It was a virtual five-hour-long meal-cum-journey, served up during one dinner
By Rashmi Uday Singh

MUMBAI: I went on a safari the other day-one which didn't require me to be either brave or heroic. It wasn't a long and arduous expedition through dangers and difficulty. On the contrary, all it required of me was a good appetite and unbounded enthusiasm. I was ready with both.
 
It was a gourmet safari, organised at the sixth World Gourmet Summit in Singapore. And it took me on a virtual journey to four countries in the course of one dinner. (You read that right, it was one dinner.)
 
To me, it seemed like the perfect international meal, where we savoured the taste of creations conjured up by international master chefs, eating while they explained the methods behind their magic. Osaka, Madrid, Bangkok and finally Hawaii-we virtually visited them all, in one balmy night, as our elegant trolley glided its way through the twinkling night lights of Singapore. At each stop, in various parts of the city, a different master chef presented his creations and my taste buds tingled with delight as heavenly matches were made between premier wines and food. The first stop was Osaka. And I'm still not sure whether the starter on my plate was a work of art or science. It was delicately served in three gentle coloured discs, topped with a gossamer leaf and a twig. There, was a satin-smooth pink salmon parfait, a velvety white soya bean tofu and fish roe subtly flavoured with horse radish wasabe. The contrasting textures and the 'strong flavours of the wasabe and sesame were delightful. While the gossamer leaf turned out to be a thinly sliced potato, the twig was actually made of squid ink.
 
"'This is French food, touched with the elegance of Japan," explained David Senia, a chef who has seven cooks in his family When I asked him what makes a great chef, his eyes twinkled. "Hospitality, attending to the needs of the guest," he replied. "If I can make you smile while you eat, then I am successful, am I not?"
 
The second stop was Madrid. A hushed silence and darkness greeted us as we walked into a huge theatre hall. The stage had its curtains drawn when we walked in. Then, suddenly, the sound of trumpets filled the auditorium and the curtains swished apart dramatically to reveal a long table dressed in a white tablecloth. Over this table, our second master chef of the evening, Sergi Arola, gallantly bowed to us, before serving us our entree. Arola had cooked the fish unerringly, the delicate mango mousse-line added the masterly touch and cleansed the palate, while the fried oysters provided the perfect foil to the dish.
 
Later, I chatted with Arola, who turned out to be a disciple of master chefs Ferran Adna and Roger Verge. I found out that he runs an award-winning restaurant in Madrid. However, when I asked him if there were any more chefs in his family, he answered with a laugh, "No, the rest of the family is more intelligent than I am.
 
"Our third stop was Bangkok. Here we found out what happens when a scholar with a Ph.D in Asian affairs switches professions to start his own restaurant. Naturally, he cooks up success. Chef Arun Sampathivivat, a quiet and unassuming gentleman, demonstrated how, by cooking for us. We ate the famed monsoon chicken curry-garnished with pearl onions, fingerling potatoes and Thai cucumber- with jasmine rice. The genteel display charmed us as muchas the fiery taste.
 
Our final stop was Hawaii. Our master chef, this time, was a celebrity in his own right. Whether it was Bill Gates' wedding or a party aboard John Travolta's private jet, Phillipe Padovini has catered to them all. That night, he seduced us with the flavours of Hawaii. We ended our gourmet safari with the delicate and satiny lemon grass haupia custard served with cheery and colourful Hawaiian fruits, marinated in lilikoi and fresh mint.
 
We ate the custard at a long, beautifully decorated dining table, in a majestic garden restaurant. (He even insisted that we wear fragrant garlands, just to get into the Hawaiian spirit.) A veteran of the culinary industry Padovini's food was so distinctive that we found it hard to believe him when he said he was brought up in the Australian outback and almost grew up to be a Crocodile Dundee.
 
As the five-hour-long meal-cum-journey came to a close, I was left with the usual food for thought- that the journey is always so much more enjoyable than the destination.