The Poetic Cuisine of Chef Utpal Mondal

A conversation with the corporate executive chef of the HHI group of hotels, Utpal Mondal, is an uplifting experience. He’s a man who is many things – poet, philosopher, chocolatier, polyglot, Hilsa fish aficionado, highly skilled chef and above all, proud Indian citizen, and he exudes a positive energy that’s highly infectious.

I spoke to him in Mythh restaurant at the 5-star Hotel Hindusthan International in Kolkata where, quite frankly, the day would not be the the same without the chef’s beaming presence as he offers a friendly handshake and a warm welcome to customers.  

Chef Mondal’s pioneering creativity has overseen the opening of several iconic venues at HHI including the award-winning Mythh, the banqueting hall Topaz, the famous Underground, and more recently, a many accoladed Italian restaurant, Valentino. He has also introduced a highly popular pastry shop and has even developed a chocolate bar.

At the Taste of Britain Curry Festival with Curry Life team

Described by the influential writer Rajen Bali as “one of the best three chefs in Kolkata”, chef Mondal has been likened to one of the “rare and dwindling breed of hands-on thinking chefs who, though thoroughly steeped in tradition, has the courage, knowledge and expertise to create stunning new dishes.”

Creativity and originality are important concepts to him. Married, with one daughter, Utpal is fluent in four languages and has an abiding interest in literature and the arts. In his childhood he was a poet “because it was a creative thing,” he says. Now in his forties, he still writes poetry - when he gets the time.

When deciding on a career however, cooking offered a more lucrative outlet for his skills. After graduating from the National Council of Hotel Management in Kolkata with a BSc, Utpal was selected for the prestigious Taj group of hotels and assigned to his home city, working with such luminaries as Chef Durgaerasad, Dennis Lambard and Curry Life Consultant Chef Partha Mittra.

“I grew up with the Taj because it opened in 1989 which was when I first went there,” he explained, “ I always say that the Taj is my second home; it taught me what cuisine is all about; I am what I am because of that experience”

For two years Chef Mondal trained in Indian and French cuisine, specialising in steak and fish. He worked within the famous Esplanade coffee shop and Indian restaurant Sonargon, before being transferred to the banquet kitchen serving eight banqueting halls. Busy from morning till night, he often prepared over 90 covers a day.  

He became proficient in Lebanese, Mexican and Italian cuisine under the famous chef Dennis Lambard; “He was the best Italian chef I ever worked with. He was tremendously innovative and gave me ideas that I still use now. My recipe for Italian mud pie is based on his ideas. I started learning my skills in the Indian cuisine but my second favourite is Italian – I’m a great fan of Italian cuisine. ”

Banqueting cuisine offered an outlet for his unusual creativity and innovation: “In banquets the menu is not fixed,” he says, “So I could use new ideas to make dishes inspired by international cuisine.

“But in these parts most clients are Marwaris and vegetarian. To make Marwari vegetarian dishes without using garlic or onion was (and is), a huge challenge. It’s a tough job! Here in Kolkata Bengalis and Marwaris love food. They don’t eat to live, they live to eat!”

He went on to develop two cuisines within the hotel and scored maximum points in staff evaluations, becoming the Taj’s highest achiever over two years. After 15 years and one month he was headhunted by the HHI in 2004. Now he is very happy in his work where he is permitted to give full rein to his creativity, actively encouraged to do something “a little different.”

HHI Kolkata

He says his creative skills were tested to the limits at the recent festival devoted entirely to the Hilsa fish. The Hilsa is about two feet long and has 2,000 bones – Chef Mondal knows –he has counted them! Although Bengalis don’t have the same squeamish attitude towards bony fish as many westerners believing the improvement in flavour is well worth the minor inconvenience of getting a bone stuck in the throat, chef Mondal was set the task of creating 12 different dishes featuring the Hilsa, making sure that each one was filleted to perfection. “I took it as a challenge. I did the dishes, baked, poached, roasted or smoked and served with Hilsa oil as an accompaniment – it’s the most beautiful fish the world has produced, with a tremendous flavour and the festival was a great success; I was so happy.” 

