What’s your inspiration for cooking?

When I am trying out new dishes, I need to have music playing in the background. It helps me think. Music is very important to what I do, to the extent that all the playlists of my restaurants are made by me. 

And every time I have travelled and tried something new or seen something, I wanted to come home and try it. What I do finally may be totally different from what I have experienced, but the idea gets stuck there. Recently, I was in Helsinki, where I ate a dessert — chocolate with pumpkin jam. And I did an almond cracker like a nan khatai and layered it with pumpkin jam and chocolate ganache. That pumpkin jam stayed in my head. And I have a new dessert!

Pumpkin is also trending across the globe right now...

We have always had pumpkin. In Calcutta my favourite sabzi is aloo-kumra with panch phoron. 

If you ask what’s my favourite vegetable, it’s beetroot and pumpkin. I like root vegetables. I have pumpkin in every menu of mine, in every restaurant. In the earlier days, it was a bit difficult. It was like kaun kaddu khayega? And now everyone wants it! I think food also has its cycles. We went through this cycle of eating exotic and what not, but in the end we all come back to our basics. 

Gin seems to be one of your favourite drinks...

Yes. I don’t drink any other spirit and I don’t drink much in general. It’s either a good wine or a gin. If I have to drink an aperitif, it has to be a gin and tonic. I like to try gins from various parts of the world. In England you have these dry gins. Then you have gins with botanicals in them, which are herbed infusions. Tonic water also come with various infusions. I went to one little gin bar in Vienna, a hole in the wall, which had 300 varieties of gin. In Helsinki I drank something called Napue, which has juniper, rosemary and cranberry in it. It’s a very happy drink. 

What are the big trends of 2018? 

Don’t ask me. I don’t believe in trends. All I know is what you like is what you get. What I am seeing is that a lot of regional restaurants are coming up. It’s not only about Indian food, it’s about regional food and it’s the same worldwide. A lot of it is ingredient-based, seasonal-based. So eating local can be seen as a trend.

There’s a lot of emphasis these days on how a plate looks. How important is it for you?

A plate has to look nice but that has nothing to do with spending money on it. Either you have an aesthetic sense or you don’t. For me an aesthetic sense comes with a piece of chicken put on the plate, sauce on top with maybe just a twig of basil. An aesthetic sense can also come with three drops somewhere here and two drops somewhere else. So it’s a mindset.

Talking about the aesthetics of a restaurant, yes, it has to be pleasing but it’s very important to remember one thing — it’s the riskiest business in the world. Ninety-five per cent of restaurants fail and in case they fail, there is zero return on your money. There is no resale value of tables, chairs and air-conditioning; you will lose everything. So when you are starting afresh, the first restaurant, focus on the food that you want to show. Don’t go crazy over leather chairs or lights from so and so brand.

Does fine dining work in the context of Indian cuisine?

Fine dining is a concept of the past. People are going back to the basics; even the finest of the restaurants are going back to it. This whole concept of fine dine and intimidating cuisine is dying. 

What’s your favourite Italian ingredient, apart from olive oil and Parmesan? 

My favourite ingredient from an Italian kitchen is basil leaves. I have to have it in my kitchen all the time. 

And your favourite Indian spice?

Hing! I like hing in everything, not only in dal ka tadka but even when I make any sabzi, hing is always there. And I love the English name for it — devil’s shit! That makes it even more interesting.

What’s your comfort food?

Spaghetti with tomato and basil, in Italian. In desi, it’s kadhi chawal and aloo jeera, with hing ka tadka. I am very happy with a well-cooked simple meal.

Are you a breakfast person?

I am a midnight-snacker person. 

What are your midnight cravings?

Oh, that depends on what’s in the fridge. It can go from muri to cereals. My most favourite sandwich is toast with tomatoes and a little churwa or bhujia on top of it. 

The must things in Ritu Dalmia’s fridge?

My fridge is quite scanty. Things that you will always find are yogurt, a carton of milk, a bottle of champagne, tomatoes and avocado. 

We always think of tiramisu when it comes to Italian dessert. Do you have a favourite?

I think tiramisu is more like an English trifle. I really don’t have a favourite Italian dessert, but the one that I really like is Torta di Ricotta, which is like a cheesecake made with ricotta cheese. That’s from Sicily. 

What’s on your day-off menu? 

Cereal with milk, vegetable on dinner toast, dal chawal or kadhi chawal, primarily vegetarian. 

Are you a bread or rice person?

Both. The Calcutta Bengali in me makes me love the rice. But once in a while I eat my chapatti as well. 
Every part of India has a different variety of bread and we only look for European breads. They are not bad but the Indian varieties are as good! A good crusty piece of bread and a little bit of salt and you don’t need anything else in life. 

What’s next?

Good question. I don’t know. I will start thinking soon. I have never had a bucket list. Everything I have done in my life has been done on impulse. Everything. I have never done strategic studies, never made business plans. Always followed my gut... 90 per cent of it has been correct, 10 per cent of it has been wrong. And even with the mistakes, you always learn something new. Man proposes, God disposes.