“Worst Monday morning news to wake up to, chef
Morgan of one of my fav restaurants passed away in
goa Friday. Deepest condolences & may he RIP! (sic)”
The above tweet posted by Masaba Gupta – one of
India’s fi nest fashion designers and the daughter of
Viv Richards and Neena Gupta, was just one of the
many posts that started pouring in on social media
following the extremely unfortunate and untimely
demise of one of the most talented chefs Goa has ever
seen – Chef Morgan Rainforth. A French national, Chef
Morgan played a pivotal role in shaping La Plage that
soon after its inception garnered popularity worldwide
thanks to his culinary expertise and warm hospitality
that made him a sought after name in Goa.
Over the years, new restaurants have come
and gone in a season, unable to find a place for
themselves in an intensely competitive market. A
few that are products of passion, and stem from
a love for food and the desire to live in Goa, have
survived. Many renowned international chefs, since
long, have made Goa their home and continue to
function for a major part while trotting around the
globe. These restaurateurs/chefs offer different
cuisines, cater to all kinds of clientèle, always
mingle with guests and know what it takes to make
it work. Restaurants like Thalassa, Bomras and many
more, that can be best described as institutions,
have been founded here and have, since then,
continued to attract people from all over the world
to this tiny tourist destination.
Mariketty Grana runs one of the most picturesque
restaurants in Goa, Thalassa, an open-air Greek eatery
on a hill that overlooks the ocean at Vagator. Having
visited India, particularly Goa, many times, Mariketty
started by selling kebabs, wraps and grills (a skill she
learnt from her family, almost all of whom are in the
restaurant business in Greece) at the weekly markets
of North Goa. The popularity of her fare led to the idea
of a restaurant upon a picturesque tract of land, upon
which she (along with her partner) created Thalassa,
a few years ago. Skitter Faia, a PR professional and
a foodie, speaking about Thalassa, says “It’s lovely
to experience sunset at Thalassa. We celebrated my
sister-in-law’s bachelorette party there some time
ago, and we all had an absolutely wonderful time. The
ambience, food and service is great.”
Referred to as a Burmese restaurant because
of his origins, Chef Bawmra Jap’s ‘Bomras’ – Goa’s
only and possibly India’s best Burmese restaurant
situated in Candolim, has South Asian cuisine, with
some Burmese dishes thrown in. Lavina Kharkwal,
a renowned freelance writer on food and wine, in
one of her works, writes “To classify Chef Bawmra
Jap’s food as Burmese would be narrowing down
his amazing repertoire. Yes his food has a Burmese
soul, but it is Bawmra’s own interpretation with a
modern twist infl uenced by Japanese, Thai, Chinese
and Indian, read local Goan. He presents traditional
Burmese food to us in a form that we are familiar with.
Looking at his food you know that here is a chef who
has a mastery of advanced cooking techniques which
is not far from the truth as he has trained in London
with the very best in the profession.”
All that we can say is that we agree!
The unofficial ambassador of Goa