He believes in innovation and invents in the world of poetry and cooking. I sampled a delicious Chocolate pan; essentially pan wrapped in chocolate - a curious combination but one that was delicious and distinctly memorable. Constantly experimenting with different cuisines and ingredients, Chef Utpal has also developed an interesting sorbet made with a liqueur and Betel leaf to aid the digestion.

Has he ever been tempted to take his talents further afield?

“I had many opportunities to go to England or Australia,” he says, “I might earn more money which can give me comfort but I am not happy about whether I could get peace.

“To me, peace is much more important than comfort and other countries may not give me that. In India I am a first-class citizen, even if I just eat bread and potatoes. As a human being and as a chef, I’m recognised within my society and industry. If I’m not respected, how can I live elsewhere?

“Ever since childhood I haven’t had much faith in God; to me mankind is the last word. After I die I want to be brought to mind for something that I have created and leave a legacy for another generation of chefs. Being a chef is a bit like being a film director – he does not act, but ultimately, a great film is known and remembered by its director.”

Hotel Hindustan International, Circus Avenue, Bhawanipur, Kolkata, West Bengal, India Tel: 033 22802323

Fancy something a bit spicy for breakfast?

Try Kedgeree ...

If you’re looking for an unusual weekend breakfast dish as an alternative to the ubiquitous bacon and eggs, kedgeree is the ultimate comfort food. 

The dish originated in India in the days of the British Raj and was brought to the UK by returning colonials who wanted to replicate the spicy dishes they had enjoyed on the subcontinent. 

Kedgeree reached its height of popularity in Victorian times when the dish was served at breakfast. The anglicised version traditionally involves smoked haddock but the original recipe is thought to date back to the fourteenth century when lentils and rice and (sometimes) fish were combined to make a dish known as Khichri.  This was also served at breakfast as a thrifty way of using up leftovers from the night before, accompanied by a spiced yoghurt drink.

The British version of Kedgeree can be eaten hot or cold and is deelicious …!!

Recipe for Kedgeree 

Serves Four

Ingredients:

• One medium red onion
• 1 clove garlic
• Two tomatoes
• 3 eggs
• 700gm undyed smoked haddock
• 200gm basmati rice
• Generous knob of butter (or ghee)
• Handful of chopped chives
• 2tsp grated fresh ginger
• 2 heaped tbsp curry powder
• 1 tbsp English mustard
• 1 fresh red chilli
• 1 pot sour cream 
• 2 bay leaves
• Fresh coriander
• Salt and black pepper

Method:

• Boil the eggs till hard boiled, peel and quarter.
• Put fish and bay leaves into a pan with enough water to cover.
• Bring to boil, cover and simmer for five minutes until cooked through.
• Remove from pan, reserve water and remove skin (and bones if any).
• Flake into chunks and set aside.
• Melt butter in pan.
• Stir in ginger, onion, garlic and curry powder.
• Add chopped tomatoes and cook for a while.
• Stir in rice (adding more butter if required)
• Add reserved water, bring to boil and simmer until rice is tender (about 15mins).
• When liquid has been absorbed, stir in mustard, flaked fish and lemon juice and allow to gently heat through.
• Season to taste.
• Add eggs, coriander and chilli and gently stir.
• Sprinkle with chives and place in a warm serving dish.

Mix coriander into the soured cream and serve with kedgeree.

Serve with spiced yoghurt drink (optional).

Curry Life Chefs Turn up the Heat in Hyderabad

 Once again Curry Life chefs have been over to India to showcase UK curry and food at the 10-day Taste of Britain Curry Festival. This year the bi-annual event was held in scorching Hyderabad at The Park Hyatt Hotel where the restaurant and ball room were redolent with aromas of British curries and even, at times, good old Lancashire Hot Pot and Sunday Roast.

The team of top chefs from the UK included Partha Mittra, Consultant Chef for Curry Life; Allam Shah Ullah of Cutlers Spice in Sheffield; Abul Monsur of Taj Cuisine in Chatham; Abdus Shahid from Valley Connection in Bury St Edmonds; Altaf Hussain of Yuva Fine Fusion in Royston, and Anwar Hussain of Navaa Fine Fusion, Sudbury. They were joined by Dominic Chapman Michelin star chef who served up a ‘Best of British’ menu while his fellow chefs, naturally, focused on British curry.

