Cannes Film Festival 2023: Indian Chef Prateek Sadhu prepares an exceptional inaugural dinner

By merging Indian and French culinary traditions, he aimed to create a one-of-a-kind gourmet spectacle for attendees
Chef Prateek Sadhu
Chef Prateek Sadhu

The 76th Cannes Film Festival is all about glamour, fashion, and cinema. However, it’s not just that. This year, food also has its moment of glory, at least for us Indians. Renowned Indian Chef Prateek Sadhu was invited to the festival to curate an exceptional dining experience for the inaugural dinner hosted by Dr L. Murugan, Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, who led the Indian delegation to Cannes. The dinner was prepared in collaboration with Godawan Single Malt.

Chef Prateek expressed his joy about displaying Indian culinary traditions at the Cannes Film Festival through an Instagram post. He wrote, “Honoured to be repping India and host the inaugural dinner for The Honourable Minister at the Cannes Film Festival. Excited to showcase my language for Indian food with this menu and collaborate with Diageo India and @godawansinglemalt. More on what’s cooking later.”

Chef Prateek was formerly associated with Masque, Mumbai’s acclaimed restaurant, which has been featured among Asia’s 50 best restaurants multiple times. The Chef is famously known for his innovative approach to cooking. By merging Indian and French culinary traditions, he aimed to create a one-of-a-kind gourmet spectacle for attendees. 

The menu for the inaugural dinner was a product of Chef Sadhu's travels across India. In his travels, the chef had the chance to observe and experience traditional dishes cooked at home, whose reflection can be found in the food presented. The menu will include six to seven courses that will emphasise regional specialities and flavours from around India. To curate an authentic experience, the chef even packed 80 kg of Indian spices and pickles.

When it came to delicacies, the menu had some unique cuisines from far-off Meghalaya: Tungrymbai, which is a dish prepared from fermented soybean, and Putharo, a dish consisting of Meghalayan bread and smoked tomato chutney. Additionally, it included a pepper fry dish hailing from Tamil Nadu.

The menu, titled The Journey Menu, commemorated the International Year of Millets and showcased India's culinary diversity. The menu was divided into dishes representing various regions of India. —Prawn Ishtu, Vattayappam, and white asparagus pepper fry represented the south; smoked lamb, Putharo, and Tungrymbai (from Meghalaya) represented the northeast.

Maharashtra’s Koshimbir salad and Malvani style fish were inspired by the west; and the palate cleanser with ber (jujube) salt, aam papad, achar granita, and strawberry achaar was a hat tip to India’s flavour-packed street food. North India made an appearance on the dessert menu with Kalakand ice cream and Kashmiri badam mithai. Sadhu is from Kashmir; therefore, the presence of Kahwa is a no-brainer.

The Indian Pavilion educates the world on India's rich culture, heritage, and burgeoning creative economy. Jawed Ashraf, the Indian Ambassador to France, as well as key figures from the Indian cinema industry, including recent Oscar winners, attended the occasion.
 

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