Seasons Bengalaru , which is scheduled to open mid-year . The hotel features two main restaurants , Far + East , an Asian brasserie that features innovative Japanese , Chinese and Thai dishes from his travels , and CUR8 , which features a giant Spanish-style parilla grill and pizza oven . “ The entire kitchen is in the middle of the restaurant ,” Calvet says . “ You don ’ t have a back of the house .”
In between his opening duties of overseeing the kitchens , restaurants and food outlets for the 230-room hotel ( plus 105 residences ), Calvet is exploring farms outside India ’ s technology capital . “ Bengalaru is a big city , but I would say 35 to 40 minutes outside of the center , you can go back and see farmers and irrigation systems ,” he says . “ I feel there ’ s life around Bengalaru , and the amount of aromatic herbs is amazing .”
Calvet has brought in a beekeeping expert and is setting up hives on some of the hotel terraces , and is cultivating a kitchen garden with herbs and spices , some of which he brought in his suitcase from Thailand .
“ Growing my own spice reminds me that there are seasons ,” Calvet says . “ In this industry , we sometimes forget one of the most essential things in cooking , which is to follow the seasons by planting . Starting the seeding here in Bengalaru , it reminds me that certain herbs grow in certain seasons . Growing my own herbs helps me to maintain discipline with the seasons and identify certain ingredients and to let guests know that they are exceptional at certain times of the year .”
FAMILY INFLUENCES Growing up in the Catalan region of southern France , Calvet was in touch
IN CHIANG MAI ,“ I WENT DIRECTLY TO THE PRODUCERS ,
DISCOVERING ONE CURIOSITY TO ANOTHER TO ANOTHER , AND IT BECAME AN ADDICTION .” with the seasons naturally . Half of his family raised cattle in the Pyrenees , the other half cultivated syrah and muscat grapes in vineyards . “ In summertime , I was always on the farm , and in autumn , I was always picking grapes ,” Calvet says .
And on Sundays , he was in the kitchen , watching his now-94-year-old grandmother , Pierrette , cook big meals for the family , especially paella . “ Our area is really squeezed between the mountain and the ocean , so the ingredients reflect both seafood and chicken and meat , and this is the dish that I cooked slowly every Sunday morning together with Grandma ,” he says . “ She was always asking me to be careful to rub the spice , and she talked as she cooked , and maybe she was talking to herself , but I remember very well . She showed me how to release the maximum flavor , to make the most authentic food .”
His grandmother inspired him to cook , but he became an baker and pastry chef . “ She couldn ’ t make sweets so I decided to be a pastry chef because I could at least make a cake on Sundays ,” Calvet says .
Just as every move he took placed him farther away from France , every move he made took him away from the ovens and into the kitchens . “ Step by step , without realizing it , I moved from baking into the kitchen ,” he says .
His moves between sweet and savory is very much how people like to eat now . “ People used to go out to eat and enjoy a bottle of wine ,” he says . “ Now , they go out for drinking and want a bite on the side . They start savory , then sweet , and in a sense , I ’ ve always been motivated by the dining experience .”
His background informs his cuisine development in Bengaluru , where he is establishing an afternoon tea service . Ogale noted that Calvet ’ s work in Chiang Mai has inspired the resort ’ s F & B team . “ I ’ m sure he ’ s going to do the same thing there in Bengalaru ,” Ogale says . “ He has such a passion for this .”
April 2019 hotelsmag . com 53