Do you feel sometimes that kitchens are getting unnecessarily adventurous? That chefs have begun to use ingredients and techniques that don’t really improve their food but just make them feel bold and inventive? And that none of this is actually done for the benefit of the consumer?
Market Context
Well, if you do feel this way then I am right there with you. So this week I am going to share with you some food trends I absolutely loathe.
The saying goes that there is no smoke without fire. But in our times we have to change it to say that there is no smokiness in the food without an insecure chef in the kitchen who thinks he needs some sort of gimmick to improve every dish. Why else would someone spend top dollar on buying, say, chutoro (tuna) and then smoke it? When any such dish arrives at the table I have to overcome the urge to rush into the kitchen and push the chef’s head into the smoker. You idiot, I want to say, I paid that insane amount of money to actually taste the tuna, not the smoke you decided to add to it for no good reason.
For God’s sake, lay off the sauce. And by that I don’t mean, steer clear of the liquor (I could not care less about that). What I am talking about is the tendency of some – if not most – chefs to douse their meat and vegetables in so much sauce that you can barely see the ingredients, let alone taste them. A chef who has confidence in his own skills lets the ingredients do all the talking. He or she doesn’t smother them in sauces so much so that they lose all taste and texture.
Don’t get me wrong. I love avocado as an ingredient. Give me a good guacamole any day. A breakfast of avocado toast (with a poached egg on top) hits the spot for me. And slivers of avocado can improve most salads with their little bursts of fats. But there is a time and dish for everything — including avocado. Don’t ruin my bhel puri by adding avocado to it. Don’t coat it in tandoori spices and pretend it’s a kebab. And whatever you do, please don’t slip it into my dal.
And last but by no means the least, spare me the constant urge to add little dribbles of edible flowers to every dish that comes out of the kitchen. Your sushi does not improve with a few violet petals placed on top. Your idli does not need a sprig of green and pink as decoration (or indeed as a flavour enhancer). And, while we are at it, those dried flowers have no business polluting my pizza. I like flowers on the table as much as the other person, just not on my plate, thank you very much.
From HT Brunch, August 1, 2026
Follow us on www.instagram.com/htbrunch
