Sunday, January 22, 2012

Spain comes to Mumbai!

It all started with a meal at Els Brancs. 14 stunning courses, a bottle of Rosé, the Costa Brava sunset and great conversation. I left Spain with memories of flavours and textures I had never experienced. How can I bring what they do at Els Brancs and apply it to my work. I called Marlon and told him we should collaborate. A brief discussion of our ideas and it was decided: let's work on a line of special macaroons! Bring the Els Brancs philosophy of subtle flavours that play around in the palate to the Le15 Macaroon.
What followed was intense hard work for the next 4 months. Hours and hours of skype sessions, recipe exchanges and  flavour discussions. We talked about what would work, the temperature, humidity and mainly the availability of the ingredients we would need. Half the things we needed for this line would have to be imported from Spain. Chef Javier turned his kitchen in to a science lab. I told him all the difficulties I face in the kitchen and he promised to solve them all! He used 15 kilos of almond powder, 20 kilos of icing sugar and we lost count of the egg whites. They would show me the macaroons on skype and  I couldn't wait for them to finally come to Mumbai so we could work together (and I could eat those macaroons!!)
The last week has been hectic, challenging but also so so rewarding! We had to change a lot of things and alter the recipes to fit Mumbai conditions. But, to finally see the product that we spent so much time on is the greatest feeling. I will not reveal too much about these macaroons yet. The team leaves soon and now it's my turn to work on them. This line is very special and extremely close to my heart. I will keep you updated on when it's out and I would love to see your reaction when you take that first bite!!!















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