A theatre of food

A theatre of food

The Oberoi Hotel in Mumbai recently unveiled what it calls a "contemporary,all-day restaurant", Frangipani, at the Oberoi Towers. The design of therestaurant revolves around the metaphor of a "theatre of food", where thepreparation and presentation of the cuisine play the lead role.

The unique selling proposition of this "culinary theatre" is the ItalianSoul, a state-of-the-art, wood-fired pizza oven coated in platinum. Here,diners can watch resident Italian chef Igor at work on authentic Italianpizzas, which naturally have a variety of toppings.

Frangipani also provides two "chef's tables", which are compared to "thebest seats in town". They allow the guests an even better view of thegoings-on.

The restaurant has set up a "hot stage" and a "cold stage" that serve aselection of hot and cold appetisers and salads. The Dessert and Coffee Deliclaims to offer the largest selection of freshly brewed coffee in this partof the town. Count among this Jamaican Blue Mountain and Brazil Santos.The selection of teas includes Earl Grey, Peppermint and Camomile. ChefRalph is proud of his dessert spread, which includes Tiramisu made withMascarporne Cheese and Baked Bitter Chocolate Topped with Ganache andCrunchy Coffee Nougatine.

An etched glass wall beyond the "stages" lists the names of herbs and spicesin English, and Sanskrit, though you wonder why. The stress does seem to lieheavy on the spices used in their kitchen, for spice displays have been setup along the facade and in the restaurant.

The rest of Frangipani has been done up in white Calcutta marble in order toconvey a quiet elegance and make dining there an easy and pleasantexperience. Artefacts have been displayed along the walls and the drapesused are purple and orange, to complement the rest of the decor.

-- Bella Jaisinghani