The festival even had the support of Prime Minister David Cameron who sent a letter to the festival organisers, saying how delighted he was to see the unique British brand of Asian cuisine being sought in the countries from where it originally came. Home Secretary Theresa May and MPs including Keith Vaz, Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, also came on board to offer their best wishes.

As usual, the event caught the attention of the Indian and British press. At the media lunch, journalists, distinguished guests and Hyderabadi food aficionados had their appetites well and truly whetted by the mouth-watering menu of 80 dishes prepared by the chefs. In addition to the ubiquitous Chicken Tikka Masala, the spread included:  Dhania Salmon Kebabs, Oregano Chicken Tikka, Shatkora Gosht, Sunehri Pulao  and Dal a la Kent with other British influenced fusion dishes such as Lamb Rani Chops, Chicken Roulade and Cocktail Paneer Kebabs. Desserts included Gulab Jamun and Ras Malai, while Dominic’s traditional British fare served up with Michelin flair, also showcased the often overlooked British desserts such as Eton Mess and Bread and Butter pudding.

“The meat dishes stand out, redolent with their just-perfect-consistency-of curry, spicy and creamy gravies,” raved the correspondent from The Times of India Swati Sucharita, although she admitted she found the chicken tikka masala “a tad sweet”, besides being “creamily delectable”. The Dal a la Kent, (speciality of chef Abul Monsur) made with mixed lentils was described as “the stuff soul food is made of, deeply fragrant with the ghee jeera-red chillies tempering and packed with the goodness of mixed lentils”. Spicy vegetable and cheese kebabs were likened to the “quintessential Vegetable Chop that delights from the streets of Kolkata, spiked with some cheese filling.”

But the festival also provided the opportunity for an interchange of ideas. Hyderabad is renowned for its biryani, a classic dish of the Mughal Nizams which often contains goat meat.  It is made either with raw, marinated ingredients sealed and cooked by the slow dum cooking process (Kachi), or with the meat and rice cooked separately and then layered (Pakhi).   Chefs and organisers were keen to try out the dish on its home ground and learn from the Hyatt culinary team. “Last year when we did the festival in Kolkata our chefs picked up a lot of fish and dessert dishes, so there is a lot of incorporating Indian regional cuisines that we will do in terms of takeaways from the festival,” said Syed Belal Ahmed. “No doubt, this year, the chefs will be hoping to get some first hand tips on how to prepare the authentic version of Hyderabad biryani.”

Restaurateur Amin Ali of the award-winning Red Fort in London, who attended the festival described how many years ago, he introduced the dish in his fine dining restaurant: “We had come to Hyderabad as early as the ‘90s and took back with us Hyderabadi chefs from the Nizam’s Club and Taj Krishna, so you could get authentic Hyderabadi Biryasni and Mirchi ka Salan at our restaurant in Soho,” he told reporters.

Syed Belal Ahmed, explained some of the differences between curries adapted to British tastes and home grown Indian dishes: “The curries enjoyed in India are no longer quite the same as the ones in Britain,” he said. “Improvisation has taken place and British herbs like rosemary, thyme, oregano are common and the dishes are spiced down. So the chicken tikka masala which you would be served in London may be creamy and smooth. Dishes also use less oil and healthier than their Indian counterparts.”

It wasn’t all work for the chefs however – towards the end of the visit they were able to take a well earned break to see some of the sights of Hyderabad including the Ramoji Film Studio before they headed back home with plenty of food for thought.

The main sponsor of the event was Cobra Beer whose CEO Lord Karan Bilimoria also hails from Hyderabad. Other sponsors included Ellwoods, Jaguar, Curries Online, Annecto UK, Chivas, Goldstar Chefs, Pasco and Pegasus Textiles.  

The festival was inaugurated by Deputy British High Commissioner to Hyderabad, Mr Andrew McAllister.

Roochi: a recipe for success

Forest Row is bustling on a summery(ish) Saturday evening. With a slight stretch of imagination you could be in Italy; people greeting each other out on the streets, promenading past the town’s restaurants and historic pubs of which there are more than a fair share. 

All venues look well patronised but none more so than Roochi, a smart Indian restaurant overlooking the street.  We joined the steady stream of customers to be welcomed by friendly waiter Ali who gives us a grandstand seat from where we can survey the restaurant’s comings and goings.  

