The Hindu Business Line : Watch… before you slurp!

It’s an admirable concept; enjoy your seafood prepared by great chefs, but say ‘No’ to that which is caught/farmed in ways harmful to other marine life and the environment.

Chef Ressul is extremely talented and has worked at several fine restaurants around the world.

Rasheeda Bhagat

Delectable... and a ’green’ choice.

Rasheeda Bhagat

Well, it was not exactly blind waiters serving us food in complete darkness as is done in the first “dark restaurant” started by a Swiss foundation to not only give diners a “sensory experience” where smell and taste score over visual appeal, but also to provide employment opportunities to the visually challenged.

Nor were we served food by robots as happens in a new restaurant started in Hong Kong where “robots greet guests, take orders and serve food”, as a special advertisement in the March 17 issue of Time magazine points out.

But we did manage to eat in a fine restaurant at the famous Monterey Bay Aquarium, surrounded by marine wealth of all kind. The occasion was the closing dinner for the international media and nutrition representatives attending the 2008 Annual Pistachio Conference organised by Paramount Farms.

Four of the best chefs in the region had been co-opted to put together a delicious meal for us, each of course accompanied by a special wine of the chief’s choice. The central theme of the evening — no prize for guessing — was pistachio and each of the delicacies served to us — scallop, tuna, lamb and of course the dessert — had made some use of pistachios. This was done either as a crust to coat the fish slices, or as whole, as essence or a sauce.

The idea was to promote the sale of California pistachios in emerging markets such as China, India, Mexico and Eastern Europe, apart from extending sales in North America, and the platform chosen was not only health and nutrition — research being done in several American universities is now unearthing the beneficial effect of pistachios — but also taste and culinary innovation and elegance. We were told by health and nutrition experts that a 49-kernel helping of pistachios can do immense good to your heart by providing antioxidants (six times that found in green tea).

We had the “exquisitely talented” chef of Persian origin, Chef de Cuisine of Club XIX, Ressul Rassallat, serve us his signature dish — Roasted Lamb Loin in Pistachio, with baby artichokes and red wine. Only the previous evening, he had offered us a scrumptious menu at Club XIX, the restaurant at the very pricey hotel on the lush green Pebble Beach, where a $500 tag is casual — be it for a night’s stay or an 18-hole golf game.

The other courses at The Aquarium included ‘Lime cured Diver Scallop’ with French beans and Lettuce, ‘Coriander and Pistachio Crusted Ahi’ (tuna, also known as yellowfin tuna) served rare with citrus aoli and ‘Strawberry Rhubarb with Pistachio Crust’ served with buttermilk basil sorbet and pomegranate caramel sauce.

Romantic ambience

But the star of the evening was of course Chef Ressul; he is extremely talented and has worked at several fine restaurants around the world. Club XIX provides diners with a breathtaking view of the Carmel Bay, and has a cosy inner dining area as well as a glorious patio; you can’t ask for a more romantic ambience. It reminds you of a classy, aristocratic and of course snooty club; the service here is first-class, the food of exceptional quality and its presentation elegant. At this place, the previous evening, Keith Sunderlal of the SCS Group, the Delhi-based agri consultancy that represents Paramount Farms in India, had ruined for me Chef Ressul’s recommendation — Grilled Double Cut Veal Chop Scented with Basil.

The Chef had insisted I have this “delicacy”, and one willingly succumbed; the problem was it came after generous helpings of delicious starters. One was ‘Duet of Jumbo Lump Crab with Crusty Shrimp’, and the second was Mediterranean Langoustine (baby lobster) served in a nest of vermicelli; both were washed down with the best of Californian white wine. In desperation I enlisted Keith’s help to do some justice to the veal chops, so as not to send almost the whole portion back to the kitchen. He demurely declined with a mysterious “I’ll tell you why later”.

This was enough to kill an already satiated appetite. When the plate was returned, almost full, to the kitchen, Keith explained how even though he eats “anything that moves” he had given up veal after learning about the torture the young calf is subjected to in order “to keep it anaemic so that the meat remains white”.

However, at the Aquarium dinner, the very vivacious Dorothy Maras-Ildiz, who is involved in the organisation of the First Annual Pebble Beach Food and Wine event from March 27-30, and is passionate about disseminating information about what seafood you can safely eat without destroying the species and what you should refuse even when offered, says that this cruelty is no longer being practised. Anyway, Keith has indeed managed to put me off veal for a long time… not that I’m a great admirer of it.

Seafood watch

One is indeed impressed with the Aquarium’s promotion of its ‘Seafood Watch’ programme, coming as it does in a country where consumption patterns and volumes have reached dizzy heights. The ‘National Seafood Guide’ is an admirable campaign on the sustainability of our oceans, spelling out clearly for seafood enthusiasts what is allowed and what is out of bounds. The green or “best choices” section lists species that are “abundant, well managed and caught or farmed in environmentally friendly ways”; the amber of “good alternatives” list those that are an option but not without concerns on how they are caught/farmed, and the red or “avoid” category includes items caught/farmed in ways that harm other marine life or the environment.

A little more on Dorothy’s event, even though not many of us might be able to afford participation, at least in the premium packages. Promoted as the “premier luxury epicurean event on the West Coast” and hosted on “one of the most pristine strips of coastline in the world, Pebble Beach Food & Wine celebrates 35 celebrity chefs and 200 wineries during this unforgettable four-day event.”

Internationally acclaimed wineries and chefs will vie to create “luxurious lunches, delectable dinners, wine-tastings, cooking demonstrations, and one of the most remarkable rare wine auctions in the country.” The packages start at $999 and go up to a stiff $4,750.

If you include a game of golf and three nights’ accommodation, along with the various wine-tastings and meals, it can go up to $10,805; but don’t worry, you’ll get a discount of $2,055! By the way, many of the events have already been sold out, says Dorothy, with a deep dimpled smile!