he afternoon was filled with culinary enthusiasts and opinion makers. The table was laid, the ingredients were ready and the excitement was at its peak amid the audience waiting for it to roll. It was not a live telecast of masterchef but a live culinary session on one of the most fascinating cook outs- Gluten free recipes for Hi Tea with none other than Sangeeta Khanna- an eminent health food writer along with Chef Alok Verma- Executive Sous Chef at The Imperial. This exclusive session from The Imperial Culinary Club had Sangeeta Khanna lending her expertise on nutrition to Chef Alok Verma, who hand-crafted a Gluten Free menu for tea time eats.
The audience embarked a culinary journey with Chef Alok Verma and Sangeeta, discovering the secret health benefits of Gluten free food and learnt to re-create some exquisite but simple recipes for a perfect Hi-Tea experience at home. A live cooking demonstration usually holds a special place and when a masterchef and a nutrition expert arespearheading Gluten free combinations, audience from all walks of life, cutting across age groups, are obviously left mesmerized. So, the cook out featured recipes by Chef Alokconjured from healthy alternate ingredients like buckwheat, ragi, quinoa, millets, water chestnut so on and so forth while Sangeeta gave an insightful talk on adapting a Gluten free lifestyle, its relevance and benefits. The audience looked overwhelmed and surprised, to know such delish dishes made out of alternate flours and were excited to take home recipes from The Imperial kitchen. From Buckwheat blinis sandwich with beetroot and feta to Ragi Samosa filled cucumber, peas and cashew nut; Quinoa cumin and sesame crackers with orange hummus; Amaranth flour, carrot and raisin cookies and Fresh water chestnut panacotta with pecan nut and honeycomb, the menu was a treat to the senses filled with gluten free delights.
Vijay Wanchoo, Senior Executive Vice President & General Manager, the Imperial, New Delhi commented “I am excited to share my thoughts on these interesting and healthy Gluten Free recipes for Hi Tea session at The Imperial Culinary Club by none other than Sangeeta Khanna with our Executive Sous Chef Alok Verma. Sangeeta Khanna as we all know is an acclaimed health and healing food writer with an insightful knowledge on nutrition. We are highly grateful to her for lending her expertise for this initiative while our Executive Sous Chef Alok Verma has curated this fantastic Gluten Free menu, which I am sure you all will fall in love with.” He further said “The session is a remarkable addition to the tradition of The Imperial culinary club which is now almost 37 sessions old and has a huge following in creating unforgettable learning experiences for our discerning guests. We have taught recipes across the world, tried to impart culinary skills in the simplest manner with interactive sessions on a live station and solved all the gourmet related queries of our guests. The participants love the personalized attention and knowledge they receive from us and today we have made it memorable with this expert association. The Imperial is delighted to join hands with a health mentor like Sangeeta and wish to continue our association with her.”
Sangeeta Khanna expressed her views “food is the biggest change maker and we are the ones who can make a choice”.
“The awareness and acceptance of gluten free is gaining prominence in a big way as many of us are intolerant to this protein and are Celiac. I believe recipes like these will end the big dilemma of how to make fuss- free gluten free snacks, especially for tea time which are delicious too. I have created this menu for those who are gluten intolerant and also who intend to try a gluten free diet for an easy on stomach home-cooking. For instance, I have done alternations in samosa filling, added quinoa to crackers, water chestnut to panacotta, crafted a buckwheat sandwich and more. The idea is to make the menu not only healthy but to use easily available ingredients in a creative manner for some delectable bites” Chef Alok Verma- Executive Sous Chef The Imperial.
Each recipe had a distinctive preparation and flavors marked with the flawless culinary art of Chef Alok, accentuated by the expert advice by Sangeeta. The audience were seen satiated to know more about these healthy gluten free ingredients and specialties for easy and quick home-style cooking. The afternoon concluded with a lavish hi tea buffet featuring all the curated recipes and more, leaving the taste buds of the audience dance in each bite. The enchanting soiree ended with some delightful conversations with a promise of a healthy lifestyle.
About The Imperial Culinary Club The Imperial Culinary Club is an initiative to share with our patrons the finer nuances of ‘The Imperial’ cuisine. A unique and interactive platform to capture the culinary interest of cooking enthusiasts, it is a culinary class executed with the presentation of epicurean treasures in a live cookery show. Each session is full of exciting cuisines made either by the in-house chefs and The Imperial Senior Executive VP & GM- Vijay Wanchoo, who started his career as a chef and even highly skilled guest chefs on special occasions. The Club has arrested the interests of our discerning women guests with almost 37 sessions till date and with cuisines like Konkani with Tara Deshpande, Southern selection with Chandra Padmanabhan and other interesting sessions with Imperial chefs like Thai, Lebanese, Chocolate temptations, European, Kashmiri, Italian, Summer delights, Goan cuisine, Continental Brunch, Healthy Mediterranean cuisine, Pastries & Tarts etc.
