The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
the b-side
Thursday, April 6, 2017 — 3B
Srijith
Gopinathan
—
executive
chef
to
San
Francisco’s Taj Campton Place
Hotel — found his career path
to be fraught with what he says
were “big time complications.”
Hailing from southern India,
Gopinathan had as traditional
of an upbringing as any of
his regional contemporaries
possibly could — a mother
who (at least initially) wasn’t
the happiest at his culinary
aspirations, and a family of
engineers, doctors and the like
to supplement that.
“I certainly was a black
sheep,” Gopinathan said. But
his time off the beaten path
seems to have paid dividends.
As of 2016, the Campton Place
boasts
two
Michelin
stars
under Gopinathan’s reign, a
feat very few restaurants in
the world have achieved. In
addition to that, Gopinathan
holds the prestige of being
the only Indian chef to have
reached two star status as well.
His role as a purveyor of fine
Indian dining in the Western
world is something he calls “a
big responsibility.”
“Indian food is one of the
finest and flavorsome cuisines
in the world. Unfortunately
Indian cuisine in West has
not
been
represented
by
professionals.
We
are
just
getting
there,”
Gopinathan
said. And his team at Campton
Place have been quietly and
admirably leading the charge
in that respect. “We are an
example for Indian-influenced
fine
dining
…
[and]
we
communicate that well to our
guests.”
And there’s stark truth in
that statement. His rotating
menu
consistently
offers
the best ingredients Indian
cuisine has to offer, while
also channeling the kind of
avant-garde
experimentation
that can be better associated
with the likes of Ferran Adrià
and Heston Blumenthal — but
reaching that point took an
extensive
professional,
and
philosophical, education.
After pursuing a bachelor’s
degree in Hotel Management,
Gopinathan’s career path took
him to a variety of destinations
across the globe. Following
his studies in India, he spent
time at a variety of hotels in
India before taking the helm
at the Taj Exotica hotel in the
Maldives. He later took to
America to further his culinary
education in Hyde Park, NY,
at the Culinary Institute of
America. Afterward, he found
himself in the kitchen of famed
two star restaurant Le Manoir
aux Quat’Saisons, in Oxford,
England, where he further
honed his craft and better
mastered
the
fundamentals
of
Michelin-tier
European
cuisine. It’s these experiences
that Gopinathan said affirmed
his choice of taking up the
profession of being a chef.
“That’s when I figured I
really wanted to cook and I
enjoyed doing it,” he said.
Gopinathan has been the
executive chef at the Campton
Place since 2008. In that time,
he has made a distinct name
for himself thanks to his skill
in finding a seamless cohesion
between traditional southern
Indian cuisine and classical,
European
fine
dining.
Touching on the fundamentals
of
his
style,
Gopinathan
emphasizes that his adherence
to quality ingredients is what
helps bring his visions to
fruition.
“It all starts with right
ingredients. I always advocate
for the best possible raw
materials and try to maintain
the integrity of the main
ingredients … without masking
[them]
much,”
Gopinathan
said.
“San
Francisco
also
spoiled me much by providing
me with [some] of the best
ingredients in the world.”
Gopinathan’s
ambitions
aren’t settling anytime soon,
either. After earning his second
Michelin star in 2016, his eyes
are still set on bringing fine
Indian dining to the Western
mainstream. Lately, he cites
his
Indian
contemporaries’
culinary successes in London
as a point of inspiration for his
own visions.
“We should and will be part
of mainstream scene here in
less than five years. I’m sure of
that.”
ARTIST
PROFILE
IN
TAJ CAMPTON PLACE
Chef Srijith Gopinathan
Michelin-decorated
chef Gopinathan
reflects on culinary
style and philosophy
ANAY KATYAL
Managing Arts Editor
His rotating
menu consistently
offers the best
ingredients
Indian cuisine has
to offer
GRAND CENTRAL PULISHING
The cover of Sarah Michelle Gellar’s new cookbook
The undead to uncooked:
‘Fun with Food’ review
Sarah Michelle Gellar’s cookbook matches ease with taste
We all know Sarah Michelle
Gellar
for
her
empowering
performance
as
Buffy
the
Vampire Slayer. Gellar even
contributed to early 2000s teen
flicks in “I Know What You Did
Last Summer” and probably
peaked in cinema as Kathryn
Marteuil in “Cruel Intentions.”
