Trotting around the globe, Chef Ritu Dalmia labels her travels as an inspiration for her culinary journey. Known as the ‘Queen of Italian food’, she currently has six restaurants in Delhi under the Diva banner, dedicated to different cuisines but with a hint of Italian in each.

Digging deep into the Indian love for Italian food, we sat down with Chef Dalmia to understand its authenticity and the secret behind good Italian food. “One thing I have followed my entire life is to use very good ingredients. What you call a trend is basically how creative, funky or fun you can get with the ingredients.”

“Two of my favorite vegetables are Pumpkin and Beetroot. All these years, in every menu of my restaurants, you will find something with Pumpkin and Beetroot. It was never sold, up until the last three years, when customers couldn’t get enough of these two vegetables. Though I do not believe in ‘trends’ but I guess, in this case, going back to the basics could be looked at as a trend. I am really bored of using fancy vegetables and now love experimenting with cauliflower, yam and radish.”

Though there are many Italian restaurants in the city, there is scope for it to be further regionalized like Indian food. “Let’s face it dosa and naan are not the same and it is exactly the same with Italian. The food in Sicily and Umbria is much different than that available in Rome, Florence or Milan.”

“The customers have started traveling and not only to traditional destinations, but have also started exploring small towns in the region and hence are being introduced to new Italian flavors. Thus, now there is a need to get adventurous with the choices offered. I hope, in my lifetime, to see a restaurant that is not just about an Italian restaurant, but about a Sicilian or a Napolitani or a Sardinian restaurant.”

Another influencing factor is the shift towards healthy diet. “I have never sold so many quinoa salads in my life as I have done in the last couple of years. Earlier healthy food was considered to be bad and tasteless and now it is changing. A lot of people now keep in mind the goodness of the ingredient. I won’t be surprised if we see holistic and vegan restaurants make their way into the market. Molecular cooking is a thing of the past. It is all about good ingredients, wholesome comfort food and goodness of ingredients. The clients and customers are now well educated; sooner or later, restaurants will have to take that approach in their cooking.”

While the tastes are evolving with time, the onus lies on restauranteurs and chefs to educate the consumers about it as well. “The first Italian Khana show that I did with NDTV was only about Italian ingredients. I had people coming to my restaurant and asking why the smoked salmon is cold? Or saying that the truffles stink (it is an acquired taste). The idea was to educate people. Today, after 15 years, our truffles are booked and our customers order well in advance. They have been educated and there is still a long way to go. We have never gone away from authenticity at Diva GK 2. In 15 years, the changes that I have seen, the things that I have put on the menu, I would have never dared to put them. We change the menu every three months and there is always that one thing that I put on the menu, knowing that it might or might not work. In some ways, I am challenging myself and challenging the guests as well.”

Sharing some interesting examples of Indian influence over Italian food, she tells us, “I once visited Le Calandre, a three starred Michelin restaurant in Padua, Italy. The chef, Massimiliano Alajmo, had something on his menu which was pasta with kurukuma (haldi). Another restaurant I visited had a pasta with green beans, snow peas with pinch of garam masala, on the menu.”