Creativity and innovation were the buzz words at the all-electric lunch hosted by the GCC in Melbourne this week.
The event, held at Elchi restaurant, was designed to introduce the newest members of the Coalition – property company ISPT and ambassador chef Manpreet Sekhon.
Guests were welcomed to Elchi by MC and food writer Max Veenhuyzen. Max explained how ambassador chefs like Manpreet are crucial in showing how the hospitality industry is evolving while property companies like ISPT lead the way in building decarbonisation. He then invited Steven Peters, Chief Sustainability Officer at ISPT, to highlight why they had chosen to become a GCC property partner.
After Steven’s speech, Max led us through Manpreet’s cooking journey which started with lessons from her mother and time spent in the five-star Park Plaza in Punjab where she was the only female chef in the kitchen. In 2005, she and her family moved to Australia and shortly after she opened Eastern Spice in Geelong. The success of Eastern Spice convinced Manpreet to bring her bold Indian cooking to Melbourne: the result was Masti on Brunswick Street, now a Fitzroy institution.
And then, of course, there was the elegant addition of Elchi: a contemporary dining room – powered by an all-electric kitchen free of fossil fuels – making a compelling, delicious argument that tradition and innovation can coexist in the world of Indian cooking.
Manpreet took the microphone to share more of her story, including how her chefs were, at first, dismayed to discover the electric kitchen at Elchi and how they insisted she considered changing it to gas. She said that after some adjustments those same chefs now love electric cooking and would never go back to the heat and burning tea towels of a gas kitchen!
By this time we were ready for some action in the kitchen–Manpreet invited everyone into the back to illustrate just how easy it is to cook flatbreads on induction. The amazing taste tests sent around the kitchen after the demonstration were enough to get the crowd excited about the feast to come.
As guests settled in their tables back in the restaurant they were treated to a menu of delights including pani puri, duck lukhumi, spinach chicken tikka and maash ki dal. The food was plentiful, delicious and a perfect illustration of how electric cooking can work for every cuisine.
The GCC was pleased to have shared this great experience with so many of our friends, partners and members. We look forward to many more great experiences and collaborations together.
