Ten years ago, the ‘foreign’ food on the average middle class Indian’s menu included the bastardized version of Chinese cooking that Indians love (mainly consisting of noodles doused with Soy sauce), Kellogg’s corn flakes, the quintessential Maggi Noodles and the staple diet of millions across the world, Bread. Though bread has been in existence for centuries, it has always been looked down upon by Tamil Maamis and Punjabi aunties as being something the British inflicted upon India. South India mostly stuck with Rice, Sambar, Idli & Dosa while North India was content with Roti & Sabji. East & West settled for either.
The gourmet outings in those days were limited to a visit to Liu Hang’s Kitchen or a similarly named place which sold Gobi Manchurian & Hong Kong Noodles. The names were from China. The food was designed to satiate the Indian’s spice-craving palate.
Times have changed. Theme restaurants have opened by the dozen all over India, albeit mostly in the Metropolitan cities. One can choose from Lebanese, Thai, authentic Chinese, Italian, Spanish, Mediterranean and what-not. Even though steeply priced, an upper-middle class Indian can afford to venture into one of these once in a while.
An article in The Hindu recently mentioned the emergence of specialty stores selling gourmet food products, mainly imported ones. A few have sprung up in Chennai, Mercado in Besant Nagar & Maison Des Gourmet on Cenotaph Road being mentioned in the article.
But much before these two sprung up, Nuts & Spices opened up a few outlets and Five Star Classic on ECR has been around for a long time. Being interested in anything related with food, I have been a regular visitor at Five Star Classic. After reading the article, I decided to visit the others to see what a greenhorn gourmet can hope to buy in Chennai.
Five Star Classic has a fairly extensive inventory. They stock a variety of virgin olive oil, and several types of pasta. Their frozen meat section has a few varieties of chicken and fish. While the chicken products are indian, I have seen a Vietnamese variety of fish & Norwegian salmon there. They sell Perrier water, and ingredients that make up mocktails. They also have tortillas, jams, preserves and pickles. They sell different kinds of cheese including goat cheese, Dutch cheese & Brie. They even sell tubes of Wasabi.
Nuts & Spices mainly has chocolates and sweets. They also have Jalapenos & Olives and other preserves. Sun dried tomatoes and Pesto sauces also line their shelves. I picked up jalapenos & gherkins at this place.
Spencer’s Daily now offers a Focaccia bread, Salsa bread & Baguettes. They also sell olives, preserves and cocktail mixes, Dijon mustard & imported biscuits.
I hadn’t been to Mercado, and after reading the article, decided to pay it a visit. It is undoubtedly the most exotic of the lot I’ve been to so far. They have a splendid meat section offering different cuts of meat. Proscuitto from Italy, Salmon from Wales, sausages, Bockwurst are all lined up neatly in the freezer. They have a commendable collection of cheese. I spotted Haloumi, Brie, Camembert, Parmiggiano Reggiano, Emmental, and also a fondue-ready block of cheese. They have a selection of imported potato wafers (even Wasabi flavoured). They sell some exotic fruit & vegetables. I spotted Dragon Fruit. They have stuffed vine leaves. They have Shiitake mushrooms. They have everything a chef could wish for. But you have to be prepared to spend atleast Rs 2000 if you’re planning to buy any serious stuff here. Average price is Rs 200 for 100 gms.
The only down side is the place is quite small and a staff-member follows you like a shadow wherever you go. It got on my nerves.
I wanted to visit Maison des Gourmet, since the article seemed to focus on it. However I couldn’t make it. The article mentions they have a lot of bread. Apart from that, I guess it will offer more or less the same stuff that is on display at Mercado. I’m looking forward to a visit next weekend.
With the Internet more accessible now, recipes from all over the world are just a few mouse-clicks away. With raw-materials also on the market, it is much easier to be a gourmet these days. Hosts & Hostesses can offer guests Tempura Prawns, Moussaka, Pita bread and Chicken Parmesan – all home made.
I’m waiting for the day when King Crab, Maine Lobster, Peking Duck, Guinness and other famous delicacies from around the world also make their way into Indian kitchens.
Get your chef-hat on and start cooking.
Cheers!
P.S Gourmet cooking apart, I still enjoy Indian-Chinese.


