That Sarah Todd loves Indian food is old news. The model-turned-chef won hearts when she made aloo gobi at MasterChef Australia in 2014. Her following grew after she opened Antares in Goa and curated menu for The Wine Rack in Mumbai. Sarah, however, had since been absent from the capital’s food scene. Now, she is not only in the capital, but has also redesigned the menu for The Wine Company, Gurugram.
Under founder-directors Ashish Dev Kapoor and Joydeep Singh, The Wine Company is celebrating its fourth anniversary and Sarah’s menu is the highlight. “When we set up the place, the idea was to bring wine closer to people,” Ashish recalls, “With that achieved, the focus now is to help people pair the right wine with the right food; and that is where Sarah steps in.”
Perfectly paired
The new menu at The Wine Company reflects Sarah’s love for Indian food and local produce. While the wines have travelled from all over the world, ingredients for the kitchen are sourced locally. Artisanal cheese comes from Delhi, Mumbai and Kashmir, bhut jolokia chilli comes from Nagaland and seafood is sourced from Odisha. “With people getting conscious of what goes onto their plate, fresh produce and farm-to-table is the next big thing,” says Sarah, while introducing her menu. “I also want to break the myth that Indian flavours don’t go well with wine, so I have incorporated a lot of local ingredients to create recipes that will appeal to the local palate and yet pair well with wines.”
A large part of the menu represents local elements, including an entire section of street food. “I love street food and I have brought it to the menu with some variation,” Sarah tells us, while presenting the first course. Momos, pakodas, kulchas, golgappas — all find a place here. Pakodas are made with a soft-shell crab; kulchas have red wine, duck meat, cranberry and gorgonzola; golgappas come with tom yum; momos are made with shiitake mushrooms and wombok. The course goes rather well with the La Fantasia Sauvignon Blanc, a white wine from Chile.
The next course starts with churros. Made with goat cheese and served with truffle cream and a chilli dip, they are crisp and airy.
With over 70 dishes on the menu, almost each created from scratch, one wonders how long it would have taken to come up with it.
“I couldn’t say how long it took me to create it; sometimes a dish comes to me while I am stepping out of the door or just walking outside, sometimes it takes several attempts to get it right,” shares Sarah, while presenting her flambéed kalari cheese.
Flavourful platter
Sarah discovered kalari in Kashmir, “fell in love with the traditional ripened cheese” and carried it back with her. “I have sautéed and served it with flambéed Old Monk which gives it a caramel flavour,” she explains, while assembling the roasted peppers and onions on the flaming cheese. The roasted peppers add sweetness; onions bring in crunch and lemon cuts through the sweetness — a classic example of her knack of combining the unusual.
The mains, just like the small plates, represent diverse local flavours and combinations. “We do not want to intimidate people with fancy food,” quips Ashish, “so we said, forget pairing for a moment, the food has to be tasty.” The thought reflects in the course that comes with the likes of Kolhapuri slow-cooked lamb on beetle leaf, with pomegranate and boondi, quinoa biryani with avocado raita and the Madras lamb tortellini with coconut sauce. As per Sarah’s recommendation, it is paired with Jacob’s Creek Chardonnay from Australia.
Pairing of wine with food is one thing, incorporating it in a recipe is quite another, and you find both in the new menu — especially in the dessert course, where wine becomes an important ingredient. The iced nougat uses red wine for the coulis, and pear crème caramel has wine and brandy in it. Ever so slightly sweet with a hint of wine and brandy, the desserts too showcase their creator’s culinary brilliance.