Four Seasons Hotel (Mumbai)

Luxury is something which is measured in quality rather than quantity. Mumbai has and always will be a honeyed flower for potential money-bees and to learn the art of sucking dry the sweet nectar, it is an acquired talent and only the seasoned know how to make the most of it.

Four Seasons Hotel is a name to reckon with and renowned as the most luxurious chain of hotels world over; the Four Seasons Mumbai which is strategically situated right what we could call the beginning of South Mumbai – is at Worli. It is an oddly industrious structure standing tall amongst the lesser known buildings around that area. Once you step in, you are completely quieted out from the sounds and humdrums of Mumbai and into utter luxury which is linked arm-in-arm with impeccable service, warmth and soft sunlit ambience.

I had met their Executive Chef – Chef Clinton J. Cooper by a personal invite from him at an exclusive wine dinner at The Cristal, a private club at the Four Seasons. He had cooked up a five course meal to go with Italy’s famed wine – Chianti and I rubbed shoulders with the fourth generation owner of Italy’s renowned winery as well as a select eight other invitees.

This was in October 2011; he was posted as the Executive Chef, Four Seasons Hotel, Mumbai sometime in November 2010. On my first meeting with Chef Clinton I was inspired by his expertise at creating dishes which were influenced by his journey to where he is at the moment, but over time, as I got to know him personally, there was much more to his talent and cooking that makes up Chef Clinton’s persona.

Originally from Auckland, New Zealand and armed with a Diploma in basic Cooking from Manukau Institute of Technology and a Diploma in professional cookery from Auckland University of Technology, Chef Clinton has worked his way through 15 years of kitchen life in Shangri-La, Banyan Tree, Rosewood Hotels and Hyatt in China, UAE, Maldives, Thailand, Seychelles, Saudi Arabia, Fiji and New Zealand. His journey has brought him to India and Mumbai should be proud to have one of its finest establishments under his control, atleast as far as the kitchen goes.

More than his skills of wielding the spatula in the kitchen, what intrigued me about him was his personality. I have seen him at work, and it’s a delight to watch how well he ingratiates himself as an equal with all of his staff, understudies, sous chefs and the rest of the team. Well respected and at the same time in command, it makes for quite a sight to see the kitchen work like clockwork with his mere presence. Of course, it has not been a smooth sailing for him (as it is with most successful people), he has had his fair share of ‘situations’ from working through a coup in his first overseas post in Fiji, the Second Gulf War while he was in Saudi Arabia, and last but not the least the tsunami when he moved to Thailand.

Chef Clinton oversees the two restaurants and a top of the line bar at the Four Seasons Hotel. Namely Café Prato, San Qi and Aer bar apart from personally dabbling in private meals at their exclusive member’s only private club.

Café Prato is a bright little space lit by natural light through high glass walls and has a range of salads, soups, appetizers, pizzas and even Kathi Rolls (an influence which keeps in mind Mumbai’s flavors).

San Qi, a fine dining experience restaurant is a huge split level space with open kitchens on both levels churning out buffet brunches and cozy intimate dinners in the evenings. Four cuisines take up this space run individually by four Masterchef’s. San Qi serves up a fare with Asian influences such as Thai, Japanese, Indian and Chinese. Another perfect combination in tandem with Chef Clinton’s expertise as there was an instance when in his two years in Thailand, not once did he eat western food and stuck to local establishments thus honing him to master the art of authenticity in his cooking. They also do serve up some of the finest Sushi in the city, a personal favorite of mine.

Aer Bar is probably one of the best ‘rooftop’ bars in Mumbai, on the 34th floor and overlooking the vast skyline of Mumbai on one side and the unobstructed sea-view on the other. It runs across the width of the buildings terrace but once you are up there, it’s a windy, open spaced nirvana with a feeling of suspended in space. Brightly lit bar and signature cocktails again with influences drawn fromIndia in some of them, the food is a right mix of all their cuisines put together from their various dining areas.

When I visited Chef Clinton in his kitchen at the Four Seasons Hotel, I asked him to prepare for me dishes which he had not only mastered by somehow held close to his heart as well as his outstanding most. A difficult choice indeed considering Chefs like him are on constant innovation mode and it’s difficult to pick out a couple of ‘favorites’. But he was wise enough to put forth three dishes – a Valrhona Chocolate Tart with Chocolate Soil, a simple chocolate tart which turned out to be quite a task to make with a few ingredients but lot of muscle power, this was his traditional best and a recipe which he held close to his heart, the second dish was the new-age cuisine inspired liquid nitrogen Dulce-de-leche ice-cream which was influenced by his study of molecular cuisine and though not on the menu, is made to order as a special request at many a Four Seasons banquets, and lastly a divine Seared Ahi Tuna preparation with Asian influences of a Soy Sesame Dressing, a note worthy pick from one of their own restaurants San Qi.

We started off with the Seared Ahi Tuna with Soy Sesame Dressing.

Here Chef Clinton starts off with marinating a block of finest Tuna and settles it comfortably in a bowl of his signature soy sesame dressing which contains soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, ginger, garlic, green onion, lime juice and Asian seasoning’s.

