Michelin star chef Srijith Gopinathan blends Californian produce with Indian aromatics and traditional spices to create a melange that reminds you of home and childhood. By Sakshi Sharma
Often, when you are abroad, you hanker for flavours from home. So it is not surprising that as one walks the streets of Stockton at Union Square in San Francisco, the smell of Indian-inspired food at Campton Place Restaurant triggers memories and nostalgia, which is bound to exercise an almost magnetic pull towards itself. It offers a refined version of contemporary Cal-Indian cuisine, which has earned the restaurant its second Michelin star, establishing it as the only Indian-influenced restaurant in the United States and Europe to have got this honour.
The restaurant has changed the architecture of Californian cuisine as chef Srijith Gopinathan blends fresh ingredients with India’s multi-faceted regional dishes, aromatics and traditional spices. Most Westerners often confuse Punjabi cuisine or the variants that have sprouted all over Europe, especially UK, to be the sum total of the Indian cuisine. The introduction of dishes from other parts of the country, which are numerous, varied and different, is a gradual and ongoing process, of which Srijith too is a part. It is dishes from peninsular India with a Californian twist that he serves at his restaurant.
Talking about his Cal-Indian fusion and experiments, he says, “I love artfully integrating Californian produce and Indian cooking techniques. The intricacies that I blend in include replacing yogurt with yogurt foam, mint chutney with mint ice, tamarind with tamarind gel and crunchy puri with a combination of grains and dehydrated olives, which are used for extra texture and flavouring.”
The chef believes that consistency is the key to success. “This is the reason I have earned a Michelin star for eight years in a row for the San Francisco dining establishment, including two stars in 2016 and 2017,” he says.
Giving an insight about his signature dish Spice pot he apprises us, “It is one of the dishes that is loved by Indian guests. It was invented as a result of an experiment. I went to a garden shop and bought lots of pots but then you are not supposed to serve food in them. I just wanted to create the visual. I was so pleased with the result that I picked up some food-friendly pots for the restaurant to serve my Californian interpretation of dahi puri in which vividly-coloured vegetables sit on top. The saucer below the pot is filled with pebbles, moss and some bits of dry ice to replicate the stunning San Francisco fog. (When hot water touches the ice, it fumes.)”
The chef, born and brought up in India, talks about his roots, “I have always believed in my homeland and the kind of cuisines that the country can offer to the world. The authentic flavours and spices have helped me in creating and innovating some of the finest dishes at the restaurant. It is very important for a chef to always stick to his roots and involve those skills and techniques in food preparations.”
Indian cuisine is spreading its wings and gaining recognition at an international level. Talking about the same, Srijith tells us, “The regional cuisines of India have been recognised and admired all over the world. There are several speciality restaurants in the world that are known for their authentic taste and flavours. Every cuisine of India is stellar. The north Indian one has travelled outside the country before the one from south. So the latter is still new and fresh to the larger Western world. People appreciate change and new things and that is exactly what is happening right now with south Indian cuisine.”
He is witnessing the new food movements and revolution at a broader level. Srijith says, “There has been a significant shift in consumers’ food choices and preferences. Vegetarianism and organic cooking have stood as powerful food tools for chefs and restaurateurs to evolve, innovate and provide more bespoke cuisine experiences to the guests.”
As the digital era is the new reality, people capture the food and flavours on phone and spread the word about the dishes, which has turned social media into a vehicle to popularise them. To this, he says, “This is one more reason that chefs spend a lot of time to enhance the aesthetics of the dish and make it more appealing for their patrons. I believe it’s one of the best ways to connect, showcase and communicate what you are eating and spreading the word about different cuisines that one can experience.”
Sharing his source of inspiration, the chef says, “Everything around me is inspiring. From my grandmother’s cooking to my wife’s to farmers’ markets to a guy with his chaat cart on the streets and of course fellow chefs.”
He elaborates on how it all began, “I grew up being influenced by the exotic spices of southern India that filled the air of my home. My backyard blossomed with ginger and turmeric and my grandmother always tasked me to collect these culinary treasures and bring them into the family kitchen, where I observed lessons on utilising every part of an ingredient and spice. Since then, I have always been passionate about cooking. I strive to do better than yesterday and keep learning and innovating at work. Learning while cooking is an ongoing process in every chef’s journey. I have come a long way since I started.”
