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Food: Lessons, love & ice cream
In a nod to the traditional gurukul system, Michelin-star chef Suvir Saran mentors chef Vardaan Marwah
When I see Michelin-star chef Suvir Saran welcoming me to his posh South Extension residence from his first-floor balcony as he hums a classical song and his bloodhound, Clouseau, shuffles about in the backdrop, I think I must be dreaming. But when he hands over a refreshing drink of nimbu paani, reality hits as hard as the scorching sun on this particularly sultry Sunday morning.
Cool as a cucumber and clad in white, Suvir helps the photographer do a recce of the best nooks and corners of his home for potential photos while we wait for his foster son-cum-apprentice, chef Vardaan Marwah to arrive.
“Vardaan and I just got back from our pop-up in Mumbai’s Joshi House, where we did our signature progressive Indian cuisine or what we call Indian Cuisine 2.0,” says the chef. The pandemic has caused many people in the food and beverage business to experiment with new work models, and pop-ups have been a hit.
Modern gurukul
Suvir and Vardaan had been working together at the House of Celeste when the pandemic hit and they had to leave. “But the bond that we formed in those seven-eight months was very strong. He became like a father figure to me, and we kept working together,” says Vardaan.
The two of them believe that this family-like, teacher-student bond that was nurtured during the lockdown will survive the winds of change as normalcy resumes.
“I don’t think anything is changing. “The pandemic has changed us. We understand the value of home, relationships and human connections better now. The food business and retail work environment are all adapting. Whether we share recipes via videos or by ideating, our philosophy is making real food at home and eating at home, and the only businesses that’ll succeed are the ones adapting to the demands of the people. More and more people are staying in and ordering in unless they want to celebrate,” says Suvir.
With Vardaan in the kitchen and at home there’s never a dull moment, adds Suvir. “Sometimes we work in the kitchen 18 to 20 hours a day and you have to learn to not take life or yourself too seriously. Just take your passion seriously!” he says.
Suvir's restaurant in North America was awarded a Michelin Star for its Indian cuisine. The chef, 50, is the chairman of Asian Culinary Studies for the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), has written four books and judged food shows galore. Vardaan, 28, is a Delhi-based, self-taught chef and restaurant consultant.
The ice (cream) breaker
Vardaan and Suvir first came together over a shared love of ice cream. “We both began as pastry chefs, we both have midnight cravings, and we are happiest eating a lot of ice cream. I have three ice cream machines in this house and in New York I could eat a bite of ice cream every night! That’s my only way to gain weight! We ordered boxes of ice cream from every ice cream maker during the lockdown and said, “kuch acha hi nai hai (there’s nothing nice)”. We keep going to restaurants to eat ice cream, but 99.9 per cent of restaurants in India serve crappy ice cream, and 90 per cent of it is not even made with milk! So, we wondered, how do we fix it?” narrates Suvir.
Then it struck him that he could speak to Aditya Tripathi, who owns Cold Love. “We bought ice cream from them thinking ‘at least it’s pure and the ingredients are real.’ Within minutes of our meeting, we became partners and now every week we add new stuff,” he elaborates.
Suvir and Vardaan dabble in savoury ice creams. Their Delhi 6 Chaat ice cream has the full flavour of Delhi chaat, complete with yogurt-based ice cream, a sorbet made of chutneys of imli and hari chutney, and boondi for the crunch.
How do they come up with these ideas? Weirdly enough, they think alike and there have often been times when they have surprised one another with past jottings of same ideas, Suvir laughs.
Meeting of great minds
Vardaan excitedly tells the tale of how the two met when Suvir returned to India in 2018 after 30 years in the US. “He had come to dine at Rooh, where I was chef. When he entered, everyone started talking about a Michelin star chef dining with us and it created a buzz in the kitchen. I went to him with all the dishes, but they had some mistake or the other and I could make out that he was unhappy,” recalls Vardaan.
“Vardaan fixed the dishes and brought them back to me. At the end of the meal, I went into the kitchen, clicked a picture with him and took his number,” says Suvir.
“The next day, I got a call from him saying he’s opening a restaurant and looking for an executive chef. I told him, I’m a pastry chef and do cold starters and appetizers. The only question he asked was: If I teach you, will you be ready and up for learning?” shares Vardaan.
Suvir wants to pass on his rich culinary legacy to Vardaan, who he considers his son. So much so that he made room for Vardaan in his house. Similarly, for Vardaan, Suvir is family. The younger chef calls Suvir’s mother ‘daadi’.
“We spent a lot of time together during the pandemic. Some days we cooked all day in this house. I would stay for two weeks in a row, then spend a week or so at home, get tested and come back. Nothing has changed since. We meet twice a week, we work together, and we travel a lot,” says Vardaan.
“There’s a bedroom dedicated to him, where he keeps all his stuff. And sometimes I am upset, wondering why my child is with his other set of parents,” adds Suvir. “During the pandemic when Vardaan came every week to this house to cook with me, we started making fun videos. Someone from Amul reached out to us because they loved our work and then every Sunday we did an Instagram Live for them. By the end of it, there were billions of views. As a result, they asked us to do it twice a week!”
What’s next? The duo is working on opening a restaurant in Delhi and another one in south India. A cookbook by Vardaan is in the works, too.
From HT Brunch, July 23, 2022
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