As official media partner of the Action Against Hunger Diwali Banquet, AGI has been chatting to all the chefs involved in the event. Recently we pulled Vivek Singh, entrepreneur of the successful Cinnamon Club, Cinnamon Kitchen , Anise in the City, and Cinnamon Soho, away from his many kitchens for a quick interview.
What made you decide to open an Indian gastro restaurant in London?
When we opened the Cinnamon Club in 2001, the restaurant scene was very different in London. There were no real upmarket gourmet establishments, and nothing from India that challenged diner’s palettes. I wanted to do something that made people stop and think.
Nowadays, our restaurant faces the challenge of maintaining the feeling of luxury, whilst still being accessible. This inspired us to open our establishments the Cinnamon Club, and the Cinnamon Kitchen, which incorporates a grill, creating more accessible interactive surroundings, which are not so institutional. You don’t have to be 65 to come to these restaurants! Our emphasis is casual, fun Indian dining.
Where do you source your ingredients?
Our ethos is Indian techniques, combined with local seasonal produce. This really opens a new dimension to what you can do. You can change the menu any time, respond to markets better, and use lesser known cuts of meat, unusual fish, or lots of game-, whatever you like. The challenge of responding to the seasons gives chefs a whole blank canvas to play with. And any good chef likes to know where everything they cook with has come from.
Can you explain your take on Indian cuisine?
Modern Indian cuisine is the UK is eclectic, and this is something we embrace. I might take a very flash bit of halibut that has come from Scotland, cooked in pandur, a north Indian way of cooking, mixed with a spinach and coconut dish from south. This wide scope allows us to put anything we like together, and we don’t worry about authenticity. Authenticity itself can be a double edged sword- what’s authentic to one person may not be to another, and it can be used more as an excuse not experiment and try new things.
Some would say the UK market is fairly saturated when it comes to Indian restaurants. What do you think the future holds for Indian cookery over here?
There is creativity and experimentation happening across the board and it’s very encouraging. I think there is definitely a space for evolution in Indian restaurants across the UK. Everywhere, at every level, there is interesting stuff going on, from London, to Chai Street in Cardiff. I think the energy of the Indian restaurant scene in the UK is unbeatable. The Mango lounge in Birmingham is very good, it’s doing Indian food like you couldn’t have imagined ten years ago.
How did you become involved with this Action Against Hunger event?
I was initially introduced to Action Against Hunger several years ago, at a charity dinner. I come from India; I’ve seen poverty, and people going hungry in great measure. Reduction of world hunger is, for any of us in the food industry, something we could contribute to directly by reducing food waste, being conscious of food production and supply, and drawing attention to imbalances.
