The Picasso of cuisines, as he is known, has turned cheesemonger. Every year, Chef Manu Chandra reaches into his magic hat of gourmet ideas and comes back with something that is wholesome and soulful but also the first-of-its-kind. And every year, foodies are floored. After Olive Beach, Fatty Bao, Monkey Bar, The East Village’s Toast and Tonic, it’s time now for an artisanal boutique cheese factory with Begum Victoria, in the heart of the city0. With a special cheese platter at Toast and Tonic, it will also be the first restaurant in the country to serve a truly exclusive, hand-made artisanal range of cheeses.
The aim was simply to bring good quality cheese, which he already makes in small quantities. Things really took off when a lady offered up her land on Victoria Road, while another hopped on board, making it a trio of fromagers with Shruti Golchha and Pooja Reddy. It took a year and ahalf to source the right ingredients: milk, rennet, cultures, equipment, a cheese cave and a world of knowledge. Like the Trappist Monks in Italy, Chandra laboured over the ubiquitous milk, its scientific processes, each so critical to a cheese’s texture, temperature and moisture with an eagle eye. Begum Victoria has created a taste trail of eclectic cheeses that are a must-try.
For now, Manu, Shruti and Pooja are busy in their cheese cave, taking Begum Victoria onward on its journey to cheese aficionados. Toast and Tonic will be serving a pristine platter of four of their creamy cheese to gorge on.
The wooden platter comes laden with four cheeses of the day. Creamy slices of Fontina, Bel-paese, Brie and a robust, young Cheddar. The Fontina was crumbly, starkly flavoured with a hint of sourness. It went down with roasted pineapple, rum jam and honey. The Bel-paese was our favourite, with its milky texture and subtle flavours, perfect with tomato, perilla seed chutney and a punch of port wine mustard. The cheese board also has sourdough, rye, sesame seed and nuts crackers. We loved the brie, creamy, honey-textured, and delicious with guava jelly, a drop of honey the mustard... or plain. The young cheddar was wholesome, with fresh fig and a drop of mustard.
Terrior is crucial to cheese, it can make or break your roundel. Fontina is a summer cheese, made with grass-fed cow’s milk in the Alps, Bel-Paese has its origins in the Milan countryside, and brie comes from France. It is an encyclopaedia in itself and Chandra has his own wishlist. Milk, for instance, is sourced from a gentleman (a vet and geneticist), who runs a clean operation, he explains. These cows, Hallikars, a domestic breed, are grassfed and produce A2 milk, which lacks a particular enzyme contained in that of Jersey cows. This enzyme, says Chandra, causes bloating and intolerance. “I can’t compete with a family that has made cheese for 4000 year but we have accomplished something fairly consistent and artisanal,” he says.
The Fontina, served with guava cheese and mustard, had a wonderful, nutty flavour, as Chandra says, “It was a chance conversation about wanting to make artisanal cheese but also about taking ownership of the supply chain. We needed the right cultures, ours have been sourced from Denmark or Holland, and high-quality rennet. The Indian version has a bitter after-taste. We are building an inventory and understanding proceses through trial and error.”
An artisanal boutique factory is a mammoth task, given that one degree variations can make a different cheese. “You learn. You understand how a sudden change in ambient temperature or extra moisture can bring about acidity. There’s how you salt the cheese or stir the milk –the texture, density and lightness is dictated by process. Cave management is also an art. Each cave has to be nurtured like a baby.”
“The Bel-paese cheese differs from its Italian counterpart with an orange rind and milky flavours. The Brie is 21-days matured. A gruyere and cheddar can take upto 12 months and we’re working on a red cheddar now.” Much of it has been learning on the job, along with a consultant who came on board for a short while.
The name is inspired by the owner of the land where the factory is, who fondly calls his wife “Begum” and Queen Victoria. A Telegraph report described the largest cheddar cheese ever made: a monster made from the milk of 750 cows by the people of East and West Pennard, Somersetshire, as a bridal offering to Queen Victoria, in 1840!
We began with a new Fig and Gin, with a dash of Campari and notes of honey and thyme. Delicious. The cheese platter is a must-have, as is their Udon with chorizo and clams. The passion fruit mousse with lemon curd, the latest addition to the dessert list and the caramel chocolate cheese cake with cherry sorbets should not be missed.
We’re waiting for the Buffalo and sheep milk cheese, the manchego from Spain’s la Mancha region, and a Bangalore Blue Cheese too. Chandra feels the Ooru is ready for artisanal cheese, especially since the whole health and A2 milk fad is peaking, and of course as the chef say matter of factly, “The proof is in the pudding!” Or in this case the cheese.
(Suruchi Kapur-Gomes takes the road less travelled, in search of the ultimate foodie high in namma city)
Toast & Tonic, 14/1, Wood Street, Richmond Road, Ashok Nagar
Call: 080 41116878 / Online Reservations: ww.toastandtonic.com
Availability: Begum Victoria Cheese Platter is available at Toast & Tonic, Bengaluru and select cheese in limited quantities from Begum Victoria +91 9886377853 (Sharoon) only in Bengaluru
Prices: Toast & Tonic Cheese Platter Rs 595 plus taxes.
At Begum Victoria: Rs 370- 450/200 gm plus taxes.
