The gifted student.
That an Indian finds his guru in Spain sounds a bit like a backwards story. That the first is a cook and the second Ferrán Adrià, is already beginning to make sense . But if on top of that the disciple ends up in Bangkok trying to give Indian cuisine a twist, the combination of factors is extravagant enough to arouse anyone's curiosity. For that reason, I recently convinced a good friend and we went to Gaggan restaurant, hidden in a quiet street in the center of Bangkok.
Before meeting Adriá, chef Gaggan Arnand had worked in successful restaurants in Bangkok. But the eight weeks he spent at the beginning of last year learning at Ferrán's school in Manresa (the Alicia Foundation) radically changed his way of understanding cooking and aroused in this native of Calcutta the desire to experiment and change the order of what is established. “Ferrán is my guru, he taught me to think” This big guy with glasses and the air of a naughty boy tells me with a smile. His face lights up when he talks about his first meeting with the teacher: “As soon as he saw me in the kitchen, Ferrán walked towards me with a quick step and asked me: 'Indian?', he relates. "I told him yes and he smiled as he nodded his head."
The Gaggan Restaurant Garden
Arnand was the second Asian and the first Indian to go through the foundation of El Bulli , and Adriá was probably aware from that first meeting of the possibilities that he could have by applying his concept to a gastronomy as varied and established as India. And he was not wrong. The ten dishes that make up the tasting menu are a succession of flavors and sensations that stimulate the five senses, sometimes simultaneously.
The yoghurt explosion that opens the parade brings freshness and flavors that lay the foundations for what awaits us, a contemporary cuisine with indian flavors . Among others, the mojito en palo, the clam masala and the chicken tikka with chutney foam will come. Among my favourites, the oyster leaves, a tree that grows by the sea in South India (and which really taste like oysters) or the egg cooked at 55⁰ for hours with curried mushrooms. That's not to mention the plastic packets of almonds, made of an edible material that melts in your mouth. Or the Iberian pork with vindaloo sauce, his particular tribute to our cuisine, in a dish that, when uncovered, envelops the diner in a cloud of sandalwood smoke.
Our table is separated from the kitchen by a glass panel , through which we can see the detail and effort that precede each dish. It is a culinary show in which the chef and his team move between large bathtubs of water, liquid nitrogen tanks and condensers.
Gaggan's kitchen exposed
Nevertheless, Gaggan's great success is not having been completely seduced by the siren songs of molecular cuisine and its excessive deconstructions. “I am not in favor of abusing the technique and transforming a curry into a foam ball. I prefer to consider what I do as Indian progressive cooking,” he explains. And the truth is that no Neither its owner nor the restaurant suffer from the snobbery typical of this type of establishment.
The restaurant is located at a white wooden colonial house , with a modern and simple decoration, which again deviates from the traditional line of Indian restaurants. Judging by the Thai, expat and young Indian couples who fill their tables on a Monday night, their concept has won over.
"I don't aspire to be El Bulli" , he tells me at the end of dinner. "Bulli there is only one". Can be. But I am sure that Ferrán would be fully satisfied with his outstanding student, as well as thinking, as he always remembers, he taught to have fun cooking with a passion that crosses borders.
The colonial house where the Gaggan restaurant is located