The ‘sparky’ setting the culinary world on fire

livemint.com:

MasterChef Australia’s season four winner-turned-judge, teamed up with Mumbai chef Hussain Shahzad for a pop-up at O Pedro last weekend. Manifestation seems to be another constant in Allen’s life as he talks about how this collaborative effort reached fruition. “On my last trip to India, where I collaborated on a range of Australian flavours-inspired chocolates with the ITC brand Fabelle, I remember saying how much I wanted to do something with The Bombay Canteen guys.

And here I am cooking at its sister property. Though, on my next trip, I hope to team up with The Bombay Canteen and do something different altogether," says a visibly excited Allen who’s finally managed to get a mini breather from his kitchen duties to sit down for a proper chat. “Meeting chef Hussain was like meeting a girl for the first time when you can feel the spark (there we go, again) instantaneously," he says with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Chef Hussain and I have come up with a menu that demonstrates Australia’s produce and represents the ongoing sophistication of the nation’s dining scene. We do this by coupling indigenous Australian ingredients like finger limes and a coastal succulent like karkalla (pig face, sea fig or beach bananas) with Indian ones like tamarind and chaat masala. One can find this synergy in a range of family-style dishes that span small plates, mains, sides and desserts," says Allen of the menu that will be available to sample through the month of May at O Pedro.