Quotes
So they say
“There’s a difference between improvising and massacring a cuisine.”
Ashish Kapur, co-founder and managing director, Yo! China, in Business Standard, quoted in Business Today, June 1, 2008
“In the family, the old fashioned mode of eating together, squatted on a low cane couch, out of the same dish, prevailed — the luxury of table, chair, drinking glass and separate plate being unknown.”
Dosebai Jessawalla: The Story of My Life, Bombay, 1911
“We took a trip to Belgium before my sister got married, and all we did was get up, go to the nearest chocolatier, note the technique used, buy a 100 gm sample and eat it on our way to the next one. The only other food we tasted while we were there were French fries because they say they were invented there.”
Kainaz Messman of Theobroma, Mumbai Mirror, June 13, 2008
“Yazdani’s ginger biscuit is sure to cure a cough. Great
care is taken to get the best ginger, and we buy it off a
lady from Satara, which is famous for its dry ginger.”
Zyros Zend, partner, Yazdani Bakery, The Week, July 30, 2006
“‘It took me a while to figure out that something was going on. She would come every day to buy wafers. Who eats wafers every day?’ asks (actor) Boman Irani saucily, amidst a torrent of protests from (wife) Zenobia, who laughs and says he’s making all this up. Whether embroidered or not, both agree that the wafer shop is
where it all began and that crispy fried romance has since culminated in a 20-year-marriage.”
Rukhmini Punoose, Sunday Hindustan Times, September 10, 2006
“Don’t diet. There are lots of fad and crash diets around like the Atkin’s diet, the General Motors diet, Herbal Life, glycemic index diet, the warm water diet, etc. Diets do not work. That’s the bottom line. You won’t know a single person who has lost a lot of weight on a diet... and kept it off.”
Nawaz Singhania, fitness expert, Mumbai Mirror, June 1, 2008
“Café Leopold is one of the nicest places in the world. It’s a real melting pot. What other place serves Indian and Chinese food to such a multitude of nationalities? Once, when my son wanted Gregory David Roberts’ autograph on his copy of Shantaram, he just left it at Leopold. On one of his visits, Roberts signed it for him and my son picked it up later.”
Esther Daswani, socialite, Indian Express, June 8, 2008
“Niloufer Ichaporia King’s My Bombay Kitchen: Traditional and Modern Parsi Home Cooking won the Asian Cooking award, beating out two Chinese food books. This is only the second year there’s been a separate Asian category, a sign of how seriously the Americans are taking Asian food now.”
Vikram Doctor, food critic, The Economic Times, June 14, 2008
“It’s not less authentically Parsi to explore unfamiliar ingredients or ideas now than it was for Persians in the seventh century to eat peaches from China, or for their descendents several hundred years later, in India, to experiment with potatoes from Peru.”
Niloufer Ichaporia King, author of My Bombay Kitchen: Traditional and Modern Parsi Home Cooking, The Economic Times,
June 14, 2008
“Parsi cooking appeals not only to people from all parts of India but also from different parts of the world... While I was a student in New York my school held a fête at which there was a stall of food from different countries; the Chicken Vindaloo which the school cook prepared from my mother’s recipe disappeared in less than an hour while the stall was still well-stocked with other dishes!”
Jeroo Mehta, author of 101 Parsi Recipes, 2008
“The wood-fired brick oven is considered the best because of the smoky aroma that it lends to the food. The special bricks retain a high temperature and allow pizzas to cook very fast.”
Viraf Patel, chef, DelItalia, The Indian Express, July 22, 2008
“I always look out for Indian cuisine and real Parsi bhonoo.
A familly in LA makes it for me, but my mother’s dhansak can
never be replicated.”
Zubin Mehta, maestro, HT Cafe Mumbai, July 31, 2008
“I loved beer but hated the gassy and bloating British lager. When I was introduced to British ale, I found it difficult to go with
any Indian food. Besides, it was too bitter.”
Lord Karan Bilimoria of Chelsea, founder and chief executive of Cobra Beer, The Economic Times, October 13, 2007
“Lookmanji was the anointed sweet-supplier for all festivities Parsi. It occupied a notch even higher than their holy cow, Parsi Dairy Farm.”
Bachi Karkaria, The Times of India, June 27, 2007
“The place (Irani restaurant) was our hangout, both an escape from and a growing out of what one was used to. Even the decor, with
those wonderful mirrored columns, reflected the road outside and welcomed its bustle within. All-embracing public areas are not valued now, a great loss really.”
