Ek Tara, the charitable trust dedicated to improving the quality of life for girls and women residing in urban slum areas, celebrated the inauguration of its bakery with a special event graced by renowned Chef Roger Van Damme, the head chef of Het Gebaar, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Antwerp, and Shashvat Dhandhania, executive chef, To Die For, Calcutta.
This initiative was supported by Her Future Coalition, an organisation that has been affecting meaningful and positive transformations in the lives of women and girls since 2005.
t2 chatted with Chef Van Damme about India, his experience at Ek Tara and more. Excerpts…
Welcome to India. Have you been here before? If yes, what has the experience been like?
It’s my first time in India, although I have travelled a lot around the world. I love the first impression of India and of Ek Tara school. Opening the bakery unit in a school outside of Europe was very special for me as it has been a dream of mine to do something special for people. Today, I feel I have done something special.
Tell us about your experience at the Ek Tara’s bakery inauguration.
The bakery unit is a nice place to grow up and teach people. It’ll be nice if the community can make and sell birthday cakes, or make bread and biscuits for home. It will be nice to get some more equipment and sponsorship from the school. Nice to see the smiles on the faces of people, they are super friendly, which is impressive.
As a chef, what’s your relationship with pastry like?
When I was 12 years old, the smell of the cake impressed me and since then I have been baking cakes. Step by step, in my 30s, my restaurant earned a Michelin star in 2010 and later I was also chosen as the Best Pastry Chef at the Best Chef Awards in 2017.
Michelin star is a big advantage for a chef but also a big responsibility. How do you try to balance that?
I have owned the restaurant for the past 30 years, I’m not busy chasing the stars. When we get the star we try to keep it, and if we lose it, it will be when we are not inspired anymore. We run after inspiration and innovation to make new food items and new things and that’s how we earn the stars. Travelling a lot around the world is where I get inspiration from.
What has been the experience of serving up at Het Gebaar? What concept is the restaurant based around?
The concept is very strange since we are only open for lunch during the day and we do 80 covers in a day. I think it is the only restaurant in Europe to have a Michelin star by only serving lunch. Antwerp is the city of diamonds so I love making things in the form of diamonds through sugar.
From pastry to a full-blown restaurant scene, what was the transition like?
Everything starts from the beginning and goes step by step. It was just hard work and a very organic growth. The restaurant is also very famous with the Indian community living in Antwerp.
What are some of your signature dishes?
Steak Tartare is one of my favourite dishes; it is like walking in the garden. Every bite tastes different and complex with a lot of flavours. It is a dish which is very popular!
Who are some of your favourite chefs to collaborate with?
Chef El Bulli from Spain; I have worked for some days in his restaurant. Martin Berasategui from Lasarte, Spain, and Chef Khun Pam (a good friend of mine) from Thailand.
What are some of your favourite flavour combinations?
The tastes of Thailand, which include pandan leaf, lemongrass, kaffir lime, galangal, cinnamon and vanilla.
Apart from pastry and European cuisine, what other cuisines are you interested in?
Asian culture and cuisine are my favourites. I mix all my ingredients with herbs and other ingredients from Asia. According to me, Asian cuisine has the best combination of spices, bitterness, sweetness, and sourness with which we can create a nice balance.
Have you had the chance to try any Indian food yet? If yes, what did you like?
I love tandoori chicken; the way they marinate and use the spices is amazing. I love curries also, sometimes it is so spicy that I cannot taste any other flavour. I wonder why they make curries so spicy that you cannot taste food anymore.
How would you describe your cooking style?
Art. It is a nice balance of taste and sometimes a small explosion. It is important for me to keep a balance between the bitterness, sweetness and saltiness in food. In dessert, I love crunchy, smoothy, liquid, and attraction.
