A star is won

In conversation with chef Srijith Gopinathan on his second Michelin star, and hybrid Indian-Californian food served at his restaurant in the US

According to you, what were the factors that contributed to this win vis-a-vis the Michelin Guide’s requirements?

I don’t remember any one thing that we customised to receive any award, including a Michelin star. Stars and awards are great for business; it boosts the team's morale and of course, puts us on the map. In terms of factors, we always did what we believed was good — tasty food with the best possible ingredients. We worked hard to maintain consistency and keep it as honest as possible.

Could you explain what you mean when you say: Californian-Indian cuisine? California apparently has a strong Indian culture and population – has this impacted the food served at Campton in any way?

Cal-Indian cuisine is a word we coined here. It is as organic as it sounds. We use seasonally available local ingredients within an approximately 100-mile radius to create dishes using Indian techniques. While we spice our ingredients, we also make sure its integrity is not lost. That remains a key to our food.

Your roots are in South India, and incidentally, it’s a cuisine that seems to be doing well among non-Indians, thanks to its subtle flavours. Your thoughts?

I feel every cuisine from India is stellar. North Indian cuisine is the one to have travelled outside India before its South Indian counterpart. So, South Indian cuisine is still new and fresh to the larger Western world. People appreciate changes and new flavours. That is exactly what is happening right now with South Indian fare in the West.

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