The atmosphere is relaxed and jovial; the majority of customers are obviously regulars who know and like the staff; many are greeted by first name. No wonder, as the 31-year-old owner, Mohammed Haque Jay, is an outgoing and charming chap who has built up strong relationships with his diners. But it hasn’t been an easy route into the hearts and stomachs of the good people of Forest Row.  Jay originally hails from the north and he tells us it’s taken him at least five years to be accepted as a local.

So how did a Bradford born-and-bred lad end up in a posh town in East Sussex?

According to Jay, his parents sent him off down south to ‘find himself’ after he went through a bit of a wild patch as a young lad. “They basically said go away and do whatever you want to do,” he says with a cheeky smile. Fortunately, although Jay didn’t come from a catering background (his father worked as a mechanic), he had a cousin in the restaurant trade and decided this was where he wanted to seek his fortune. Working in a restaurant in nearby Hawley he started out at the back of house, but with his sparkling personality, wit and ready repartee, it wasn’t long before he moved to take front stage. The experience taught him a lot about the restaurant profession. “Basically I thought to myself, if this business is successful, run in this way, I’m sure I could do a lot better.”

Fourteen years later Jay has much more successful eateries in Reigate, Lingfield, Hawley and, of course, Forest Row. It seems like quite an achievement for a young man but beneath Jay’s happy go lucky exterior there lies a shrewd business mind and the northern ‘nouse’ to seize and make the most of an opportunity. His success is well (and hard) earned.

“The main thing to start with is the place, location and how you set up the business,”Jay says. “After that it’s building up a reputation. We’ve got to a stage where we know everyone and everyone knows us, but we have to live up to the high standards we have set - here, people don’t give you a second chance.  If the food was very good but the service poor, people would never forgive you.”

Skilfully tending to his customers, in between chatting to us, Jay tells us how he is a firm believer in the concept of “first in, last out”. Working up to 15 to 16 hours a day, he travels to the wholesalers every night to pick up his next day supply of food and vegetables. Other produce is sourced even locally. Fish comes from the excellent fishmongers a few doors down whilst the farm shops nearby provide a trusty and traceable source of meat.  Jay believes that to get the best out of his products, he needs to be in control of them and his hands-on approach extends to the kitchen. “Our food and the preparation all comes from me,” he admits. “I teach staff to do things in a certain way but more skilled tasks, like the spice blending and marinating always comes from me so that the quality, style and consistency of food is always the same.”

Out of all Jay’s restaurants, Roochi is Jay's “baby”. Inside the venue is like an Aladdin’s cave and deceivingly spacious.  Cunningly divided into private and group dining areas with interesting views onto the street, a curved corridor leads around the central bar area which also serves as a stylish reception. Deep burgundy carpets, chocolate and mahogany walls contrast with the pristine white tablecloths. Tropical fish swim happily in tanks with the dual purpose of providing a living room divider and eye catching display.

For starters we have succulent duck kebab and calamari, glistening yellow peppers, crisp lightly dressed salad and freshly-made, zingy chutneys. Our main course choice is easy – seafood is a great speciality in the restaurant (Jay hopes to open a fish restaurant one day), and we have no hesitation in ordering the Seafood Moilee – a bouillabaisse of Kerala prawns, king prawns, mussels mixed in coconut milk to create a silky broth flavoured with turmeric and curry leaves, and gigantic Goan King Prawns with shell, cooked in spring onions, green chillies and strongly flavoured spices. When the dishes arrive our taste buds are instantly rewarded with fresh and salty overtones of sea (fortunately not sand), which is blissfully enhanced, not drowned, by the creamy sauce.

Jay describes the food at Roochi as “authentic with a modern twist.” Besides the fish option, other choices range from a Duck Narangi – spicy duck breast pan fried and simmered in Madeira sauce cooked with juicy oranges and mushrooms, or tender lamb shank, braised and marinated in a blend of spices. These are sophisticated dishes but the ‘traditional’ Kormas, Madras and Vindaloo are also on the menu, incredibly well priced at just %.25 for a simple chicken or lamb curry. The costliest dish on the menu is the King Prawn Shashlik and even that is a modest £11.95.