But what happens when you
put this prolific badass in
the kitchen, and she writes a
cookbook? Pure magic.
From a young age, I have
been
obsessed
with
“Buffy
the
Vampire
Slayer.”
The
title heroine was everything
I could’ve asked for: fierce,
independent
and,
most
importantly, human. The show
doesn’t hide the fact that Buffy
is a teenager — a teenager with
very real problems. Now our
heroine has a family, and her
issues have evolved from the
undead to the uncooked. As
a mother, Gellar continues to
slay recipes as well as she did
vampires.
A
slayer
turned
mother,
Gellar has found the importance
of family in cooking and sharing
meals,
putting
together
a
collection of over 115 recipes
titled “Stirring Up Fun with
Food.” Gellar wrote in the
introduction, “Mealtimes have
always been when I ‘unplug’
for a bit and engage in real,
honest connections. Once I had
kids, this experience became
even
more
important.”
She
sets the book in the context of
involving her kids in cooking,
using creative methods to make
the process fun and inviting
for them. In describing her
creativity in the kitchen Gellar
asks, “Isn’t it more fun to eat
food out of a jar?” The answer
is a resounding yes, for kids and
pseudo-adults
(college-aged
people) alike.
To test out how college-
budget
and
kitchen-friendly
her recipes were, I attempted
the Truffle Parmesan Risotto
and
Asparagus
Fries
with
fellow
Buffy
fanatics
and
editors Madeleine Gaudin and
Carly Snider. This was my first
undertaking of any type of
risotto or baked vegetable —
and possibly Carly’s first time
in a kitchen — and the outcome
was
more
than
affordable,
manageable and satisfactory.
Total prep and cook time
was approximately 45 minutes,
which was perfectly reasonable
for the busy college student. And
the result was simply delicious.
The
asparagus
fries
were
crunchy, tasty and guilt-free;
the risotto turned out creamy
and satisfactory and could’ve
only been improved with the
addition of some grilled chicken.
Better yet, the ingredients
list wasn’t overly complicated.
Having
had
most
of
the
necessary ingredients, we only
had to purchase the asparagus,
rice, buttermilk and cheese. It
also made a hefty portion of
food, completely feeding four
college students and leaving
plenty as leftovers. The most
important takeaway from our
time in the kitchen is that kid-
friendly
recipes
also
equal
college-friendly
recipes
—
apparently, our parents were
right about us still being kids all
along.
The book is cleverly sectioned
into the months of the year,
with recipes suited for seasonal
tastes. The beginning of each
section
features
a
couple
paragraphs about the month
and Gellar’s personal culinary
highlights that directly address
the time of year. She writes
that June is “time to loosen up,
relax, kick off your shoes, and
get a little sand between your
toes. Eating outdoors is the
rule rather than the exception,
and every meal feels like a
celebration
of
the
season’s
bounty.” She does a fantastic
job contextualizing her recipes,
adding a personal touch that
goes a long way with motivating
the reader to replicate her craft.
Even more exciting is her
inclusion of “Star Wars Day”
(May 4th) and Shark Week
recipes
in
their
respective
months,
making
fun
treats
with
creative
presentations.
Gellar notes that the recipes
are personally connected to her
family: “What other kids can say
their mom and dad were voices
in a ‘Star Wars’ series?” From
Chewbacca-shaped cookies to
“Shark Fin Parfaits,” Gellar’s
creativity shines brightly in
these subtle inclusions. She
doesn’t stop there, including
a section for school nights in
her September chapter and
the summer solstice in June,
appealing to parents who might
want fun culinary ideas for any
holiday or time of the year.
By including a wide array of
manageable recipes, Gellar has
produced a cookbook not only
appealing to actual kids, but also
to college-aged kids on a budget.
Equally as adept at slaying
vampires as she is producing
delicious meals in the kitchen,
Gellar’s “Stirring Up Fun with
Food” makes a fantastic addition
to any home.
DOMINIC POLSINELLI
Daily Arts Writer
THE WB
But what happens
when you put this
prolific badass
in the kitchen,
and she writes a
cookbook?
BOOK REVIEW
ARE YOU INTERESTING?
JOIN ARTS.
Email arts@michigandaily.com for an
application