Vanika Choudhary

30th July – 3rd August

“I want to create something which is absolutely unique, to start a conversation on the whole concept of food preservation; of indigenous and tribal communities”.

With a focus on traditional fermentation techniques and the rarest of produce from the regions of Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh and Maharashtra, visionary chef Vanika Choudhary is on a one-woman mission to redefine Indian cuisine.

At Noon, her Mumbai restaurant at the forefront of modern Indian fine dining, Vanika’s in-house fermentation programme saw over 50 ferments bubbling away at any given time. Taking on an entirely new flavour profile and free from the bounds of seasonality, she would then coax untold deliciousness from every last kabra (caper berry) and kosnyot (wild caraway).

Taking a break from intensive R&D for her next hotly-anticipated project, Vanika joins us with a mind-blowing menu that melds her signature Indian preserves with the best of British produce. Highlights include ‘Chestnut Pani Puri | Crab, Green Strawberry | Nectarine Kanji | Pisyoon Loon’; ‘Wild Scottish Scallops | Pumpkin Kasundi | Fiddlehead Fern, Chervil’; and ‘Seekh Tujji | Rajma Chawal Miso | Dooni Chetin, Gand Chetin, Pudna Chetin, Mirchi Achar | Lavasa’.

If any of those ingredients are unfamiliar to you, worry not. You’re in safe hands. Get ready to re-learn what you thought you knew about Indian cooking.