Simplicity. That's the best word in the dictionary for Mr Burno Cedran, the new executive chef at The Oberoi, New Delhi. And having said that this is his favourite word, Mr Cedran goes on to prove it with his simple cooking style. He produces a lobster cooked in chicken stock with olive oil for flavouring. Very simple, yet very full of flavour.Mr Cedran is a star chef and has worked for over 25 years for leading hotels of the world, having worked in places like The Windsor, Melbourne; Inn-on-the-park Hotel, London; Four Season, Toronto, and Hotel Carlton, Cannes. But the jewel in his crown has been his stint at Moulin de Mougins, a three-star Michelin restaurant in France.
The key to his stardom has been his dependence on using only fresh produce to cook up his gourmet meals. He has been in Delhi for the past two months, and his first task has been to source fresh meat, fish and chicken, along with vegetables for his kitchens.
He made it a point to visit the hotel's chicken supplier and has ensured that only corn-fed chicken will be served on his tables. ``I have travelled to Kochi and spent a week there to make sure that the suppliers can send me fresh sea food,'' says Mr Cedran. His taste buds favour sea food. He loves cooking with lobsters, Baramundi, red snapper and the like. So, La Rochelle, the French restaurant at The Oberoi, will soon have a new menu that will show his partiality to sea food.
Mr Cedran has been to India before and is familiar with the Indian palate's penchant for spices. His wife being an exporter of soft furnishings visits India often and Mr Cedran has often accompanied her. ``But my food will not have any chillies. I may use some spices, but the real flavour of these spices will be the dominant taste,'' he says.
As executive chef, he will also look carefully at all the menu of the hotel's five other restaurants and the banquets, too. ``I like food that will use little oil and simple flavouring to bring out the best for the dish,'' he says.
In his spare time, Mr Cedran likes to play golf, go swimming, read autobiographies and cook, too. ``In Australia, when I am not working, I am hosting friends for dinner,'' says Mr Cedaran, who had made Australia his home.
Mr Cedran loves to meet his guests almost on a daily basis and loves to please them, too. Last week he was seen offering to make some Diwali specialities for some of the his frequent diners.
Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.