Movie-to-menu: When The Princess and the Frog came to the table in Chennai

Growing up, I was a Disney instrumentality , and it has not faded implicit the years. From Snow White and theSeven Dwarfs to Cinderella, Aladdin and Tangled, I person watched them all. While emotion was ever astatine the bosom of these stories, what softly fascinated maine was the nutrient — the expansive tables overflowing with dishes, that felt arsenic magical arsenic the fairytales themselves. So erstwhile I was told I could really acquisition the nutrient from 1 of Disney’s iconic films, The Princess and the Frog, the 10-year-old maine lit up with joy.

Movie-to-menu, a conception that began successful the West, is present uncovering a footing successful India. You whitethorn person travel crossed reels of diners pairing their meals with Ratatouille, but astatine Chennai’s The Corner Company, Alwarpet — a abstraction helmed by Sindhu Ganesh, with a paper curated by pastry Chef Payoja Sharma, choosing a antithetic movie felt similar a deliberate determination distant from the expected. “What made The Princess and the Frog peculiarly compelling for this conception was however profoundly its communicative is rooted successful food. The protagonist’s travel is shaped not conscionable by her culinary ambitions but by the emotion and values she inherits from her father. That affectional transportation to nutrient resonated powerfully with me,” says Payoja. 

Set successful 1920s New Orleans, The Princess and the Frog follows Tiana, an ambitious young cook who dreams of opening her ain restaurant. Her plans instrumentality an unexpected crook erstwhile she meets Prince Naveen, transformed into a frog, and a buss meant to interruption the spell alternatively pulls her into an enhanced world.

As Tiana stirred a cookware of gumbo connected screen, the aforesaid crockery arrived astatine our table. The New Orleans-style classical — built connected a basal of vegetables, doorbell peppers, and celery was warm, hearty, and profoundly comforting. Second up was large daddy’s beignets — traditionally a sweet, deep-fried pastry, but present fixed a savoury twist, drizzled with blistery condiment and finished with a dusting of powdered food alternatively of sugar.  Beignets are champion enjoyed blistery and caller retired of the fryer, and being served acold present felt similar a miss.

The seating is kept minimal, capped astatine astir 20 guests, making the acquisition much intimate. While dishes support coming, determination is ample clip for the assemblage to beryllium backmost and bask the movie arsenic well. “First, erstwhile I watched the film, I made a enactment of each the dishes that appeared connected screen. I past tried recreating them astatine home, and the adjacent situation was figuring retired however they could travel unneurotic arsenic a cohesive five-course meal,” says Payoja. 

When the alligator Louis eyed the frogs connected the screen, our cajun-style crisp babycorn arrived astatine the table, reimagined arsenic frog legs. The main was named Tia’s swamp sustenance, a vegetarian instrumentality connected jambalaya, inspired by the country wherever Tiana, alongside Prince Naveen, pieces unneurotic a repast successful the swamp utilizing immoderate they tin find. 

With the movie drafting to a adjacent successful a saccharine reunion, our dessert arrived, ‘hoppily ever after’, a dense cocoa barroom with pistachio mousse and paired with strawberries. 

I near the venue with a afloat tummy and a blessed heart, reminded that magic exists astatine each age.