GOING NATIVE

Faring well

PHOTO V.V. KRISHNAN

Food for thought Chef Wasser gives European students a feel of Indian culture through his school menu

Chef Raymond Wasser has been pampering the tastebuds of Delhiites since 1995. Running a catering service called ‘Bon Apetit’, his scrumptious cuisine, varying from European to Oriental to Cajun to Creole to Indian, often makes it to the parties of food lovers in the city. His culinary delights have also earned him 20-30 embassies as regular clients.

Besides supplying lunch to the British School and the French School, The Dutch chef is also sought after for his advice on how to go about setting up a restaurant, and sometimes he is asked to revamp a menu. He has just redone the lunch menu for the Mediterranean lounge Shalom called ‘Medlight’ and is currently working on its dinner menu. “The lunch menu has an emphasis on salad and is very light. Actually, my forte is Mediterranean food,” says Wasser sitting in the cosy confines of Shalom at Vasant Vihar.

For Wasser, the journey has been so far so good. He met Symran, now his wife, at a wedding in Holland. They dated each other for a couple of months and finally decided to tie the knot. Tired of his job in an IT company, he insisted on coming to India. “I wanted to do something of my own. At least one of us has roots here. If it hadn’t worked out, it would have been like an extended holiday. I was intrigued by the country,” recalls Wasser who came to India in 1993. Adjusting here was smooth. In fact, says Wasser, it was his wife who had problems doing so. “I was a novelty for the family,” chuckles Wasser.

Initially, he along with his partners started a leather garment factory but with the company closing down, Wasser got a chance to return to his passion for good. “There were hardly any caterers doing European cuisine here and it was of low standard,” recalls Wasser who tried to fill this gap with his enterprise. According to him, the food lovers, especially the regular Indian clients, in the city have grown very discerning and aware. “Most of them prefer Italian, Lebanese and Mediterranean food. There used to be a time when clients wanted all 25 dishes to be laid on the table and even the snacks, but now no more. I have got used to serving food at 12 in the night, but there are a few things I still stick to. I won’t do food for a party where food is to be served at 2 o’clock in the morning,” explains Wasser who has his base kitchen in Chhattarpur. He arrives with his army of cooks and prepares food right at the venue.

But even with so much experience in the trade, Wasser is still not very keen to open a restaurant. “Setting up a restaurant is an expensive proposition. Most of the so-called fine-dining restaurants feel tempted to cover their costs and start event nights where the focus turns completely away from the food. People can’t hear each other and you are being elbowed by young teenyboppers who have come there for a few drinks. I will open a space where food will not be sidelined but according to a formula that I have in mind,” says Wasser.

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