The Alliance Française at Lodhi Estate, long known as a French language institute in Delhi, has recently donned a new avatar.
Taking their mission to impart a taste of the French culture to Delhiites quite literally, they have now introduced a complete menu of authentic French dishes at their cafeteria.
Also, with a swanky new building to house the cafeteria, designed by no less than a French architect, and a crew trained by chefs brought from Paris, Francophiles are sure to fall in love with the centre all over again.
Tamanna Kapoor, manager, HR and administration at Alliance Française says, “Our institute is an Indo-French cultural centre. Our primary activity is to teach French language to those interested, but we feel it’s very important that we give them a holistic view of the French culture. That would be incomplete without giving them a feel of the French food. Hence the effort that has gone into building the cafeteria. For us it is not just a canteen, but a part of the teaching centre.”
French food is popularly known for its variety of coffee, baguette, crepes, croissants, cheeses, other than chocolates and cakes. All of these, mostly breakfast items, are readily available and very popular at Alliance.
Deepak Sharma, the manager of the cafeteria, informs, “We have every food item which would make for a complete French meal here. Speaking about a full meal, in salads our Salade Legumes is a favourite with vegetarians. It is basically filled with a lot of veggies like legumes, bell pepper, sun-dried tomatoes, jalapeño and gherkin tossed in olive oil and French mustard. Another very popular salad is made of chicken liver. The French balsamico dressing gives it a nice vinegary taste. Other hugely demanded salads are the Tabouleh served and with smoked salmon.”
Alliance’s Poisson Girelle avec salade au Dijon Moutarde, which is grilled fish and flies off the shelf in no time. Coquelet Grille avec Pommes au Romarin, is grilled chicken (leg pieces) added with chopped garlic and fresh rosemary in olive oil and balsamico vinegar, is also ordered very commonly here.
In vegetarian main courses, Ricotta Steak, that is grilled cottage cheese served with ratatouille sauce, is always also in demand. Another must include in the list would be Cuit Aubergine Parmesan, a dish of baked brinjal with parmesan cheese.
Other dishes served here include: Clafoutis that is made with berries, butter, flour, milk and vanilla essence, is very popular. Another sweet dish the Apple Tart with red wine is also very well liked. It is basically a butter, flour and gelatin dough stuffed with red wine.”
The popularity of the food here is evident in the number of students, tourists, expats frequenting the cafeteria. Tamanna says, “The French community in Delhi forms our main customers. However, we are eagerly waiting for the day when our students will take to the French food like French do. That day, we will consider our aim fulfilled.”
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