Jalal
though led a hectic, lively and full life as a Bollywood actor, perhaps at the
cost of spending time at home with Valarie and Chris Saleem, till he passed
away when Chris was still at school. His zest for life though has engulfed
Chris as he has returned to his maternal roots to do what he does best – enhance
the art of fine nouvelle cuisine, learnt in the kitchens of America (where
Valarie now lives) and at Sunset Ashram in Ibiza, Spain, where Chris came into
his own as the head chef of one of the world’s most beautiful restaurants.
The boy
came ‘home’ to Goa eight years ago in ‘sublime’ fashion. His restaurant,
Sublime, opened the culinary door to a world class dining experience, where the
natural aroma and flavours of meats, and the freshness of herbs and vegetables
dominated the cooking which was not sauce driven but sauce complimented where
necessary. As Sublime moved from Saligao to Morjim and other places in
between, fine evenings were spent feasting on Chris’ Hors d’Oeuvres, as
we waited for the main explosions of genius filled beef pork and fish (chicken
is for the plebeians). Wherever Chris went, we followed.
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As he
shut Sublime this year before the rains and prepared to take a month off,
easing off in his lovely home in Bastora, his friend and Sublime regular Louis
Philip Menezes, popped the question. Would Chris be open to a brand new
adventure on the most ancient street of Panjim, Fontainhas, below his heritage
home which he has now converted into a boutique nine room hotel? Chris
first dismissed it saying he would think about it in a couple of weeks. But
when he came and looked, the possibilities emerged, not just from the place but
from the surroundings itself. He (and we can see why) saw the cobbled streets,
the chapels, the winding roads and heard music reverberating from every home,
the clinking of wine glasses, the laughter and the singing. This was Goa as it
always was, Europe as it always is. And he said Yes, giving birth to a very
fine, very French, very European and above all, very Nouvelle, restaurant, O
Fogo.
Like
slow food, which has become a mantra and perhaps a fad, Nouvelle is a
state of mind that translates to what the chef does in the kitchen. In certain
ways it’s a break with the past of traditional French cooking or as it was
known, cuisine classique. Nouvelle was a break in these significant ways
– lesser cooking time, steaming as the main warming technique, rejection of strong
marinades, seasoning with fresh herbs, lemon juice and fresh homemade butter.
Most importantly, the fresh sauces are purees of fresh fruit and vegetable and
not yanked out of a bottle. Yes, a puree of kiwi or a mango blends very finely
into medium rare beef.
At O
Fogo, the season of madness has begun. Chris and his friend and business
partner Krupesh Deokar have taken position. Chris where he is at his best, the
kitchen, training staff and barking orders in his American accented Hindi,
spoken with Spanish inflections (“pao dal, garam kar” or
“warm the local bread”) and Krupesh in front taking orders. And as
the brush strokes are being painted on the culinary canvas, the works of art
are emerging.
Two
visits have been made in the week by yours truly and the stand out pieces are
Fillet of Herb Butter beef, balsamic marinated portobello (mushrooms), baby
potatoes, red wine reduction. And to enjoy it best, the choice of beef has to
be medium rare, not even medium. The second is a fillet of fish, fresh coconut
rice, pak choi, with fresh passion fruit sauce. These are just beginnings. But
the experiments lie with you. Turn a full meal into Hors d’ Oeuvres or
make the starter the full thing with a seafood bowl of mussels, squid and prawn.
O Fogo has added to the joy of living in Panjim. From
the Verandah of Panjim Inn, (Jack Sukhijas beauty) with quaint art galleries
and curio shops and restaurants all around and you could really be anywhere in
the heritage filled modern world. And it draws people.
Chris
had the world at his feet at Sunset Ashram, at Cala Conte, Ibiza, home of the
world’s best sunsets and beaches at every cove, whose owner Manel Aragones,
from the most aristocratic families of Catalonia, is a Goa lover. Look here is
Chris, now in Goa, making the best Nouvelle food he can with every new sunrise.
