He
stands on the elevated deck, looking out at the expanse of the ocean. As the
sun dips into the horizon and blends with the sea, it’s the culmination of
another magnificent day and the commencement of another magical night at
Cocomo, at Candolim.
Chef
Mrigank Singh sees new beginnings at Cocomo, one of the most exciting new café-
taurants, with the vibe of a laid back cheerful café and the food of a very
serious fine dining restaurant. Add to this the locale, the massive parking
space and a vibe which adds zest to this heady cocktail called Cocomo.
Chef
Mrigank wears two hats here. His lifelong one of a chef which makes the Cocomo
menu eclectic and the other one of a partner in the Cocomo dream. A spirit of
ownership got him here leaving the comfort and glory of big brands and
restaurants to create and embrace perhaps the most exciting chapter in his life
and career at Cocomo.
“The
menu at Cocomo is what I call, the summary of my fifteen years of cooing. I
make simple food for a globally aware and discerning diner. It is true to kind
in the sense that I do not tamper with recipes but innovate”, says Mrigank
He
explains, “For example a samosa filling with a spring roll casing will have original
samosa filling. My palak chat will be true to kind but I use fresh vegetables
and make it crispy, which makes this dish stand out and is a best seller”
“I
cook food that I love, like grandmas mutton chops, which gives you a home
cooked feel and it is truly from home”, Mrigank adds, stating that since he has
done a fair bit of cooking in Europe too, he works with fresh produce.
But
do people experiment with the full menu range in Goa. “The best thing about
this place, which is unique, is the distribution of orders through the menu,
including Indian, European and Asian, as well as the desserts like churros
(deep fried pastry dough coated in cinnamon and sugar dipped mainly in
chocolate sauce) and tender coconut pudding”, observes Mrigank.
A
career spanning across India and parts of the globe, some of the biggest brands
on his CV, and a life of cooking, plating, curating and creating, Mrigank has
served and served well.
Suffice
to say he has been a very creative and lovable ‘frog’ in some very big culinary
wells- the biggest of them being ‘Blue Frog’, one of India’s best known
restaurants and entertainment venues (no arguments here)
Hired by Chef Akrekar, Mrigank stayed on with
Blue Frog for close to seven years, journeying in the pedigreed corridors of creating
magical menus in India’s A list restaurants like Olive. Then very young, Mrigank
became one of the mainstays of the Blue Frog kitchen and worked on the menu of Blue Frog
properties in Delhi, Pune and Bangalore, apart from the Mumbai flagship. This pan
India run propelled him into the top echelons of Indian chefs, working with A
list brands like Chateau Indage.
Some
of Blue Frog’s culinary influences have shaped Cocomo’s menu though, with
slight twists like Kerala Calamari with beetroot pickle, raw mango salsa prawns
from the grill and spaghetti jaleo peneo with three types of chillies, aglio
olio style.
He
didn’t stop moving and his skills took him to Hong Kong and to ‘Bindaas Bar and
kitchen’, one of the top ten international Indian restaurants focusing on the
street food of Mumbai
So
why did he move to Goa and partner in this cool , café-taurant called Cocomo, on
the Casablanca lane, just after the Nerul road meets Candolim? Quite clearly,
to do his own thing.
Mrigank
and team Cocomo, clearly have their roadmap in place. “It makes sense to be in
Goa. Apart from the place, setting up a restaurant is easy and you get the
world coming here. And after making a mark with a brand, you can take it to
other cities, so it works”
But
Mrigank is in the middle of several significant journeys centered around food,
which in turn makes Cocomo a very serious food centric place. There is indeed
serious work happening in the food lab, also called the kitchen. At the heart
of this lies the discovery of right Indian food. He has moved to 25 different
regions of India filming and noting recipes from people’s homes, cooking and
eating with them. This is a treasure trove of recipes which will be worked on.
But that’s another story.
For
now, we leave Mrigank looking at the setting sun on the beach just outside
Cocomo and getting ready for the sun to shine on this restaurant, this time his
very own.
The best thing about this place,
which is unique, is the distribution of orders through the menu, including
Indian, European and Asian, as well as the desserts like churros (deep fried
pastry dough coated in cinnamon and sugar dipped mainly in chocolate sauce) and
tender coconut pudding. Chef Mrigank is
in the middle of several significant journeys centered around food, which in
turn makes Cocomo a very serious food centric place. There is indeed serious
work happening in the food lab, also called the kitchen.
