BENGALURU: Siddharth Kumar (name changed) has a surprise in store for his wife this Valentine’s Day. The 34-year-old businessman has hired a freelance chef to curate a posh breakfast-in-bed at his home in Whitefield. On the morning of February 14, the chef will serve them a course of eggs benedict, chocolate pancakes and strawberries with cream over glasses of mimosas.
While Bengaluru’s restaurants are routinely promoting Valentine set-menus, there is a section of the city that has chosen to dine-in than dine-out.
Aarti Choudhary (name changed), 31, an expecting mother, is getting a chef-curated European dinner for two delivered to her home on February 14. The three-course menu will have pate crostini, pan-seared salmon with greens and sweet potato mash, and panna cotta as dessert.
“The city’s traffic-laden roads and crowded restaurants serving the usual set-menus are mood dampeners. A candle-lit personalised meal by a chef in the comfort of my home seems like a better plan,” says Choudhary.
Freelance chefs say this trend has been catching up in the last two years. Kanishka Sharma of Supper Club says she has received the maximum number of enquiries for a chef ’s table at home during Valentine’s Day in the last few years. “While women predominantly book chef meals all year round, men place the maximum number of requests for Valentine’s Day. Since dinners are usually overbooked, breakfast has emerged as a popular option for working couples,” says Sharma.
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Red is the popular theme with the likes of lamb with red wine sauce, along with heavy use of cherries and pomegranates. Sharma says cooking shows on television have promoted this trend. People go to her with ideas, reference images and want the meal to “look Masterchef.”
Culinary professional Natasha Hinshaw is gearing up for five-course dinners for some couples. Som-Tam salad, Thai curry, jasmine rice and coconut panna cotta is one such example for a Thai Valentine dinner.
The growing trend even prompted Foodhall to introduce a similar concept this year. Swasti Aggarwal, food strategist of the department store, says, “The store is sending readymade meals that couples can assemble and cook together with easy instructions. In other cases, our chef will come and help. The idea is to make it special and home-assembled.”
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Strawberry Toast, Pinenut Soup & Walnut Cake: Please Your Valentine With Mouth-Watering Delicacies
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Valentine's Day is just around the corner and there's so much that you can do to enjoy the perfect, romantic evening with your partner. A dinner date is a sure-shot win on Valentine's. However, this year, pledge to please your loved one with delicious treats prepared at home.
Top chefs share their secret recipes to make your celebration special.
Valentine's Day is just around the corner and there's so much that you can do to enjoy the perfect, romantic evening with your partner. A dinner date is a sure-shot win on Valentine's. However, this ..
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Executive Chef of the Jaypee Greens Golf & Spa Resort, Shivanand Kain, shared a cilantro rubbed roast chicken with strawberry and Californian grapes emulsion recipe to make Valentine's Day celebration more special.
Cilantro Rubbed Roast Chicken With Strawberry And Californian Grapes Emulsion
Ingredients Chicken Breast: 250 gm Grilled Vegetable: 80 gm Lyonnaise Potato: 80 gm Strawberry and Grapes Emulsion: 30 ml Fresh Coriander: 20 gm Chopped Parsley: 5 gm Olive Oil: 10 ml Chopped Garlic: 10 gm Salt: To taste Crushed Black Pepper: 2 gm
Method -Marinate the chicken breast with fresh coriander and garlic paste -Add seasoning, keep aside for 30 minutes -Grill the chicken breast, vegetables and lyonnaise potato -Arrange the grilled chicken breast on plate with vegetables and lyonnaise potatos -Pour strawberry and grapes emulsion -Garnish with parsley or herbs.
Executive Chef of the Jaypee Greens Golf & Spa Resort, Shivanand Kain, shared a cilantro rubbed roast chicken with strawberry and Californian grapes emulsion recipe to make Valentine's Day celebratio..
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Don't forget to bring an elegant dish on your Valentine's dinner table. We bring to you a Roasted Garlic & Pinenut Soup With Burnt Butter Essence recipe Straight from the Valentine's menu at San Gimignano Restaurant at The Imperial.
Roasted Garlic & Pinenut Soup With Burnt Butter Essence
Ingredients Garlic Cloves: 10 Whole Almonds: 5 Parsley: 15 gm Bayleaf: 1 Chicken Broth: 4 cups Nutmeg: A Pinch Egg Yolks: 1 Heavy Cream: Half a cup White Bread: 2 slices Butter: 1 tbsp Salt: To Taste Pepper: A Pinch White Wine: 30 ml
Method -Peel garlic cloves & blanch them -Add white wine, salt and butter and roast it for 20 minutes at 140 degree celcius -Take almonds and blanch them and remove their skin and also roast them -Make puree of roasted garlic and almonds -Heat a pan, add butter into it and then add puree of garlic and almond into pan -Add chicken broth and bouquet to it -Boil the soup -Whisk egg yolk and cream together -Pour the mixture into the soup -Stir to prevent the egg from curdling -Take the white bread to make croutons -Make burnt butter -Remove the bouquet garni from soup -Season with salt -Garnish with croutons and burnt butter.
Don't forget to bring an elegant dish on your Valentine's dinner table. We bring to you a Roasted Garlic & Pinenut Soup With Burnt Butter Essence recipe Straight from the Valentine's menu at San Gimi..
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Valentine's day celebration is incomplete without a mouthwatering dessert. Pullman & Novotel's Director of Culinary, Chef Ajay Anand, brings an innovative strawberry rasgulla dome, boondi ladoo srusle recipe to add the sweet element to your celebration.
Method -Heat strawberry puree and white chocolate together -Fold it with whipping cream and soaked gelatine leaves -Make a dome with a Rasgulla in the centre -Keep it to freeze -Glaze the dish with a red glaze- -Serve it along with a boondi strusel,raspberry curd and mint spring.
Valentine's day celebration is incomplete without a mouthwatering dessert. Pullman & Novotel's Director of Culinary, Chef Ajay Anand, brings an innovative strawberry rasgulla dome, boondi ladoo srusl..
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You simply can't consider a Valentine's Day celebration complete without a cake. F&B Director and Executive Chef of Radisson Blu Atria Bengaluru, Chef Kasiviswanathan, shares an easy-to-make recipe of an eggless chocolate walnut cake.
Method -Grease and dust an 8” baking tin and preheat oven to 180 degree celcius -Sieve together Maida, cocoa and baking soda -Beat butter and dahi until light and creamy -Fold in the sieved ingredients, alternating with milk and condensed milk -Fold in the chopped walnuts and pour into greased tin -Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes till tooth pick inserted in the centre comes out clean -Allow to cool in tin for 5 minutes and remove onto a wire rack.
For Chocolate Icing -Mix together butter, cocoa, condensed milk and beat well -Microwave for 20 seconds -Mix thoroughly -Spread over cake and leave to set -Slice and serve.
You simply can't consider a Valentine's Day celebration complete without a cake. F&B Director and Executive Chef of Radisson Blu Atria Bengaluru, Chef Kasiviswanathan, shares an easy-to-make recipe o..
