Prittle Prattle News interviews Debaditya Chaudhury, Managing Director of Chowman Hospitality Pvt. Ltd., delving into the inspiration and innovation behind the popular Oriental Duck Festival.
Can you discuss the inspiration behind bringing the Oriental Duck Festival to Delhi NCR and its significance for Chowman?
Chowman is known for its uniqueness, authentic Chinese, and traditional rustic environment that takes one to the place of its origin, China. Chowman has organized two occasions, one is the Sea Food Festival, and the other is the Duck Festival, the people thoroughly enjoys both the occasions. However, while Sea Food remains common in the city Duck is very rarely found on the menu. Restaurants are very skeptical about introducing duck to the menu since it’s not as easy to cook, however Chowman loves challenges. Initially, when the Duck Festival was launched back in Kolkata it gained a mass level of appreciation; people enjoyed the idea of inculcating Chinese spatiality in the menu. It holds a significant recognition in the Chinese traditions. This slowly became very popular in the city to many people across the city await the festival every year. Observing the success of the oriental Duck Festival in Kolkata I planned to expose this to the residents of Delhi NCR and Bangalore to cater to their taste by introducing a unique blend of authentic Chinese and traditional practices. I wanted them to have the real taste of what’s called authentic Chinese cuisine and expand it across all regions.
Since Chowman has believed in being unique in all aspects I always experiment and bring in traditional Chinese rendition. The significance remains as Chowman embarked on a journey of introducing authentic Chinese to the people inspiring people to experience China just by visiting. For which I bring different, unique unexplored practices and make it spatiality in Chowman, just like I experimented in introducing the Duck Festival.
How do you curate the unique duck dishes, and what are the considerations for incorporating international flavors?
I have traveled across the world and prefer to travel to Asian countries to take inspiration from traditional culinary practices. Every year I travel to a couple of countries. I have been to Thailand, China, all different parts of Asia and many other countries. Recently I traveled Vietnam and China and drew inspiration from all distinct parts of my travel. I feel this is the best part of travelling one gets to learn about so many different things from traditional practice to the authenticity of that. The most important thing to consider when I introduce anything new or add any new item to the menu is the preference of my customers. Curating different items and organizing different festivals in Chowman I have to keep in mind the taste and choice of my attendees and over the years I have observed that my customers prefer the unique blend of authentic Chinese along with the different experiments Chowman practices. Kolkata Style is our signature dish, it is loved by the customers, so I combine that recipe and make a different combination out of that, like a Kolkata Style Chilli Duck. The common signature dishes that are loved by the audience I experiment with that recipe and introduce to the people and like always they enjoy it thoroughly. I incorporate the international flavor and blend it with the Indian touch so that it keeps the base authentic Chinese with a touch of traditional Indian or Asian flavors.
What has been the response to the Duck Festival in Kolkata, and how do you anticipate it will be received in Delhi NCR?
We have received an extremely positive response so far. All the festivals including the Sea Food Festival and the Duck Festival are genuinely enjoyed and loved by the people in Kolkata. The customers wait yearlong to taste the dishes from the festive menu. Duck recipes are very delicate; they must be made with extreme accuracy. When I introduced the Duck Festival in Kolkata, I knew it would be a challenge since it is not easy to prepare. However, I believed if the right way is followed it would be loved by all and so was the outcome. The same mentality I had for Delhi NCR I wanted them to have a taste of the authentic Chinese dish, and since Delhi is not a place where people like to experiment with their taste it was a challenge too. Hence, I introduce a few Duck dishes with a traditional Indian blend. That’s the catch, a right balance between the preferences of the people along with the true authentic base of the restaurant that makes up a completely successful restaurant. Duck Festival was launched in Delhi NCR for the first time, and I see the great response as expected.
Can you share insights into the process of developing new recipes for the festival, particularly the ones inspired by your recent tour to China?
The different festivals and new recipes are definitely inspired by my travels to all the different parts of the world. In the recent visit to China, I did discover some traditional duck recipes and inculcated the same in the current Oriental Duck Festival. The dishes like Thai Style Aromatic Duck, Roasted Duck in Bamboo Shoot, Pan Fried Duck Meat Noodles and Cantonese Style Roasted Duck with Scallions are few of my latest handpicked inspiration. Whenever I travel, I always keep in mind to return with some inspiring dishes or new innovation for the restaurant.
Prittle Prattle News composed this article as an Interview.