The wine list is one of the most interesting I’ve seen in any Indian restaurant with vintages and Grand Crus from France, Australia, South Africa, Argentina and India. Jay tells us his supplier carefully monitors and changes the list regularly to accommodate the best sellers.

Owning the place has given Jay the freedom to “do his own thing” and this extends to his policy towards staff. With five front-of-house employees and a further five in the kitchen, Roochi has a close knit team. To ensure perfect service he holds staff meetings every week where he interacts, pinpoints mistakes and gets feedback from colleagues. Recruitment is not a problem he says; he works with the local Job Centre or gets staff online. Employees are trained up and according to where they fit in best are sometimes asked to move around as Jay also provides some accommodation. Motivation is encouraged: “We pick up talented people and maybe give them the opportunity to be chef; then they have an investment in the place and want to maintain the quality,” Jay says.

Roochi is a restaurant that’s on the way up and it’s all down to Jay. The exceptional cuisine goes without saying but our overall impression is of a very professionally run business that has achieved an ideal balance of happy staff and happy customers. Jay has moved on a long way from his Bradford days and will, no doubt, go much further. His parents are now rightly proud of their son’s success. “In fact my dad still can’t believe it,” he says with a smile.

Roochi, 9 Hartfield Road, Forest Row  RH18 5DN Tel: 01342 825 251

Unusual ingredients in curry: Shatkora

The first time I came across shatkora was in India a few years ago. We were leaving for the airport one of the hotel chefs came up to us and proudly presented us with a a bag of green and knobbly looking fruit as a gift. He explained shatkora was hard to find in the UK and much more expensive. We put the bag into our suitcase but, sadly, had to ditch it later as our luggage was too heavy. Since then, shatkora has become much easier to find in the UK and features in many dishes in Indian restaurants. From the outside it certainly is not an object of beauty but, as far as flavours go, the shatkora is a veritable swan of the culinary world. A cross between grapefruit, lime and lemon, it adds a tanginess and exotic taste to curry dishes and lifts them into the sublime.

  

Otherwise known as the citrus macroptera or ‘wild orange’, the fruit is about is 6-7cm in diameter and oval in shape with pointed ends. The variant grown in Bangladesh is called annamensis and is commonly used in the area of Sylhet. It grows on thorny trees which can reach 5m in height. Although it looks and smells more like a lime, its juice is sour and bitter and tastes more like that of a grapefruit. The pith is thick and dry and the outer skin becomes yellow when the fruit is ripe.

Delicious Shatkora curry cooked by Chef Mahbub Rahman
of Dine Bangla  in Beverley.

Preparation of the fruit is tricky and requires some culinary skill. Perhaps the easiest way is to cut the shatkora in half lengthways and then cut each half into three, also along the length. Then the main fruit can be pared away from the peel and outer pith with a sharp knife.

Chefs recommend the skin is pre cooked to soften the texture. In Bangladesh the rind is eaten as a vegetable and the pulp is usually discarded because of its bitter taste. The thick rind is cut into small pieces and cooked in beef mutton, fish curries and stews whilst the fruit is often used in shatkora pickles.

Curries cooked with shatkora are now becoming more and more popular in Bangladeshi and Indian restaurants in the UK.  The fruit can now be bought in many Asian food stores that serve the Indian and Bangladeshi community. It’s also available in frozen form.

Shatkora’s beneficial values don’t stop there – as a citrus fruit, rich in Vitamin C in India and Bangladesh, it has long been known for its medicinal value. It’s very strong in antioxidants and is reputed to be a sure cure for colds and flu when cooked in curry.

Recipe for Aromatic Venison Curry with Shatkora

from The Kennington Tandoori

Haunch of roast venison slow cooked to melting tenderness with tangy citrus shatkora in a deliciously rich, juicy sauce. 

