Stuart Gillies to cook at ITC

West View at ITC Hotel Sonar Bangla Sheraton in Kolkata will host celebrity chef Stuart Gillies of Boxwood Café, London, of the Gordon Ramsay fame to showcase his modern European style cuisine from March 8 to 10.

His visit is part of the ITC-Welcomgroup 'Celebrity Chef Series' which focuses on bringing culinary talent to epicureans.

Gilles, formerly of Daniel's in New York and Le Caprice in London, concentrates on simple cuisine.

Signature dishes include fried oysters with fennel and lemon, glazed asparagus, pea and leek tart, sugared donuts and Vahlrona hot chocolate fondue with marshmallows, banana and biscotti.

He also has a special menu called ' Beauty Bites' using a variety of super foods known for beauty enhancing capacities and designed to offset the effects of over-indulgence and fatigue.

"Boxwood is about having the confidence to serve food that isn't trying to make a statement," Gillies says, adding, "We are paying a huge amount of attention to sourcing quality products, as much as we can - local, seasonal produce served in a simple manner." The menu of Gilles is divided into sections called amuse, starters, mains and desserts. the first has chilled tomato and basil soup with lobster, avocado, olives and lobster oil or cauliflower soup, diced lobster, diced courgette and lobster oil.

Starters include asparagus, pea and leek tart with a herb and asparagus salad.

Main section will include steamed seabass, crushed potatoes, crab, basil, rocket & harrisa dressing.

For vegetarians, it will be braised Italian lentils, with swiss chard, baby carrots, turnips & parsley ravioli. Dessert will mean white chocolate and tonka bean parfait served with poached champagne rhubarb and hazelnut caramel.

The 'fresh foods' offered by Gillies are expected to suit gourmets on the look out for a light, seasonal cuisine.

His inspiration comes from seasonal ingredients drawn from the best purveyors. Boxwood Café, his project in Gordon Ramsay's café culture, has a relaxed nature, is less contrived and not trying to be anything it's not.

This guiding principle of Boxwood Café fits in well with the ITC West View as it affords the comfort and luxury dining, the hotel chain said in a release.

The series covers the ITC-Welcomgroup Chain like Maurya in New Delhi, Windsor in Bangalore and Grand Maratha in Mumbai. The first of the Series was chef Alan Michael Bird, of 'The Ivy' in 2005.