Having cooked for five British prime ministers, four U.S. presidents, and four generations of the British Royal Family, Swiss chef Anton Mosimann was recently hosted by the V.M. Salgaocar Institute of International Hospitality Education, Raia
KALYANI JHA | NT KURIOCITY
Chef Anton Mosimann needs no introduction. A revered name in the hospitality and food industry, he has cooked for five British prime ministers, four U.S. presidents, and four generations of the British Royal Family, including for the guests at the wedding reception of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.
The students of V.M. Salgaocar Institute of International Hospitality Education (VMSIIHE) had an opportunity to see the awardee of the Swiss Culinary Merit of Honor 2021 live in action as he took over the kitchen recently to demonstrate his selected recipes of risotto ai funghi, marinated salmon with cornish crabmeat, and steamed fillet of sea bass with sauce vierge. He was accompanied by professor Sebastian Britinger, associate professor Sujata Madhvan, and Sandip Madaikar in the preparation of the dishes.
While keeping an eye on the dishes, the chef also interacted with the students.
Despite his many achievements, Mosimann remains humble and down to earth. He was appointed maitre chef de cuisine at London’s Dorchester Hotel when he was just 28. The hotel earned 2 Michelin stars in his 13-year tenure there.
He also prepared meals for 21 monarchs at Buckingham Palace for Queen Elizabeth’s diamond jubilee. “The Queen Mother came to eat at The Dorchester and loved my food. When she went back home, she asked her chef to write to me for the recipes,” recalled Mosimann, who says his cooking has a touch of Japan and Italy.
Mosimann cooked for the late Queen Elizabeth for 45 years and for the then Prince Charles for 35 years three times a week at different palaces. “They like their food to be light and local. King Charles is very particular and insists on using his farm vegetables and meat to cook his food,” said the chef.
Mosimann designed a unique cooking culture with his ‘Cuisine Naturelle’. His creative recipes that don’t require heavy cooking and a lot of ingredients and are detailed in the book ‘Cuisine Naturelle.’ The dominating feature of this cuisine is the disuse of butter, cream or alcohol. “If you look back 20-30 years ago, things have changed. People want to eat healthier. You don’t need cream and butter all the time. But recipes have to be creative enough to change your habits of eating.”
He also prefers fewer ingredients. “For me, food has to taste for what it is. Fish should taste like fish, meat as meat, and chicken as chicken. Too many ingredients together don’t help. Otherwise, you lose the actual basic taste. Keep it simple, honest, and freshly cooked and it is halfway there,” Mosimann advised the young chefs.
The Swiss chef also likes to go to local markets and get his ingredients on the same day he is cooking. “To understand the local cuisine, exploration of local markets is necessary. I always go to the markets. I believe it is also a way to show respect to the people who produce food.”
Mosimann has poise and a calm composure in the way he conducts himself when around other chefs and while cooking. “I never allow shouting in my kitchen. Some people feel it is part of their job to shout. That has never been my attitude. Instead, I hug the others in the kitchen. I believe it brings out much more in people if you are nice to them. Set a good example,” he said.
In his address, Mosimann told students to never shy away from stepping back and evaluating where they are heading. He recollected incidents in his early life when in spite of having a second head chef’s job at a big hotel, he came back to Switzerland to earn his master chef diploma.
“At 22, I was offered a job in Tokyo but I came back for the master chef diploma. Before I left for London, I also did one season in pastry. I thought if I have a team of 120 people, 32 pastry chefs and bakers, I need to know what is going on in my kitchen. So I spent one season without money as an apprentice for pastry,” he said.
Cooking and feeding people is a job that requires patience and Mosimann feels it cannot be forced upon. Recipes can be learned but one has to put in heart and soul into the cooking. “In the market, I can’t stand people picking and throwing things in their baskets. I still pick food with two hands and put it in the basket. It’s also the feeling; it’s the attitude of the cook. Sometimes you can’t explain it. I believe that if you give a recipe to 10 people, it will taste 10 different ways.”
Mosimann has a museum dedicated to him at the César Ritz Colleges, Switzerland, that has memorabilia of his personal correspondence over the last 30 years, culinary artifacts, original recipes, an elaborate menu collection, and pictures on display.
