Sujan Mukherjee, the 44-year-old executive chef of the Taj Bengal, Calcutta, rates himself an eight out of 10 for expertise. Though he’s a master of Indian, Italian and Oriental cuisines, he feels he still has a long way to go.

After graduating from the Institute of Hotel Management, Calcutta in 1998, Mukherjee joined the Taj Bengal and has been a part of the group since then. He grew in the profession to the point where he was the chef behind the menus for banquets held in honour of former presidents Bill Clinton and Pervez Musharraf.

He is the first Indian chef to be invited to the 2008 Cakebread Cellars American Harvest Workshop, California. He tossed up delicacies like roasted aubergine slices stuffed with baigan bharta and cheese, golgappas with a wine dip rather than tamarind water and more.

Authenticity is what he’s after and he’d rather try and perfect original recipes. “We have a responsibility to pass on these original recipes.”

He shares two recipes that are part of the new menu at The Hub, the hotel’s coffee shop.

FETTUCCINE WITH SMOKED SALMON

Ingredients
50gm fettuccine 15gm butter 200ml double cream 50gm smoked salmon 5gm salt 60gm spinach 30gm Mascarpone 15gm parsley

Method
Boil the fettuccine with salt and cook till al dente. Cut smoked salmon into strips, julienne the spinach. Sauté salmon in butter, add double cream and seasoning. Toss the pasta in the sauce, add the spinach and toss again. Garnish with parsley and mascarpone.

GRILLED SALMON

Ingredients
180gm Atlantic salmon fillet 100gm asparagus 30gm potatoes 50ml fish stock 1 tomato 2 jumbo olives 1 green apple 30ml extra virgin olive oil 1 lemon sliced 15gm chopped parsley Salt/pepper to taste 1 sprig of thyme 1 sprig of chive

Method
Par boil sliced potatoes. Blanch, chill on ice and dry asparagus tips. Blanch tomato, peel the skin and cut into half. Reduce the fish stock, add chopped parsley. Peel and dice the green apple. Set aside. Heat olive oil and breakfast sugar over a double boiler till the sugar dissolves. Add the apple dices and cook. Add lemon. Grill the salmon and cook in an oven at 200°C for 10 minutes. Grill the potatoes, warm the tomatoes, asparagus and olives. Arrange with the salmon on a plate and drizzle the apple confit and fish stock. Garnish with thyme and chive.