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| Gourmet North Indian tour to Lucknow & Calcutta with Simon Parkes 2013 |
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The sheer vastness of India tends to draw visitors to the empty deserts and
dramatic hilltop palaces of Rajasthan or the softer lush green coastal strip
of Kerala with its unending beaches. But for people who truly want to
experience the great cuisines of this dazzling country, it's to the north
and east we head for a remarkable week of food-related travel. We'll
discover the subtle flavours of refined Moghul cuisine; we'll dine in
private palaces and houses and we'll also see where the freshest of
ingredients are grown and farmed; we'll tour the intoxicating markets with
their stalls and street-vendors; and we'll relax in some of the most august
rooms left behind after the days of the British Raj.
All of this will be done in the company of Simon Parkes who will host this
visit. Familiar to many for his recognisable tones on BBC Radio 4, Simon has
both reported on and presented The Food Programme as well as appearing on
television. Having been inspired by his father's time as an officer in the
Indian Army for 4 years, Simon began travelling to the subcontinent in the
mid-1980's and ended up living for a year in Calcutta. His fascination with
the city's food culture led him to write the critically-acclaimed The
Calcutta Kitchen along with chef Udit Sarkhel. Undoubtedly, Simon is the
perfect host to lead us through the dizzying marble halls and crowded narrow
alleyways on this 8-day tour as his experience of the food, cooking and
customs of the region truly is enlightening. And, at various points along
the way, he'll introduce us to some of his best contacts - chefs, hostesses
and historians - who will all share their hospitality, knowledge and
recipes. |
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The tour begins in Delhi where guests will stay at the The Maurya Sheraton Hotel and
dine at Dumpukht, an elegant restaurant specialising in the sophisticated
Moghul cuisine emanating from the region of Awadh or Oudh, centred around
Lucknow - our next stop on the tour. Dinner in Dumpukht is the perfect
introduction to Lucknow, with its delicately refined kebabs, rice dishes
such pulao and biryani and rose-water sherbets. The next morning, we fly
directly onto Lucknow for a 2-day stay, based at the Taj Vivanta Hotel,
where we'll be joined by Dr. Rudrangshu Mukherjee author of Awadh in
Revolt, 1857-58. We'll taste the courtly cooking of the royal nawabs as
well as visiting markets, the remains of the old British Residency, royal
palaces and the kitchens of expert Muslim cooks.
Calcutta will be our base for the remainder of the week with guests booked
into the Oberoi Grand Hotel right in the heart of the city on Chowringhee.
Like Lucknow, elements of the enlightened Moghul attitudes toward food exist
here but have been adapted to suit a city that grew up around British rule
(it was the capitol of British India until 1911). The Raj provided a culture
of sporting and gentleman's clubs that still exists today. But influences
also derive from the Portuguese, Armenian and Chinese communities that have
all made their home here. Some of the subtlest and most delicate food
belongs to the Bengali cuisine shaped by the watery hinterland around the
city with its rivers and ponds. People here adore fish and vegetables which
means trips to the magnificent Calcutta Wetlands with its network of fish
farms, tours of the ancient New Market, we'll witness the array of street
food and - for a city with a very sweet tooth - we'll drop in on one of the
hundreds of sweetmeat shops to watch them being made. There'll be a chance
to cook traditional fish dishes with one of the leading chefs in the city, a
lunch in restaurant run by a charity for destitute women, supper in one of
the city's most elegant apartments and a Grand Dinner at the Bengal Club,
formerly the bastion of the Raj, and still the place where today's Calcutta
élite meet for lunch and dinner.
Rest assured that even though we'll be delving deeply into markets, stalls
and byways well off the tourist trail, all the hotels throughout the week
are 5-star and supremely comfortable.
Photographs by Jason Lowe. |
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Some of our dishes
Bhetki maach paturi
Bhetki fish steamed with mustard in banana leaf
Mochar chop
potato and banana croquette
Kakori kabab
smooth minced lamb kebab |
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Price: USD$4,885 (approx £3,150) per person, based on
two people sharing
Single Supplement: USD$1,166 (approx £752) per person
Dates: 4th - 11th February 2013
Group Size: Maximum - 16 / Minimum - 9
Price includes the below schedule, internal flights from
Delhi to Lucknow and Lucknow
to Calcutta, but excludes international flights to and from India and visas to and from
country of residence.
Please note that prices quoted are in US Dollars, the sterling quote is subject to the daily USD/sterling exchange rate on day of purchase.
Sample Schedule: Download Schedule (PDF)
To read the PDF file you need Acrobat Reader 8 and higher, download here
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