Kamalaksh aka “Kama”
– the mixologist, bar and beverage consultant par excellence- conducted an
infotaining session for Budweiser at ‘the
sipping turf’ as a part of The Gourmet
High-Street Festival held at Epicentre
last weekend. The fact that this was happening right across a master-chef class
being conducted by celebrity chef- Vikas Khanna and yet enjoyed a near house-full,
speaks volumes about Kama’s talent. His good looks also played an important
role in drawing the ladies to his beery session.
A word about our extraordinarily talented and
diversely experienced mixologist- Kama, would not be out of place. This 30 year
old guy is clearly passionate about the art of mixing beverages, and not only
that, he also gives ample attention to the food that goes with it (as well as
the other way round). It was astonishing to witness his merry play with
flavours, and experimentation which produced a single element in myriad ways.
An alumnus of IHM Pusa (he’s also being teaching there for 5
years now), he started his career from the Kitchens of Oberoi, New Delhi and
went on to work with the big names like Intercontinental Eros and Ananda
Himalayas. He is now a director at 247365
Hospitality and The B.AR consultants and at the same time runs a restro- café in
NCR. Besides all this he contributes to various brands and Event Management
Companies as a beverage consultant. While he has been famous for his
experiments in the NCR bar circuit, his experiments with Bhang last Holi were
featured in a CNN-IBN show. Beer has also been his passion and you will know
more about it in a while.
The session that Kamalaksh conducted at TGHS festival was superb,
leaving the audience mesmerised with his mixology experiments and the deep
understanding of both his beer and the food and their relationship with each
other.
As Kama says,
“A Beer lover would always love her beer, and will love to experiment with it and
incorporate (if she is capable of) in whatever ways possible“. Here are a few
of his creations:
HOPPY / BEERY SALSA: The most popular snacks / chakhna
these days with beer are Nachos with Salsa & Chips n Dip. So our mixologist
beered-up the salsa. Tomatoes chopped with Coriander, Mint, Onions, Garlic,
Chilly / Tabasco, Jalapeños, Lemon Juice and mix it all with a little amount of
beer and keep it in the fridge. The vegetables will soak the beer and become
Hoppy, Dip & Burrpp!
LIIB: LONG ISLAND ICED BEER: Served in a Fish Bowl and inspired by the phrase "Drink like a
fish". Four spirits- Triple Sec, Lime Juice, Sugar Syrup & Hoegaarden
pint inverted & inserted in the fish bowl. Garnish with a few orange
slices. Serve it straight on the table with a few straws.
BUDDY MARY / BEERY MARY: Classic with a twist. A Bloody Mary
concoction spiked up with Beer. Same elements but different proportions-
Tabasco, Lemon Juice, Ice, Vodka, Tomato Juice, Pepper, Salt and finally Coriander
& Chilly to garnish the glass. Half Beer Half Tomato Combination works the
best. Oh and he only half rims his glasses ( I did pay attention ).
And yes, he
calls these F*#@tails ;)
The
gourmet high-street festival did succeed in bring brilliant and diverse talent
on a single platform. The sipping turf turned out to be a treasure trove of
knowledge regarding wines and beer. Can’t wait for the next edition of The Gourmet High Street and more of kama’s sessions.
A write up par excellence...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words Rosme! Yes Kama was one of great stars at the show! Whoever attended his class was super happy about it and gave us great reviews! Thanks once again for your support and look forward to it again!
ReplyDeleteA good piece with a good amount of info on beers and their concoctions! Nice!
ReplyDelete