Through constant innovation and experimentation, Olive Bistro has established itself as one of the hottest culinary destinations in the city. So it’s fitting that Olive partnered with Star World – the exclusive broadcaster of Masterchef Australia – to help the city “speak gourmet”. In a high-spirited evening that even a sudden downpour couldn’t dampen, Olive’s Executive Sous Chef Arun D’souza demonstrated five of his favourite cooking techniques.
The techniques picked by Chef Arun were Smoking, Ceviche, Confit, Roulade, and Deconstruct. Deconstructed dishes typically take a well-known dish and break it down to its basic ingredients and then combine them back in a different form. Deconstructing dishes is quite the craze these days, and even though Indian dishes are often more challenging to deconstruct, restaurants around the country are deconstructing everything from Samosa and Panipuri to Malai Kofta and Palak Paneer. Chef Arun offered us his deconstructed take on a Mango Cheesecake- Vanilla Cheesecake, Mango & Passion fruit Curd, Rhododendron Compote, Oat & Puffed Rice Crumble. The Vanilla Cheesecake and the Mango Passion Fruit combination worked together like a dream. The puffed rice, however, struck me as odd. The Confit – a style of slow cooking that usually allows the meat to cook in its own fat – was an impressive demonstration of how even the humble chicken can be elevated to something special. However, my favourite amuse bouche of the night was the Ceviche. Since the fish/seafood in a ceviche is only cured and not cooked, it delivers an unparalleled explosion of flavours. Chef Arun cured his fish in orange juice, tequila, and basil extract and served it along with micro greens and plantain chips. It’s unfortunate that the Cevice is not a part of Olive’s regular menu, because this is one dish that would definitely make me want to keep coming. In a tete-a-tete later during the night, Chef Arun revealed that Olive is also using some of the land available on its Hyderabad property to develop an organic farm. The micro-greens used for the ceviche was grown completely in-house. In the coming months, Olive also hopes to begin fish farming.
Masterchef Season 8 is currently airing on Star World at 9 PM every weekday. In case you don’t have cable, you can catch up on HotStar.