Chef barely marinates it for a few minutes and we proceed to sear the meat on the long Teppanyaki grill at San Qi’s open kitchen area. Here Chef explains the nuances of searing the tuna in a unique ‘countdown’ method. All the six sides of the cube of meat are seared for precisely 15 counts thus ensuring even cooking on all sides. As you can see the pink of the meat and the sear on the outside is divided evenly with the cooked outlined.

He proceeds to cut the ripe avocado and scoop out the inside into two equal mounds

And dices the avocado up for the dish, this combination goes very well with Asian flavors especially TunaAnd dices the avocado up for the dish, this combination goes very well with Asian flavors especially Tuna

Chef proceeds to slice generous and thick slices off the Tuna, beautifully seared outside for just the right amount of time which ensures the pink of the meat remains intact and melt-in-your-mouth ready.

The final dish with lashings of his soy sesame dressing and seaweed complete with avocado and the tuna layered for a perfect dish

We next proceed to the Valrhona Chocolate Tart with Chocolate Soil.

A long winded procedure commences with laying out the tart dough on a baking sheet lined with paper and topped with the metal mould

Chef proceeds to line the mould with more baking paper and pours in a mix of legumes, pulses and beans. He explains this is particularly important as it prevents the dough from rising when popped into the oven to bake. It has to be a crisp, thick and flat base for the chocolate tart

Popping it into the oven for about ten minutes

While the tart base is baking, Chef proceeds to prepare his chocolate tart filling. Here we see a bowl of finest dark chocolate chips

Butter is added to the chocolate chips and it is kept over a double boiler, stirred briskly till it becomes one cohesive chocolate mixture

Once the chocolate and butter have melted it is kept aside and we move on to the next step

Eggs are tossed into a bowl, whisked and mixed with sugar

A sabayon is prepared by whisking the eggs and sugar mix over a pot of gentle simmering water. Here chef explains that its important that the egg does not overheat, a careful step as if the egg overheats it can turn into a scrambled egg. The idea here is to whisk up a thick mousse-like consistency. He also explains that instead of panicking if you feel the temperature getting too hot, just take it off the heat while continuing to beat the mixture

The Sabayon is poured into the chocolate mix and gently folded in till it gets imbibed completely

The tart filling is poured onto the ready tart base (after removing the beans, pulses and legumes)

In goes the sinfully rich Chocolate Tart, once again to be baked in the oven

It’s out and ready, while Chef preps it up by cutting off the extra pastry around the edges

A blow torch is used to loosen the baked chocolate from the tart mould

The mould is lifted and once again the tart is shaped to give the perfect rectangular block

While the tart is getting sliced into cubes, Chef proceeds to make the chocolate soil. Chocolate soil is a fun innovation and is a mix of dark chocolate with a special ingredient called maltodextrose, this makes the chocolate soil hold shape and look like ‘soil’ but the moment the soil touches your tongue it melts and coats it, giving you that full blasted flavor of chocolate

The Valrhona Chocolate Tart with Chocolate Soil is ready and served with ice-cream and berry coulis.

The last and the most impressive looking preparation was the nitrogen liquid Dulce-de-leche ice-cream. Chef starts off with pouring a large helping of Dulce-de-leche and cream into the container in which the nitrogen liquid will be poured

The nitrogen comes in a large metal canister, and a small amount is poured into a smaller metal canister. Chef begins to pour the quickly evaporating nitrogen into the cream and Dulce-de-leche mix and briskly whisks the mixture as the nitrogen reacts with the oxygen, smoking a cold, frozen cloud which quickly brings the temperature of the mixture to below freezing levels

Alternating between whisking and pouring more nitrogen into the ice-cream mix, Chef requires a whole load of his power to ensure the freezing takes place evenly

Continues to knock back the smoking technique with his whisk and the ice-cream is minutes away from being ready

Frozen and creamy enough it is spooned out in individual bowls

The creamy, sweet and bursting with flavor Dulce-de-leche ice-cream is ready to be devoured

With this we end up going up to the Aer bar to indulge in some bubbles and relax while we reminisce over the days productivity. He fills me in on many an insight about his life. I leave you with a lesser known fact about Chef Clinton J. Cooper. He thoroughly believes in experiencing his host country from the inside, he treats his host country with as much warmth and respect as he does with his people and dishes in the kitchen, he truly believes that as a guest in the country it’s his prerogative to give back and not only take. From teaching English to local kids in China to focusing on The Vatsalya Foundation in Mumbai, Worli (which supports our city’s most vulnerable kids), Chef Clinton ensures social causes with an open heart is his way of giving back to the host. A true gentleman and a true talented Chef whose outlook towards life and career is something to be inspired by and imbibed.

“It’s not a job – if you want to be a chef and do it properly, it’s a lifestyle choice.”- Chef Clinton J. Cooper

Chef Clinton J. Cooper also writes a personal blog: http://www.foodbitesback.wordpress.com/

Nonchalant Gourmand was accompanied by team mate – ace photographer Nikita Modi. Nikita is a freelance photographer who has her interest in food photography grounded for such exciting opportunities but also dabbles in exclusive Advertising and Fine Art Photography. She has completed her Masters in photography from Speos,Paris,France. You can see her works at:

Website – www.nikitamodi.com

Blog – http://blog.nikitamodi.com

All copyrights of the photographs are exclusive Nikita Modi Photography©

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