Irish chef Rachel Allen says that India adds a lot of colour and flavour to the global food map because of its strong culture and history. By Team Viva
Be it baking donuts, clementine and almond cake or making fennel, grapefruit and feta salad or coastal cooking, for Irish chef Rachel Allen cooking and baking are equally important. Brought up in Dublin, at the age of 18, Rachel left to study at the Ballymaloe Cookery School. After graduating she worked in the kitchens at Ballymaloe House and then returned to work at the cookery school where she found her passion in teaching and where she continues to teach each week.
Rachel recalled that the most memorable part of her journey was meeting the Queen of England at Buckingham Palace. “Apart from this, the extraordinary places that I have travelled for work are also special. I love the contribution I make towards food,” she added.
Rachel, celebrity chef and an author is the show presenter at the BBC Natural Unit and has appeared on many cookery shows. Talking about her remarkable findings and experiences she said, “I loved all the different kinds of food and producers. The variety they offered was tremendous. Not only the food but even the scenery was breathtaking all the way up the coast. I adored flying over the cliffs of Moher. It was my favourite one.”
Though an Irish, Rachel is familiar with Indian dishes too. In fact, she adores Indian food. She loves making curries, kulfi, naan, poori and chapattis. She explains that in kulfi you have to boil the milk with the cardamom and sugar for hours. Rachel agrees to the fact that India adds a lot of colour and flavour to the global food map. She expresses her fascination for the strong food culture and history which our country has.
Despite her fascination with the food, the chef has visited India only once. When asked about her experience she said, “I went to Kolkata, New Delhi and Mumbai five years ago. I’m longing to go back. I loved the place, the people, the food and the colours. I’d also love to make the paratha breads like they do in New Delhi. They were delicious. I hope to go back soon.”
Talking about her favourite destinations in terms of the food preferences she said, “I love Italy for the pasta, Middle East for their mezze, Paris for the pastries, Japan for the rice, fish, sushi and sake and Sri Lanka and India for their divine curries.”
Though every profession carries its own risks but cooking involves a higher possibility of mishaps. Talking about her most stressful situation Rachel said, “I’ve set fire to pans a couple of times. I remember once I was doing my cooking show live on stage and the pan caught fire. There were 300 people watching me and I was helpless. I was not able to put it out. Then, someone came to help me and we eventually laughed about it.”
The chef feels that the inclusion and knowledge of vegan and keto diets in a chef’s life is very important as it’s interesting to learn about different foods with different health properties.
Do you believe in the science behind food or should one just follow passion and work around the taste factor? “Well, when it comes to baking one has to believe in the science because a lot of it is scientific, but once you understand that, then it’s fun to follow passion,” she said.
(Rachel’s Coastal Cooking was aired on Sony BBC Earth.)
