Chefs Goku and Dylan Pereira talk about food trends and regional Italian flair during their visit to Kolkata
As Veneto completes four years in the city, the Italian restaurant marked the milestone with Nonna’s Table: Culinary Stories from the Italian Kitchen, a limited-edition menu curated by Chefs Goku and Dylan Pereira, where they incorporated local Bengal produce in their Italian creations.
While Chef Goku, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, brought years of experience with him from some of New York’s most respected kitchens, Chef Dylan Pereira’s journey is shaped by heritage and place. Of Indian and Italian roots, he now lives and works in Italy, immersing himself in regional kitchens and bakeries.
We managed a few minutes with them and discussed food trends. Excerpts:
Right now, what is the food scene like in Italy? ++
Dylan: I don’t know. I feel like I’ll be controversial if I say something. The food scene is very Italian-centric in the sense that if you are going out to dine in bigger cities, you get to see more options, but if you are going out to dine in smaller towns, like the one where I live, it’s typically traditional food. In bigger metropolitan cities, there’s a lot more influence from Arab countries, African countries, and North, Central, Asian and European countries.
So you have more choices and variety. And I think there’s a lot more happening. What’s happening now is just sushi. All you can find and eat is sushi, and that’s very unfortunate.
Italian food is big in India. What is it like in the US?
Goku: In the US, it’s the same way. There’s Americanised Italian food as well. Because there are a lot of immigrants from Europe who are Italians, especially in New York. There’s a huge Italian community. So they have their own versions of things. They have adapted to what is available in New York and have recreated their own versions.
But in the past four or five years, I think Italian cuisine in the US is also moving towards celebrating different regions. For example, the restaurant I worked in specialises in Modena-style food. So those kinds of restaurants are also popping up. And also, farm-to-table is a huge thing in the US. Veganism is huge, too. There are a lot of those kinds of restaurants popping up. Still, I would say the number one sought-after food in the US is definitely Italian.
India has a habit of Indianising global cuisines, quite often. What’s your take on it?
Goku: I think it’s okay, but sometimes I feel like it’s too overdone. But it’s just not about India. In America, there is something called Americanised Italian food, and there is also Americanised Indian food in the sense that it will be subtle, without bold Indian spices. So in the US the whole Italian-American cuisine started from immigrants who moved from Italy, typically southern Italy, to places like New York. And the food that was cooked when they immigrated 100, 150 years ago, or 200 years ago was a lot richer in spice, salt and garlic, because back then they didn’t have refrigerators. So everything they ate had to be preserved, and that’s why even Indian food in many places is really rich in spice and garlic, because back in the day, when there was no fridge, you just had to put in enough pickling, enough fermentation, and enough spices.
So when these immigrants moved to the US, they brought that flavour, that idea of it. Whereas in Italy, after the invention of refrigerators, after the change in times, and after the war, the cuisine evolved. Today, it is a lot more delicate, nuanced, seasonal and subtle. Whereas American-Italian food continued that tradition.
Why do we mostly see only two or three kinds of regional Italian cooking popularly?
Dylan: I think the argument is the same for Indian food as well. Every country has their international cuisine and their regional cuisine. International cuisine is often just ten dishes you can name off the top of your head, the kind you’ll find in almost every country, like tiramisu, carbonara, pizza Napoletana, and lasagna.
I feel that nowadays people are travelling a lot more. There’s greater exposure, especially among Indians travelling to Italy and its various regions, where they’re tasting what’s truly authentic rather than just what’s internationally known. I think that’s also why there’s now a stronger demand for more traditional fare because people have experienced it first-hand.
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