Art trumps science in Hari's kitchen

Art trumps science in Hari's kitchen

Indian Hari Nayak and Japan's Kazumi Sawada

commanded a lot of the attention among chefs in

Bangkok last week for the World Gourmet Festival at

the Four Seasons - because they're Asian.

Nayak trained at the CIA in the US - no, not that

CIA. This was New York's Culinary Institute of

America.

He's one of Asia's rising culinary stars and in

Thailand he cooked "modern Indian" food at two

separate sold-out banquets.

These days reporters have to ask chefs if they do

that new "molecular" stuff with food. "Well," Nayak

said, struggling not to roll his eyes, "I know it's all the

rage, but I'll try to stick to my modern Indian cuisine.

In fact, I'll do anything but molecular."

We can do without the bubbling beakers from the

mad scientist's lab, too, and so could the guests at

the Four Seasons Koh Samui, where Nayak went

next with his perfectly enjoyable and far more

rational "mosaic of Indian flavours".

Incorruptible

You don't often hear hot gossip about journalists, but

tongues have been wagging since a certain popular

columnist in a certain mass-circulation Thai daily dished

up some juice on a certain magazine editor.

You can probably tell that we're lacking a few

details, but here's the gist: Editor X is considerably

wealthy and enjoys a hi-so lifestyle whether on duty or

on holiday, and yet rarely picks up the tab. Clearly

Editor X's lifestyle is almost completely based on barter.

Fair enough, you say. His end of the deal is to give

the places he patronises a great write-up in the magazine. That's how bribery works.

But Editor X doesn't.

Hotels, restaurants and perhaps yacht-rental agencies waive his tab, expecting a glowing review in print, and get nothing! So there have been some

interesting spats.

We're as much in the dark about the identity of

Editor X as anyone, but we can tell you that the first

name we came up wasn't the right one.

No, not that one, darling - keep guessing!