The latest figures on UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak's Eat Out to Help Scheme this week add up to a mouth-watering 35 million meals, which in the minister's own words is the equivalent to over half of the UK taking part. As much of the country's hospitality industry starts to further emerge from the coronavirus lockdown with a little help with this Monday-Wednesday August discount scheme, 'iGlobal' takes a look at another popular Indian restaurant adapting to the new normal as part of our own ongoing series.
Located in the heart of London's leafy hub of Chelsea, Kahani is a contemporary Indian restaurant from Peter Joseph, the former Head Chef at the Michelin-star Tamarind.
Joseph, who began his cooking career in his early 20s, went solo with Kahani in 2018 after a decade at Tamarind. Kahani, which translates as story, is inspired by his childhood in Tamil Nadu, where his mother would cook wholesome meals for the family to be enjoyed over many storytelling sessions.
The restaurant reflects a very distinctive approach to Indian cuisine, bringing together the celebrated chef's years of experience in British kitchens. His focus is on the finest British ingredients that are brought to life with the traditional spices and culinary techniques associated with Indian cooking.
He says: “I am passionate about spending more time on planning the ingredients to put together. I love that cooking has given me the chance to create and indulge - where else can you find a chance to put art and science together.”
Joseph's creative dishes revolve around grilled food and a whole gamut that covers unique entrees and desserts, alongside various vegan options.
“The science involved in creating a dish is both cooking and adding the ingredients at the right time, whilst the art lays in the way you present the food to the happy customers - this is where the art is most involved,” explains Joseph.
And, that confluence of science and art is what he has been working towards at Kahani, where the dining experience opened up a new chapter offering takeaways, private bookings and an unusual Home Dining service as result of the lockdown.
Within his style of combining innovation and storytelling, the Home Dining service offers an opportunity to have a Michelin-level chef cooking at one's home - tailored to the needs of the participant(s), with an option to even have Joseph come to your home for an entertaining teaching experience.
While Kahani has been experimenting with these different aspects, the doors of the restaurant remain largely shut since March - when the UK went into lockdown.
“We decided not to re-open as we want to see how the market copes. Our grand opening is in September, but before this, we are offering a private dine-in experience at Kahani, where you can have the whole restaurant to yourself with a minimum of six people,” says the chef.
Also, as someone who gets the most satisfaction when he sees people enjoy some well-cooked food, there was only one way to celebrate the 72nd anniversary of the National Health Service (NHS) recently.
“We wanted to thank NHS workers for all their hard work and dedication during the pandemic. So, we cooked up a feast of vegetarian and non-vegetarian biryani dishes for staff workers to enjoy at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.”
While acknowledging the impact the pandemic has had on the hospitality industry, Joseph believes that Indian cuisine remains in a strong position for the fight back.
He reflects: “This is one of the biggest tragedies the world has faced, and things will be tough for the industry. Tourism will affect the industry - from hotels we tend to get at least 10-15 people daily, this will now be reduced as people are hesitant to go out and travel. However, with Chelsea being a residential area, we are okay in that sense. I strongly believe that next year things will go back to some form of normality.
“I believe that if we carry on promoting ourselves as we are doing and be flexible and innovative in our inventions for our customers, it will help to keep things going.”
by Preeti Bali
*More from 'iGlobal' Eat Out to Help Out Series