The star of 51 Buckingham Gate

Making a mark with South Indian coastal cuisine in the land of curry is no mean feat. Pocketing a Michelin Star, the first-ever for the Taj, and also the first accolade for a South Indian restaurant in the UK for his efforts at the Quilon, executive chef Sriram Vishwanathan Aylur has many plans neatly tucked under his toque. By Neeti Mehra

Spluttering mustard seeds in the South Indian kitchen of Taj's flagship property in the United Kingdom, 51 Buckingham Gate is reminiscent of a tale of overseas success. The property's South Indian restaurant, Quilon, recently bagged a Michelin star, the pinnacle of the culinary universe. Its executive chef, Sriram Vishwanathan Aylur, is ecstatic. "I am absolutely delighted. It really doesn't get any better than a Michelin star. It's like the Oscars of the food business. This award also serves as a sort of reassurance that what we are doing is right," emphasises Chef Sriram.

The mustard seed

It was the aroma from the kitchen that lured him into cooking. "The day I stepped into my father's kitchen, was the beginning of a long passionate quest for the knowledge of food." Fascinated by the smell emanating from the hearth, food became his first love. This olfactory obsession was recognised, and he was given the opportunity of becoming a working partner in the business. This, even though he was still a young college student. A former student of IHM, Chef Sriram joined the Taj Group in 1989, and eventually took overall charge of the Gateway Hotel in Bangalore. He conceived the Karavali Restaurant that crept up the culinary ranks. Ethnic food that negated any shortcuts in recipes became his forte. His experience here helped him hone his skills. But it was only in 1999 that the chef got to test his talents across the briny waters of the Atlantic, starting the Quilon Restaurant in the heart of curry land - London.

London calling

"The challenges of the London market were inumerable. The biggest of them all was the perspective that Indian food was projected in," he says. Dominating the landscape from then till now were fiery curries and heavy sauces. But he rose up to break this myth with his brand of food. "When we first opened, we wondered how a country used to chicken-masala, hot-madras and sickly coloured sauces would cope with partridge cooked in red chilli and semolina crumbed fried fish."

But there was a silver lining to this dark cloud, a demand for healthy, yet tasty food that was Indian to its core. It was a process of educating the guest, and then some more. Chef Sriram points out, "Although our cooking went totally against the grain of what people prior knowledge of Indian food, we found that Londoners were hungry for our style of healthy cooking." The restaurant went on to pile on many accolades, capped finally by a Michelin Star in the Michelin Guide to Great Britain 2008.

Coasting on Kerala

Chef Sriram explains that his cuisine is a combination of modern South Indian coastal cuisine, fresh ingredients, as well as a blend of traditional home-cooking using contemporary dishes. "The ingredients have not been a problem. A Keralan dish will typically use as many as fourteen spices. Quilon imports almost all of its spices from India - chillies, tamarind and peppers because they are of better quality," he states. The restaurant claims to import more fresh spices than any other Indian restaurant in Britain, this being undertaken to ensure the taste is perfect till the last pinch of spice. Speaking of the factors that differentiate Quilon from other restaurants, he says, "We don't try to fool around with the Kerala recipes, except perhaps when it comes to turning down the heat. Keeping with local taste and tradition is also vital." Coconut, for instance, is ground on an old grinding stone instead of in a blender as that would risk burning the spice with the heat of the spinning blades. He describes his cooking technique as progressive. "However, like everything else in life, food progresses. I like to take food further," he adds.

The star

What implications will the star have on Quilon? Says Sriram, "It reinforces the fact that Indian food is on the brink of a revolution in this country. Britain is at the cutting edge of Indian cooking." Having said that, he states that the greatest recognition needs to come from guests. Putting things in perspective, the absence of a Michelin Guide in a country in no way means that India is losing out on superlative culinary experiences. "Even a city like New York got its Michelin Guide very recently but some of the best restaurants in the world have been in New York," he points out. It is a question of eventual progression. With an improvement in the quality of restaurants, more guides will pop up, and eventually, so will the Michelin. "India is also on this culinary journey. I will not be surprised to see a Michelin Guide here soon," states Chef Sriram.

But does the star tilt the balance in South Indian cuisine's favour, and signal the death of the ubiquitous curry house? "They won't disappear, but the very existence of Michelin-starred Indian restaurants may signal the end of flock wall-paper, lager and onion bhajis," he says.

Simmering ahead

The chef has set his sights on New York, said to be the most difficult destination in the world to carve out a culinary niche. "The city is in real need of regional Indian food that is modern and relevant, but which still retains a deep respect for authenticity." It won't be an easy task. With more people travelling, expectations of authentic ethnic food are rising vertiginously. Indian food will soon capture the worldwide palate too. "Its popularity is due to its melange of flavours, health benefits and relative ease of preparation. The fact that every major region of India has its own unique dishes also helps," he says.

His message to contemporaries and staff is that they should continue to experiment and progress, without losing the identity of the cuisine. Despite the star, he doesn't feel any pressure suffocating his ambitions. "We will continue to do what we do best, serving the best food we can and helping to change the image of ethnic Asian food in Britain. There will be no resting on laurels," he concludes.