President of Indian Culinary Forum, Chef Davinder Kumar, aspires to make India a culinary destination. By Ayushi Sharma

We started with traditional and classic then came Mughal cuisine after that it was fusion and then came molecular, and now we are heading back to classic and traditional one. We have started using grains like unpolished pulses, rice, which we had forgotten over time because of industrialisation, commercialisation, transformation and because of the taste and preferences of the young generation,” says Chef Davinder Kumar, President of Indian Culinary Forum, which is India’s association of professional chefs. He has been a part of the industry for decades and has been a keen observer of the transitions that he has witnessed.

The chef strongly feels that Indian food is growing into two directions. One is classic and traditional and other is the modern and contemporary cuisine. He says, “Traditional cuisine prepared with conventional methods and accurate recipes is going to sustain. Modern is basically a mixture of traditional food presented with a contemporary twist. I even call it as an experimental cuisine where we play with various different flavours, ingredients and spices.” He also feels that people love experimenting and delving into something new as well as unique. He says, “I don’t think they are fed up of eating Dal makhani or Paneer tikka, but they won’t mind seeking new tastes.”

Elaborating upon this further, he goes on to add, “Food trends are rapidly growing and changing. When it comes to milennials they want casual dining and fun cooking. The focus is on healthy cuisines these days but healthy doesn’t mean that it’s food for a sick person. Instead it’s a complete balanced meal which is tastier and well-presented as well. The difference comes in as some precautions are to be taken like making it with a lot of proteins, less of carbs, devoid of fat and using simple methods like steaming or oven baking. The focus is also on going back to basics; lighter cuisines which are prepared with organic and fresh ingredients.”

He believes in blending and infusing the flavours but says, that one should never lose the root of the cuisine, nor its originality and authenticity.

The popularity of pan-Asian cuisines is overdue in his opinion. Two decades back it was North Indian cuisines worldwide, Butter chicken, Fish tikka, dal and nothing beyond that. He points out, “But in the last two decades or so the awareness of original and ethinic food has grown in our country. People are now trying to preserve the authenticity of our Indian cuisines.”

Looking beyond the country, food is a great tool of soft diplomacy and with Indian cuisine gaining popularity in other countries not just among Indian expats but also residents, chefs can be considered ambassadors of the soft power that the country can wield. Davinder aspires to make India a global culinary destination as he feels that by its sheer diversity in curries and cuisines it can beat any country in the world.

He says, “We need to document our traditional, ethnic and regional cuisines. In order to maintain the authenticity, we should teach these cuisines at different catering institutes. It is very important for every chef who is a proud Indian to save our culinary heritage and promote India as culinary destination, for working towards that direction we need to hold food festivals across world, work out various marketing plans and organise cuisine tours in India where foreign guests can have a great experience and remember the food they were served.”

The chef agrees with GB Shaw when he says, “There is no love sincerer than the love of food.”