Mango Special At The Imperial Culinary Club

The Imperial, New Delhi, came live on 22nd May 2019 when the Culinary Club of the hotel came up with magical culinary session named ‘Mango Special’. The Imperial turned a colloquial week into juicy and interesting when it introduced to the people The King of Fruits through its event Mango Special. The event justified as to why mangoes are known as the king of fruits by providing distinct variants of mangoes through six exotic dishes prepared extensively by Vijay Wanchoo, senior Executive Vice President and General Manager, The Imperial, New Delhi. Mango Special had a live cookout for the invited guests at The Imperial, where Vijay Wanchoo crafted the following dishes from his menu-

● Mango Gazpacho: Mango, orange juice with cucumber and lime juice
● Mango Feta and Avocado Salad: Mango, feta, and avocado with mustard honey ginger dressing
● Chicken Cordon Bleu with Creole Crushed potato and Mango Pica De Gallo: Stuffed chicken breast with baby potato, and mango relish
● Fish meunière with Wilted Spinach and crumb fried Mangoes: Fish cooked in its own juices, infused with olives and capers
● Ricotta and Mango stuffed spinach crepe: Pancake stuffed with mango & ricotta cheese
● Mango Panacotta

During the Mango Special event at The Imperial, New Delhi, LA POLO indulged in conversation with man behind the delicious menu- Vijay Wanchoo, Senior Executive Vice President and General Manager, The Imperial, New Delhi. In a quick and candid interview, we asked him some unconventional questions to which he answered in full swing. Here is a glimpse of the same:

LA POLO: What image forms in your mind when you hear Mangoes?
VIJAY WANCHOO: The first thing that comes in my mind after hearing mangoes is that it is the King of Fruits and unfortunately it is available for only a few months a year. I love mangoes, they are my favorite and with all the variety that is available in the market, let’s say Alphansho, which I love the most, there are over 150 different variants of mangoes. This is so interesting because we haven’t even tasted 10 percent of them.

LA POLO: Relevance of mango in Indian culture…
VIJAY WANCHOO: For me, mangoes are really interesting fruit. They are used in so many ways. One is certainly eating, then it is used as pickles, they are famous as mango pickles, then you have got mango panna. You have got different uses of mangoes, but all you have to decide is the form because in mango Panna you use raw mangoes, you have to roast them. In other areas, like deserts, you get mango kulfi, mango kheer. In Indian dishes, you won’t use mangoes as such, but then there are dishes who have the use of raw mangoes in them. Culturally yes, it has been a part of Indian culture. With this, I remember watching a movie, ‘Victoria and Abdul’ in which Queen Victoria had never seen a mango and Abdul goes from India and introduced her to mangoes. So that means in London, or England mangoes in those days were not available. India is known for mangoes, and for that matter, South-East Asia is known for mangoes. You go to Bangkok, you get mangoes in winter but they are different flavours. So I think, there is a whole mix of Indian culture and mangoes.

LA POLO: Of all the six recipes that you cooked today, which one is your personal favorite?
VIJAY WANCHOO: Ironically I am a vegetarian, but that does not mean I do not like non-vegetarian dishes. I was a Continental Chef earlier, so for me cooking a fish is the best. Cooking a fish has got its trick. It is delicate and gets over-cooked easily and can go bad. So for me, definitely the fish stands out.