Taking up the house occupied by EnoSteak, Kahani (which means “story” in Hindu) will open up as a substitute on Saturday, Oct. 7. Government chef Sanjay Rawat, who was employed by the posh resort as chef de delicacies in 2022, will lead the kitchen inside his first devoted Orange County restaurant.
Born in Uttarakhand, India, Rawat grew up in New Delhi the place cooking was a serious a part of his household — a lot in order that, after getting a culinary diploma in Malaysia, he toiled away in kitchens throughout the globe, from the Taj Lodge in New Delhi to Irvine’s Clay Oven. Whereas on the Ritz-Carlton, he created menus for 400-plus particular person, multi-day South Asian weddings in addition to final 12 months’s Diwali pageant.
As a way to assist convey the chef’s concepts to fruition inside its devoted restaurant house, the resort fashioned a voluntary Indian Cultural Committee — which incorporates a number of Indian meals and beverage managers and administrators throughout operations and banquets — to help Rawat in his imaginative and prescient.
“After I immigrated from India eight years in the past, I by no means imagined I might be given the chance to helm a restaurant at an iconic resort like The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel,” mentioned Rawat in a written press launch. “I would like Kahani, my story, to encourage different cooks to dream outdoors of their parameters and have belief that their journey will come full circle like mine.”
Dishes will embody corn and cardamom bisque with turmeric and cilantro crema; tandoori spice-tinged lobster risotto; a Kashmiri curry of beef quick rib with roasted root greens, pickled onions and crispy garlic; cardamom cheesecake with laddu crumbs and kala jamun; and conventional sweets like gulab jamun, kulfi and rasmalai.
Along with serving to Kahani get its sea legs throughout its nascent interval, Rawat will proceed to have his fingers full as he hosts his second-annual Diwali Mela occasion on the beachside resort on Saturday, Nov. 4.
Kahani shall be open Tuesday by way of Saturday from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. beginning Oct. 7.
Discover it: 1 Ritz-Carlton Drive, Dana Level
