I’m someone who believes that you should cook what you love and love what you cook.
I don’t have a colourful story like many other chefs who grew up cooking or had a godfather in the industry. In fact, my father was the most disappointed man when he found out that his son was going to be a cook.
Back in the day, it wasn’t a well-respected job. No one wanted to marry off their daughter to a guy who works in the kitchen. There is also the fact that chefs don’t have a social life.
I tried various other things before I took this up as a career option.
I was always inclined towards art and I didn’t think anything else helped me express that as much as cooking did.
It’s been a successful 20 years since I started. I’ve have helped start restaurants and now I am a partner and chef at The Pump House in JP Nagar.
The industry has changed a lot over the two decades.We have to thank the
many media and celebrity chefs for that. Working in the kitchen is no longer considered a less dignified job and sometimes, you get paid as much as a CEO of a big company would.
As a result, my family now understands why I love my job.
On the other hand, because of this fame and money, the newbies joining the industry don’t really have the passion for the job. People of my generation joined the industry because we really wanted. We knew there was only so much the culinary world could provide us. It didn’t matter anyway because we were passionate about it. I’ve lately been meeting a bunch of people who want to join the culinary world just to be famous.
One of my observations after working in Bengaluru is that the city isn’t so much of a socially dining one as it is of drinking. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any serious foodies.
In fact, people here have refined taste because of how well-travelled they are.
Nevertheless, Bengaluru has space for comfort food but is not refined enough for fine dining. This is just my observation— I may be wrong.
I’m also not someone who likes fusion food. In my honest opinion, I think fusion is confusion.
That’s why today’s recipe is a simple Tiramisu recipe. It’s one of the easiest things to make. You just have to make sure that you get good quality ingredients and this dessert will be a winner every time.
TIRAMISU
Ingredients
Mascarpone cheese, 500 gm
Fresh cream, 100 ml
Egg whites, 120 ml
Castor sugar, 200 gm
Coffee powder, 40 gm
Tia Maria, 150 ml
Savouyade biscuits/cats tongue biscuit, 12 pcs
Method
Make espresso with the coffee and add the Tia Maria in it. Keep aside
to cool.
Cream the mascarpone cheese, fold in the cream and whip till fluffy.
Beat egg whites and sugar separately to form stiff peaks.
Fold in the mascarpone and cream mixture into this and set aside.
Dip the Savouyarde biscuits and arrange in a cappuccino cup.
Layer with the cheese mixture and dust the top with cocoa powder.
(Vishal Atreya, chef, The Pump House)