Luxury dining

As I write this, I have been listening to corporate bigwigs from some of the world’s biggest luxury brands ponder over the subject of “sustainable luxury” at a conference in New Delhi. No one can pretend any longer that luxury is, and can be, aloof from the general environment — “it is, after all, not on some another planet,” as the Hermes VP quips. Naturally, the focus now is on the affordable segment, not over-the-topness or an LV trunk!

Which is why I am startled to come across what seems to be the opposite of this sentiment in the world of food. Restaurants, this last month, have been promoting expensive and imported luxury foods like never before and claim that there is a discerning clientele, never mind the downturn. The availability of the likes of foie gras and truffles, Beluga caviar and oysters, fish from the cold waters and, of course, prized beef like Waghu and Kobe (that no one will ever own up to having on the menu quite simply because import of beef is banned in India) is better than ever before — but we’ll come to that in just a bit.

First let me tell you about two superb luxury meals that I had this week at Delhi restaurants, Smoke House Grill and Sevilla, both headed by extremely talented and innovative chefs. The “seafood harvest” at the Smoke House served up a cornucopia of such gourmet foods as Beluga (on special horn spoons) with full accompaniments, rock oysters, yellow fin tuna, carpaccio of Spanish swordfish (in a fennel dressing), baked Arctic scallops on shell (absolutely first rate), seared Dover sole (but also a blackened kingfish steak; so you see the emphasis was not just on luxury but fresh seafood too here) and many many others. The chef handled all his wonderfully fresh ingredients in the best possible way — by refraining to do too much but you could see how his mind works in the way he used Indian seasoning (like kalaunji) with some of the imported fish.

At Sevilla, two ingredients, truffles and foie gras, were used to present an entire meal, including desserts. I tried out a foie gras crème brulee, and also seared foie gras (pure cholesterol should you attempt it) and a pizza with black truffles. But the most startling was a black truffle gelato. So why have a promotion focussed on the two ingredients that Indians (and others) instantly identify with luxury, when all one wants to do these days is not splurge? I asked executive chef Ravi Saxena, who used to run the Imperial’s Italian kitchen with great aplomb before shifting here, this and he said that there are enough discerning customers, whatever the price.

But is this enhanced availability not just a function of demand but a result of marketing? Foreign companies and trade bodies seem to be now pushing their products a lot more in India because, after all, we haven’t been as badly hit as the US or Europe. Prices, however, for these products have not come down, “only gone up”.

An Australian wine and seafood promotion at the Hyatt, for instance, is at the initiative of the Aussie trade commission. The meal will feature Coffin Bay oysters, baby lobsters (not the crayfish indigenous to Indian waters and restaurants), ocean trout and mussels. At Rs 4,400 per person, this is an exclusive sit-down dinner. Surprisingly, all 60 seats have been sold. So you could argue that at least some of us are still willing to shell out big bucks for a fine meal.

Meanwhile, if you still think of smoked salmon (Rs 1,200 a kg) as luxury food, here’s a list:

1. Foie Gras: On many menus, including in dishes such as galauti kebabs (but that's another story). Rs 3,000 a kg.

2. Truffles: Black Umbrian, preserved truffles are available freely. Fresh, white seasonal ones aren’t: That price goes up to Rs 2 lakh a kg.

3. Beluga and Servuga: between Rs 3-5,000 a kg.

(anoothi.vishal@bsmail.in)