Say hello to the lady who is hammering down the inconsistencies riddled with al fresco dining with her ace property Fig & Maple. Having won the hearts of Delhiites with her first venture Ivy & Bean, Radhika Khandelwal set out to channel her passion for farm-to-fork and conceptualised a restaurant the capital city has been raving about since Week Un. As she whips another batch of beetroot hollandaise for her new summer menu trials, we get talking about the why’s and what’s of her journey.
“Fig & Maple has been on my mind for a long time now. In Australia, I learnt local produce is the way to go and as I saw more & more restaurants importing ingredients, I knew it was time to change the game and introduce something fresh & local in Delhi,” she shares discussing her motivation behind this stellar property. While the industry success’ pride themselves on consistency, Radhika has a different approach towards it, “Canned & processed food can help you achieve consistency, but when you’re buying everything fresh from the neighbourhood, there is an inconsistency and I’m proud of it. Everything that enters my kitchen is fresh, local, and seasonal.”
Armed with ardour stemming from her university days in Australia, Radhika shares how her journey on the island moulded her refreshing perspective towards food, “I was pursuing Psychology and Hairdressing and alongside I picked up a job in a restaurant. Starting from the bottom, I worked my way up and got to work with great chefs from across the continent who taught me everything I know about food.” However, the learnings weren’t limited to inside the kitchen walls, “The ugly food campaign really resonated with me. Tons & tons of produce goes waste every day, just because it doesn’t look pretty. A two-headed carrot would never get used in a commercial kitchen because you need everything on point, and I always wanted to embrace such produce in my restaurant.”
Cotton Cheesecake by Sugarama
Returning to India, Radhika opened doors to Ivy & Bean which soon became Delhi’s happy place. However, the itch to showcase the beautiful produce of #OurCity coupled with her learnings from Australia, Khandelwal built Fig & Maple with the values of communal dining, celebrating local produce and businesses. “I feel a good chef is the one who pushes everyone around them. There is no growth if your peers aren’t growing with you,” she is quick to add in when talking about the collaborations with Blue Tokai, Sugarama, and Anandini Tea Room.
Prepping the restaurant’s namesake salad (we strongly recommend this as your summer staple order), Radhika gets talking about creating a space that embodies minimalism in a city that loves the opposite, “Some people thought I didn’t have the money to do it up, which is also kind of true,” she chuckles, “But I just wanted to ensure that it’s a space of comfort, one where beauty and colours are added through food & people.” Overwhelmed with the response Fig & Maple has gathered, she shares “With newfound knowledge from travel, globalisation, and international brands entering the market, it feels like Delhi was waiting for a concept like this.”
Fig and Maple
Each plate at Fig & Maple is a work of art and the wizard behind the creations, Radhika shares how aesthetics have been a pivotal part of her craft, “I have spent multiple hours just putting things on a plate, creating a pop of colour and flavours, ensuring everything is bang on, only to end up eating it all myself!” As she puts the final touches on the crescent shaped salad, simultaneously cracking up on how it reminds her of a girl’s forehead, she shares her most valued plating trick “Always use at least three textures and make it bold & beautiful.”
When not hustling between her two ventures, she is found camping at Lavaash By Saby with Atelier Crenn paperback in her hand and ideas for beetroot and banana blossom on her mind. Her love affair for fresh produce is eternal and despite running on limited hours of sleep, this fierce lady has many more surprises and punches to pull, “My dream project is to open a 20-seater communal dining restaurant, serving only four suppers in a week. I would spend the other three days sourcing fresh ingredients, researching, and using modernist techniques to cook them.”
Chicken & Waffles
As we dig into the pièce de résistance, Chicken & Waffles, we discuss and lament the lack of exploration and interest in local ingredients. She shares her plans to explore the gamut of fascinating ingredients so widely available yet under appreciated and has her eye is on traditional Bengali ingredients and if we heard it right (the waffles had us extremely distracted), there will soon be cocktails to accompany it.
Taking our cold-press on the go, we know we’ll be back for more. Khandelwal is a force to reckon with and Fig & Maple is just the beginning of it all.
Head to M-27, E Block Rd, Block M, Greater Kailash II, Greater Kailash, New Delhi, but don’t forget to make a reservation at 08800665975.
Image Courtesy: The Open Art Project