Serves 6

Preparation time: 20-30 minutes

Cooking time: approx 3 hours

Ingredients

• 3 tbs vegetable/olive oil

• Whole spices:
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 piece cinnamon bark (not quills)
• 4 green cardamom pods, bruised
• 1tsp salt

• 1 tbs garlic paste
• 1 tbs ginger paste
• 5 large shallots, very finely diced

• 1 ½ lb venison haunch, trimmed of fat and cut into 1 ½ inch chunks

• Approx 1 ½ pints water (see method)

• Ground powdered spices:
• 1 rounded tsp brown cumin powder
• 1 ½ rounded tsp coriander powder
• 1 rounded tsp chilli powder
• Scant ½ tsp turmeric powder

• 2 slices shatkora, flesh removed and cut into pieces

Method

• Warm the oil in a large heavy-bottomed pan or casserole dish.  Add the whole spices and gently heat, swirling in the oil to heat and release their flavours, adding a tsp of salt as you do so. Take care not to let the spices burn as this will make the dish taste bitter.

• Add the garlic and ginger pastes, continuing to stir on a gentle heat. (For small quantities crush garlic bulbs and grind to a paste, fresh ginger root can be grated with a fine microplane; for larger quantities it is easier to use a food processor.) Add the diced shallots, stir and cook on a medium heat until opaque and just starting to colour, but do not brown.

• Add the meat and brown all over in the spices and onion mix (approx 7-10 minutes), whilst enjoying the delicious aroma.

• Add sufficient water to fully cover the meat, stir thoroughly to deglaze the pan and to ensure nothing sticks or burns on the base. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for ½ an hour.

• Add the mixed spice powder and stir in to the curry, using a wooden spoon or spatula (not metal – to avoid cutting the meat). Cover and slow cook on a gentle bubble for 2 hours until the sauce has thickened and the meat is meltingly tender (longer if using a cheaper cut).

• About 15 minutes before the curry is ready, add shatkora and allow it to scent the dish.

The Kennington Tandoori, 313 Kennington Rd, London SE11 4QE

Dominic Chapman - Michelin-starred Chef Shines in India

India is home to many magnificent restaurants and chefs but the subcontinent has no equivalent to the sought after Michelin Star.  Curry Life took the Michelin starred chef, Dominic Chapman, to cook his brand of quintessentially British food in Kolkata. Here’s what he made of his experience and (just as important)… what the Indians made of him.

Dominic Chapman, Michelin-crowned chef of the Royal Oak, Paley Street summed up the Taste of Britain Curry Festival in one word: “Amazing!”

“It’s been one of the most incredible weeks I’ve had for a long time,” he told us with boyish enthusiasm over a beer in the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kolkata.  Dominic had just completed a jam-packed four-day stint at the festival and, in his own words the experience had been “full on”.  As a seasoned traveller he admitted that this first trip to India had been an eye opener. “I feel that I’ve been cheating a bit. “There is no denying it – India is a one hell of a country. If I was out there on my own with my back pack on, without the luxury of being able to afford to stay at the Hyatt I would find it hardcore.  As it is I’ve been able to be involved with the festival here with the opportunity to go out there and sample what’s going on out there. Yes, it’s crazy but you just kind of harness that and go with it. I’ve had an absolute ball.”

 Dominic with festival organiser Nahas Pasha

Dominic is the head chef at The Royal Oak Paley Street in Berkshire and Holyport’s Belgian Arms, but he’s also no stranger to adventure. He spent some years exploring Australia before coming back to the UK and working as chef de partie at Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck, later moving on to take on the role of head chef at The Hinds Head in Bray. In 2007 he moved to The Royal Oak Paley Street, co-owned by TV personality Michael Parkinson, now one of only 13 Michelin star pubs in the UK. It’s perhaps not surprising that Dominic has achieved such incredible culinary success; his family has owned and run the Castle Hotel in Taunton for over 60 years. The passion for cooking is in his blood.

After a chance meeting with Lord Karan Bilimoria, founder of Cobra Beer, Dominic was invited to accompany the Curry Life team to India for the Taste of Britain Curry festival.

Although India is not covered by the Michelin food guide, there is considerable interest in the concept, not least in the idea that a British chef can produce good food. Dominic’s arrival was greeted with a barrage of local and international press and customers who were keen to sample his British classics of Lamb Roast and Fish and Chips. They went down very well! Even allowing for the customary politeness of the Indian people, there were compliments all round, especially for the Lemon Tart which was a sensational success. In fact it was so popular that Chef Vikram Ganpule, Executive Chef at the Hyatt, decided to keep it on the menu.

