A whopping seven restaurants on the US’s West Coast boast of a two Michelin star rating. A noteworthy newcomer on this list – as indicated by the 2016 Michelin Guide San Francisco Bay Area & Wine Country – is the Campton Place Restaurant, at San Francisco’s Taj Campton Place hotel.
Executive Chef Srijith Gopinathan has been at the helm of affairs since 2008, and has held one Michelin star for the last five years. Gopinathan tells us about his unique brand of “Cal-Indian” cuisine, going from one star to two, and being the only Indian chef in North America to hold this distinction.
Tell us about your journey to the Taj Campton Place.
After I finished my hotel management course, I studied further at the Culinary Institute of America in New York. I also spent time at Raymond Blanc’s Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, which was an eye-opener, and at several more of Europe’s better kitchens.
I hadn’t planned to become a chef, at least until I first saw a commercial kitchen. My first job was as a cold larder commis at a small hotel, Atria, in Bengaluru. I worked in their banquets, Continental kitchen and then moved to another Hilton hotel – Golden Palms Resort – where chef Ralf Vogt served as an inspiring figure. I’ve also had stints at The Park Hotel, Chennai, and The Oberoi, Bengaluru. The Taj Group then hired me as part of the opening team for Taj Exotica Maldives.
What is the food philosophy at your restaurant?
I call the cuisine Cal-Indian i.e. Californian-Indian. I’m not trying to reinvent Indian flavours, but am taking basic, traditional flavours and making them approachable by cooking and presenting them in a Californian format. Our cuisine is playful and many of the dishes awaken one’s childhood memories if one grew up in India. I love it when my diners say, “This is something I know so well and I have eaten in India. What is it?” Sometimes it’s about transforming the simplest food to an experience by emphasising on tiny details.
Hotels tend to serve a larger volume of diners than standalone restaurants. Does that pose a challenge?
We are fortunate to be located in a boutique hotel. We operate like any standalone restaurant – heavily focussed on the quality of raw materials used, as well as the method of cooking them.
Can you pinpoint what you did differently to take the restaurant from one Michelin star to two?
Embracing ethnicity played a big role, along with a continuous focus on quality, consistency and innovation. It makes me happy that Indian chefs are playing on the front foot in the innovation department.
What are the signature dishes at the Campton Place Restaurant?
The dishes on our menu keep changing. Although I didn’t intend to make it our signature dish, the Poached Lobster with Coastal Curry seems to have taken on that role.
Most Indian chefs abroad tell us they’re on a mission to educate foreigners about authentic Indian food. Does that hold true for you too?
On the contrary, I am from a school of thought where sheer authenticity is not an ideal or successful model to introduce to the west. I feel the best way is to make Indian food approachable here is by adding local, Californian sensibilities to it. Cuisine is very delicately built between communicating the spice stories well and keeping the flavour of the main ingredient intact. I don’t like masking it all with spices and masala. Above all, food must speak the personality of the chef and team.
What are your goals for the near future?
I’d like to explore the most remote Indian villages, discover unused ingredients and create dishes with them.
Any plans of helming a restaurant in India?
Certainly, at some point. I would love to work on concepts for some of our restaurants in the Taj Group in India.
