotel also works well in terms of flavour and taste. The Pondichery Cafe at the Sofitel Hotel in Mumbais Bandra Kurla business district has a small kitchen garden next to the all-day dining restaurant growing cherry tomatoes, Italian basil, oregano, eggplant and several varieties of edible flowers such as lavender and chrysanthemum. You can grab a handful of ripe tomatoes for a dish whenever you need, said Indrajit Saha, executive chef of the hotel.
Posted on: Tue, 01 Jul 2014 02:01:44 +0000
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