Recently, celebrity chef and TV personality Anthony Bourdain released a list of his least favourite food trends, calling them “glaring, flashing red warning signs that tell you that you’re in the wrong place.” From truffle oil and kobe beef sliders to brunch – “a cynical way of unloading leftovers and charging three times as much as you ordinarily charge for breakfast” – made it to his list. We ask city chefs to hold up their red flags.
Rishim Sachdeva
Strawberries in May
Finding seasonal ingredients on every menu. For instance, if I see strawberries on a menu in May (when strawberries are not in season), I know that either the restaurant is using bottled strawberries or strawberry syrup. Either way, it’s full of preservatives and added sugars. Don’t order it.
Rishim Sachdeva: Executive chef, Olive Bar & Kitchen
Thomas Zacharias
Large menus
The math is simple – the larger a restaurant’s food menu, the larger the size of their freezers. It is impossible for a restaurant to be preparing 100 to 150 fresh dishes every day, which means you’re most definitely eating something that went into the deep freeze weeks, if not months, ago. As much as possible, avoid.
Thomas Zacharias: Executive chef, The Bombay Canteen
Kshama Prabhu
Shabby stewards
Hygiene and maintenance of a restaurant are important. If the waiters look shabby or are unkempt, I suggest, politely walk out. Waiters are handlers of your food. Another red flag is the smells and odours in restaurants. Sniff and judge.
Kshama Prabhu: Executive chef, The Bar Stock Exchange and Desi Culture
Vicky Ratnani
The Basa overload
A big red flag for me on menus these days is the Basa. These come from fish farmed in the polluted waters of the Mekong Delta. Instead, opt for local fish varieties such as Indian Salmon (Rawas), Pomfret (Paaplet), King Mackerel (Surmai), and so on.
Vicky Ratnani: Executive chef, The Korner House