Dominic with chefs Jamal Uddin and Partha Mittra

Dominic has a huge respect for British curry chefs. “They have an intimate knowledge of spices that leaves me feeling somewhat of a novice,” he said. “The Curry Life chefs and the team of chefs in the kitchens here are very passionate about cooking and they really want to learn. It’s the same if you are a chef in the UK, in India or any other part of the world - you love cooking, you want to learn about cooking and ultimately, to cook great food.”

Does he see many differences to Indian dishes produced in the UK? “The heat of curry in the UK is quite harsh – over there it’s a case of ‘wow that has really blown my head off, have another drink of lager’,” he says. “Over here it’s chilli hot and it warms your mouth but it’s fresh, you can really taste those spices and flavours. But I still enjoy eating curries in the UK because when you’re not sitting in a 5-star hotel, out there, if you don’t know where to go, it can be pretty, pretty rough.”

When Dominic was not having a ball the festival threw up some stiff challenges. Perhaps the hardest of these was producing a 7-course, completely vegan meal for a high powered business man in Kolkata who had heard about his expertise and wanted to test his skills out for himself. Dominic rose to the occasion with customary aplomb. “I challenge any chef to come to India and do the same and not find it difficult. And of course, you want to reach a certain standard; you want your ingredients to be the best. One thing about India is that you have to get your food from the market fresh in the morning, and then cooked for lunch; food does not keep. In the UK, everything is perfect – we get perfect leeks, immaculate aubergines. In this country if you’re not careful spring onions look like chives, cauliflowers may have seen better days and herbs are wilting before they’ve even got to a fridge.

“And there are a few problems with supply. I’ve ordered everything from here; you expect things to arrive in two hours but they’re more likely to arrive in two days. It took four hours for my quail egg to be delivered because of traffic but at the end of the day that’s OK - you have to embrace it and it’s fantastic. The team here has been brilliant and so supportive. And I’ve learned things to take away with me – I’ve been especially impressed by the standard of the breads which are freshly baked here in the Hyatt.”

Talking of the street life he said: “Coming from the UK it makes you realise that we have easy – you really think these guys are so resilient; there is poverty everywhere and yet they’re so smiley. And they all work hard and just get on with their own lives.”

One of Dominic’s main aims on the trip was to go out and embrace the life, country and culture of India, in particular to sample the street food for which Kolkata is justly famous. To that end he was taken on a whirlwind tour of the city by local journalists in search of the origins of British curry. At Collin Street at the home of Rubin and Pamela Ribeiro he was cooked a typical Anglo-Indian meal; “They were a lovely, lovely family,” he enthused. “They made me a mutton curry, yellow rice and red pepper curry. It was brilliant food – the lady took great care in preparing and cooking it and it was delicious.”

Sampling Kolkata’s famous street food, he wasn’t quite as enthusiastic. “It looked good – it was great street food and it looked a million dollars but to be honest with you I was a bit conscientious about tasting it rather than eating it because of hygiene issues.” Nevertheless he pronounced the Phuchka “flavoursome” whilst he described the spicy chickpea stew or gnugni with coriander, onion and tomato as “one hell of a snack”. At Gariahat he ticked off another item on his wishlist - a visit to the famous fish market. “It was like a farmer’s market,” he said. “The produce was fresh and there was such variety. The tent-like structure was typically Calcutta as were the broad flat blades with which they cut the flesh but the people, the chaos and the noise was just like any fresh food market the world over with its own local characters.” From thence he was whisked off to sample the delights of mishti at a 159-year-old sweet shop, all nicely rounded off with a mandatory Darjeeling tea and Rum Ball.

It’s evident that Kolkata made a massive impression on the chef but what did the people of Kolkata make of Dominic? It seems that in the brief time he was there the genuinely enthusiastic and friendly chef left his own indelible mark on the city.

The following day we, ourselves took a sightseeing trip round Kolkata and were amused to discover that the tour guide had already incorporated the legend of Dominic Chapman into his patter.  “Did you know that only a few days ago we had a visit from a very famous British Michelin star chef who came especially to sample the food and culture of Kolkata?” he asked proudly. ‘Yes, we did know’ we replied – and we can vouch for the fact that he was more than impressed.

Follow the link to see a film of the Taste of Britain Curry Festival on youtube.