India’s Ministry of IT presented the inaugural dinner blending Indian and French flavors curated by Chef Prateek Sadhu, at the India Pavilion
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Cannes
Indian Chef Prateek Sadhu presented “The Journey of India” at the inaugural dinner of the 76th Cannes Film Festival on May 16, 2023. The dinner which served cuisine blending Indian and French flavours was hosted by India’s Ministry of Information and Technology.
The dinner was attended by Manushi Chhillar, Academy Award winner Guneet Monga, actress Urvashi Rautela, and Indian director Madhur Bhandarkar. Sadhu created a menu that emphasized regional nuances of Indian ingredients and flavors. He presented a dialogue of India’s diversity with the menu by incorporating Tungrymbai from the Northeast region to the Millet Thoran, to promote the International Year of Millets. Tungrymbai cuisine hailing from Meghalaya is prepared by smoking and fermenting soybeans. The menu also included Bengali Sandesh, Maharastra’s Chikki, Mysore Pak, Malvani-style Sole Fish, and Potato Koshimbir.
The food was a fascinating journey through India’s many cuisines and regions. “The idea was to showcase regionality and hyper-regionality in the cuisine. For instance, from the east of India came putharo (rice cakes), which were served with smoked lamb in tungrymbai sauce (fermented soybean popular amongst the Khasi community),” says Sadhu. The menu also included dishes like prawn “ishtew”, millet thoran, a chaat made with strawberry aachar, aam papad, ber salt and aachar granita, and a Malvani-style French dover sole. Guests ended the meal with a kalakand ice cream with aam panna custard and whipped malai. The last course offered a sweet ending—petit fours with Indian mithai like sandesh, chikki, Kashmiri badam mithai and Mysore pak—all served with coffee from Ratnagiri and Kashmiri kahwa .
“As a Chef, I believe in the power of food to bring people together and create meaningful connections. This dinner is an opportunity to showcase the best of Indian food and culture to a global audience and to highlight the vibrant culinary traditions of our country,” he said.
Chef Sadhu, executive and co-owner of Masque restaurant in Mumbai, India, was born in Kashmir in 1986. He enrolled at a hotel management school in India and graduated from The Culinary Institute of America with two gold medals. In 2016, the 37-year-old was awarded “Most Innovative Chef of the Year” by the Western Culinary Association of India. He then bagged the “Chef of the Year” at the Conde Nast Traveller (CNT) Top Restaurant Awards in December 2017.
