20: Is cooking an art or a craft? With Ashwin Ramachandran

Today I have Ashwin Ramchandran with us on Audiogyan. Ashwin is a chef and runs a small kitchen in south Mumbai called Milliways. He specialises in Asian food. He has over 10 years of experience in the hospitality industry and has worked in ITC Hotels for moe than 5 years. He is based out of Mumbai.

What makes a perfect recipe? Ingredients, timing or love?

Out of the four elements earth, water, fire and air, according to few studies, Aristotle added the ether, the fifth element. There are numerous articles which says, “If Aristotle had cooked, he would have more to say to the world.” Food, cooking and eating has been discussed a lot in the philosophy. What according to you could be the reason for it? 

How important is training to become a chef? It’s debatable whether cooking as an art form is older than art itself. Both are means of survival and evolution. In art, we have fine arts, commercial arts and many such disciplines.

Can you draw a parallel in the chef world? Chef for a fine dine where everything is measured versus a home cook (maharaj), versus a cook who makes food for langar? How do these dynamics work? How do these individual look at ingredients?

At an abstract level, what is the co-relation between pairing ingredients or dishes or types of food. Appetisers, main course and Chasers.

How/why do cultures select what to eat? And what is happening with globalisation?