Gourmet Guide: The Korner House By Chef Vicky Ratnani | Verve Magazine
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Wine & Dine
October 14, 2016

Gourmet Guide: The Korner House By Chef Vicky Ratnani

Text by Rishad Mehta

“Put your phone away!” he scolded one of our fellow diners. “Focus on the food”.

It’s not every day that you are invited to a private dinner by a celebrity chef. It’s also not every day that you meet a man with such passion and love for everything culinary. We sat down at The Korner House By Chef Vicky Ratnani, situated aptly on an intersection. This is no ordinary restaurant, and Ratnani likes to keep it that way.

“I’m fed up of the local food scene. Everyone is just copying everyone else, and there is no originality left…. We really care about getting it right, and The Korner House is our attempt to make that happen.” And he did make good on that promise: course after course, we were transported to a fish market in Spain, a brasserie in France, and a garden in Tuscany: fresh, simple food, with Ratnani’s special twist. The fish soup, for example, was a half cup of pure flavour. Each sip somehow contained the entire essence of the ocean. Light, creamy and full of umami, I made sure to order a second portion halfway through the meal.

Confession: I came to this meal a vegetarian, and before I knew it I was scoffing down his rich and creamy duck pate, served with a crunchy and delicious Parmesan cracker, alternating in fact between the duck and the equally impressive mushroom pate. Next, a triage of salads that had some very unique components: charcoal grilled cauliflower, crumbled falafel, beetroot Carpaccio and delicious baked aubergines.

Accompanying these fresh salads, was a tuna tartare worthy of a Japanese sushi chef, and charcoal grilled shrimp ‘gambinos’ with a delicate and flavourful Spanish twist — both brilliant in their execution. We ended the night with New Zealand beef Carpaccio, served with a deep and salty Parmesan cream; chicken on skewers with a Korean sauce; and pork belly skewers complete with crackling. The meal finished with a classic chocolate lava cake, and a tres leche that was creamy and cool — just the way it should be.

But the true highlight of the night was when the chef brought out his own cooking companions — his chefs — and had them take a bow for their commitment and hard work. We often overlook the hundreds of hours of prep and execution that goes into our meals and this small tribute was a great gesture to the back of the house, which was met with much applause.

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