It was a Rachel-meet-Rachel aka mentor-meets-student affair at The Sassy Spoon for lunch. A sumptuous blend of Irish cuisine with native and non-native ingredients in this eclectic Parisian fine-dine restaurant tucked away in the quiet bylanes of Nariman Point. The restaurant, owned jointly by Chef Rachel Goenka and Chef Irfan Pabaney is offering a week-long special Irish menu for lunch and dinner, designed by the celebrity chef, Rachel Allen who hosts Rachel Allen Bake! on TLC.
The special menu consists of Pearl Barley salad with toasted Almonds, Apple, Pomegranate seeds and smoked Scarmoza, Pumpkin, Goat Cheese and Kale Tart, Irish Smoked Salmon with picked Onion, Caper Horseradish Cream & Chives, Lamb chops with Rosemary smashed Potatoes, Broccoli with Parsley Mint sauce, Baked Trout with Parsley Potatoes & Spinach Butter Sauce, Penne with roasted Cauliflower, Zucchini, Water Chestnuts, Chilli & Garlic and Irish Coffee Meringue Roulade and more.
As we entered the restaurant, the first thing that caught our attention was the decorative wall of vintage wooden and iron chests, painted and stacked up in a grid-like formation. The differently coloured chairs add vibrancy to the cosy ambience. We got into a conversation with Rachel Goenka to try and understand the nuances of bringing together an otherwise blandish salt and pepper and a few herbs sprinkled Irish cuisine in an Indian city where majority of the people love sugar and spice. Rachel tells us that the Irish preparations predominantly concentrate on bringing out the flavour of cooked meat more than the sauces and the spices that in a way take away from the main ingredient, the meats. One of the challenges that they faced while bringing together this special menu was to keep the Irish touch alive using locally available ingredients.
Our 4-course lunch consisted of Carrot & Sweet Potato with Coriander and Cashewnut Pesto for soup, Pearl Barley Salad with toasted Almonds, Apple, Pomegranate Seeds and smoked Scarmoza for salad, Pan seared Rawas with Parsley Potatoes and Spinach Butter sauce for mains, and Irish Coffee Meringue Roulade for dessert. The soup was rich in flavour with a creamy texture. The pesto in it was like the hidden treasure, making it all the more flavour-filled . The salad was a very healthy concoction of the ingredients. I truly loved the toasted almonds and pomegranate seeds in combination with barley grains, although I felt the smoked scarmoza took away from the salad. The main course was an absolutely fresh delight of rawas on a bed of parsley potatoes and spinach sauce complimenting each other. The dessert was heavenly with just a slight hint of Irish whiskey. The cream and coffee flavours of the meringue against the slightly crumbly roulade were overwhelming. It was lapped up in the blink of an eye, leaving us wanting more!
The week-long affair that started on the 13th June leads up to a fund-raiser dinner designed by the three chefs this Friday, June 20, priced at Rs. 5000/dinner and the proceeds from the special dinner event will be donated to an NGO called GOAL foundation. GOAL is an international humanitarian agency dedicated to alleviating the suffering of the poorest of the poor. The highlight of the event, apart from the opportunity to sample traditional Irish cuisine while contributing to a noble cause, would also be the chance to meet with the Irish chef, Rachel Allen on her first visit to India.
Meal (For Two) –
Carrot & Sweet Potato with Coriander and Cashewnut Pesto – Rs 365
Pearl Barley Salad with toasted Almonds, Apple, Pomegranate Seeds and smoked Scarmoza – Rs 365
Pan seared Rawas with Parsley Potatoes and Spinach Butter Sauce – Rs 765
Irish Coffee Meringue Roulade – Rs 365
(Prices inclusive of VAT, Government Tax as applicable, plus 10% service charge)
You can book your table and join The Sassy Spoon in this culinary exposition at –
Address:
Ground Floor – Express Towers,
Ramnath Goenka Marg,
Nariman Point, Mumbai-21
Contact: 22888222
[The-Sassy-Spoon]
Vaneeta Purohit, Director, Avant Weddings, Events & Artists, is a wedding planner based out of Mumbai. She has successfully handled weddings and events at locations like Goa, Bangalore, Udaipur and the like, apart from delivering complete wedding management solutions, other corporate events and religious congregations at esteemed venues. Her other interests include writing, reading, sketching, travelling, attending music concerts, trying out new cuisines and restaurants, watching movies, drama and stand-up comedy acts and cooking.