Meher Marfatia quoting artist Sudhir Patwardhan, The Times of India, March 21, 2008
Ashish Kapur, co-founder and managing director, Yo! China, in Business Standard, quoted in Business Today, June 1, 2008
“In the family, the old fashioned mode of eating together, squatted on a low cane couch, out of the same dish, prevailed — the luxury of table, chair, drinking glass and separate plate being unknown.”
Dosebai Jessawalla: The Story of My Life, Bombay, 1911
“We took a trip to Belgium before my sister got married, and all we did was get up, go to the nearest chocolatier, note the technique used, buy a 100 gm sample and eat it on our way to the next one. The only other food we tasted while we were there were French fries because they say they were invented there.”
Kainaz Messman of Theobroma, Mumbai Mirror, June 13, 2008
“Yazdani’s ginger biscuit is sure to cure a cough. Great
care is taken to get the best ginger, and we buy it off a
lady from Satara, which is famous for its dry ginger.”
Zyros Zend, partner, Yazdani Bakery, The Week, July 30, 2006
“‘It took me a while to figure out that something was going on. She would come every day to buy wafers. Who eats wafers every day?’ asks (actor) Boman Irani saucily, amidst a torrent of protests from (wife) Zenobia, who laughs and says he’s making all this up. Whether embroidered or not, both agree that the wafer shop is
where it all began and that crispy fried romance has since culminated in a 20-year-marriage.”
Rukhmini Punoose, Sunday Hindustan Times, September 10, 2006
“Don’t diet. There are lots of fad and crash diets around like the Atkin’s diet, the General Motors diet, Herbal Life, glycemic index diet, the warm water diet, etc. Diets do not work. That’s the bottom line. You won’t know a single person who has lost a lot of weight on a diet... and kept it off.”
Nawaz Singhania, fitness expert, Mumbai Mirror, June 1, 2008
“Café Leopold is one of the nicest places in the world. It’s a real melting pot. What other place serves Indian and Chinese food to such a multitude of nationalities? Once, when my son wanted Gregory David Roberts’ autograph on his copy of Shantaram, he just left it at Leopold. On one of his visits, Roberts signed it for him and my son picked it up later.”
Esther Daswani, socialite, Indian Express, June 8, 2008
“Niloufer Ichaporia King’s My Bombay Kitchen: Traditional and Modern Parsi Home Cooking won the Asian Cooking award, beating out two Chinese food books. This is only the second year there’s been a separate Asian category, a sign of how seriously the Americans are taking Asian food now.”
Vikram Doctor, food critic, The Economic Times, June 14, 2008
“It’s not less authentically Parsi to explore unfamiliar ingredients or ideas now than it was for Persians in the seventh century to eat peaches from China, or for their descendents several hundred years later, in India, to experiment with potatoes from Peru.”
Niloufer Ichaporia King, author of My Bombay Kitchen: Traditional and Modern Parsi Home Cooking, The Economic Times,
June 14, 2008
“Parsi cooking appeals not only to people from all parts of India but also from different parts of the world... While I was a student in New York my school held a fête at which there was a stall of food from different countries; the Chicken Vindaloo which the school cook prepared from my mother’s recipe disappeared in less than an hour while the stall was still well-stocked with other dishes!”
Jeroo Mehta, author of 101 Parsi Recipes, 2008
“The wood-fired brick oven is considered the best because of the smoky aroma that it lends to the food. The special bricks retain a high temperature and allow pizzas to cook very fast.”
Viraf Patel, chef, DelItalia, The Indian Express, July 22, 2008
“I always look out for Indian cuisine and real Parsi bhonoo.
A familly in LA makes it for me, but my mother’s dhansak can
never be replicated.”
Zubin Mehta, maestro, HT Cafe Mumbai, July 31, 2008
“I loved beer but hated the gassy and bloating British lager. When I was introduced to British ale, I found it difficult to go with
any Indian food. Besides, it was too bitter.”
Lord Karan Bilimoria of Chelsea, founder and chief executive of Cobra Beer, The Economic Times, October 13, 2007
“Lookmanji was the anointed sweet-supplier for all festivities Parsi. It occupied a notch even higher than their holy cow, Parsi Dairy Farm.”
Bachi Karkaria, The Times of India, June 27, 2007
“The place (Irani restaurant) was our hangout, both an escape from and a growing out of what one was used to. Even the decor, with
those wonderful mirrored columns, reflected the road outside and welcomed its bustle within. All-embracing public areas are not valued now, a great loss really.”
Meher Marfatia quoting artist Sudhir Patwardhan, The Times of India, March 21, 2008
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From the archive