When the Michelin Guide Hong Kong and Macau recognised The Golden Peacock at The Venetian Macao in the first few months of its opening with one star, it triggered a wave of interest.
In December 2018, senior chef Justin Paul and his team of 15 celebrated receiving a Michelin star for the 6th consecutive year. An Indian restaurant, The Golden Peacock works on bringing authenticity, with a touch of inventiveness to the table. As Chef Justin says, “the idea is to get out of our comfort zones of cuisine and create something that truly delights even our most demanding and regular clients”.
We connect with Chef Justin, originally from Kerala, on the Michelin star, his food philosophy, international perceptions on Indian food and what drives his team. Edited excerpts from the interview:
When and how did you realise that the kitchen was the place for you?
My childhood was filled with the oral histories of cuisines of our region. That, and the multitude of ingredients available at home, got me interested in cooking.
My late father and I would spend hours together, with me as a disciple observing him earnestly cooking for family functions. Watching him get such delight from cooking inspired me greatly. These weren’t exotic dishes, but traditional Kerala cuisine, with his own variations. He would minutely examine each ingredient, its smell and flavour. I loved the passion and precision that went into it, that too in an endearingly informal way. He was doing it out of sheer love and nothing else. I guess I got inspired by that.
One of my favourites from that period is certainly the Kerala fish curry. Even though I now live in Macau, that childhood memory’s aroma is still around me. It has also influenced my cooking.
I am inspired by the traditional dishes and time-honoured recipes from those hinterlands. I try to experiment with them, but the core remains the same. It’s also why we have a more extensive South Indian offering than most Indian restaurants. Quilon fish curry, for example, is not something you will ordinarily find.
What is it like living with a Michelin star, six years in a row? Is that a lot of pressure for you and the team to live up to?
It’s an honour for the entire team. The idea is that all of us should get out of our comfort zones of cuisine, and create something that truly delights even our most demanding and regular clients.
It’s pressure, but the right kind of pressure.
Indian chefs presenting Indian food abroad tend to employ Western approaches in technique, plating, as well as descriptors. What is your approach?
The process begins with imagining a new dish, then seeing what technique will organically suit it.
Some of our dishes have Western ingredients in Indian techniques and some vice versa.
Plating is an art that we take quite seriously. Even before the social media demands of Instagrammable plates, we were imaginative in plating.
Descriptors are written with just one objective: They should be easily understood, while making the diner curious. We also have a government regulation here that names of dishes should be in their original language. That makes the cuisine more accessible.
How do you work on ensuring your food stays representative of India?
I don’t think any other country can match the culinary diversity of India. Authenticity is then a subjective experience. What I believe in, is finding the highest common denominator of any regional cuisine and then imagining it to a whole new level.
The cuisine keeps evolving. It has to. So we strive to create something new from ingredients familiar to us. For example, Southern Roots is a celebration of common vegetables found in South India, but tried in new avatars. We also try to see how global cuisine can work with Indian components; Treasure Oceana is where we took European seafood and prepared it using Indian ingredients with Indian methods.
Indian cuisine is quite elastic in terms of its ingredients. I like to call this Artisanal Indian Cuisine.
What are the international trends, as far as Indian food is concerned, that you see coming up in 2019?
I think there is growing widespread interest in Indian vegan cuisine. In 2018, we focussed on vegan dishes with an Indian background. We took ingredients or dishes easily found in Indian households and gave them an unexpected leap.
Fresh experiments (Clockwise from left) Kandhari murgh tikka , muringakka rasam , Chef Justin Paul, the restaurant and khumb bajre ka soweta special arrangement | Photo Credit: Photos
One of my favourites from our current offerings is khumb bajre ka soweta, a common North Indian vegetable stew made with organic millet, with sous vide Portobello mushroom. Another is drumstick essence or muringakka rasam: This is made from one of the most common vegetables, found in any South Indian backyard. It’s an authentic Kerala soup with muringakka (drumsticks), asafoetida and vegan almond cream. There’s also ‘anjeer and khajoor’, a favourite dessert in the eastern parts of the country, like Bengal. It has medjool dates, dried figs, pistachio roll and golden honey.
What do you like doing outside the kitchen?
Like everyone else, I guess, I like spending time with my family. I love cooking with my two young daughters.
Macau and Hong Kong being such beautiful, historic regions, we regularly tour the cities. I am also a football fan. But I can’t remember the last time I had the time to watch a complete game.