A chat with Chef Jerome Cousin of Rara Avis, one of Delhi’s finest French restaurants

Chef Jerome Cousin of Rara Avis informs me that the two words—rara avis—mean a ‘rare bird’ in French. When someone calls you a rare bird, do frown just a bit. S/he is perhaps politely stating that you are a little off, up there—an eccentric or a nutter. Which is all OK—successful people are a bit mad anyway. Chef Cousin, with all due respect, is not different either. How else do you define a man who abandoned the divine climes of the Franco-Swiss border, and a thriving restaurant, to be in New Delhi? I sit before Chef Cousin, sweating profusely thanks to the charming weather nowadays, as he sits cool as a cucumber with his bad-boy tattoos, floral shirt, smart ear studs and very-hipster pink pants. He wears a strangely bemused expression, as if my dripping sweat is an oddity. I know just then that he is indeed a bit mad—or his love for India is beyond rationality—an accusation he accepts with grace. “That’s why this restaurant is named so. It is a homage to all those mad people who are a bit odd, and for those who love food.” Unlike the other chefs featured in this section, Cousin is not an accidental cook. He was born in a kitchen—he lets me know—and started to cook when he was about five, demanding pots and pans of his own. “I would make small portions of soup or try to roast a small piece of meat or vegetable, some pasta, and force my grandfather—George—to eat it. He was a famous Chef and an indulgent grandfather to have tolerated a child in a professional kitchen. He was most patient. He taught me how to cook.” As did Cousin’s father, Calude. Thus, thanks to an indulgent father and grandfather, a third-generation chef was born. Between the three brothers, Chef Jerome Cousin is the only one to have entered the kitchen. His brothers chose the more administrative and managerial positions in the three restaurants that the Cousin family owns in France. But Cousin wanted it all; to cook, run a restaurant and engage with the clients, which he loves. It was his grandfather who instilled a love for fresh ingredients and traditional cooking methods (slow cooking of meats) within him. And he taught Jerome that if it is not fresh enough, it is not worth putting on a plate. “People (hoteliers, chefs) say that oh, we charge extra because my ingredients are sourced from abroad. I see that as a unnecessary move. It is not something I like doing, sourcing ingredients from abroad and then making your customers pay a bomb for them. And the ingredients are never fresh when you source them from abroad.” Vegetables that come out of Chef Cousin’s kitchen uses locally sourced, as are the fish and meat. It is only the odd French cheese or herbs that come from France. “Some say you can’t find good meat in this country. I think it is rubbish! I recently added lamb to the menu when I found a small organic meat farm. Yes, I had to travel to get the best, but it was all worth it,” says Chef Cousin. His speciality lies in keeping food wholesome and delicious. So, he sticks to artisanal dishes of rural and provincial France. There are other—exotic and signature—French dishes on the menu at Rara Avis—say an odd dish with snails. Which brings me to wonder how does an average Indian react to snails? Chef Cousin gently chides me for underestimating my country people, who, I am told, are experimenting more with food. Sure there are some rare birds (not the good, eccentric kind mind you) who insist upon smothering a dish with ketchup and mayo. But those ‘Philistines’ can be ‘taught’ better, he assures us (did we say that the chef has tattoos? Lots of them? And that can be persuasive). For a man who adores traditional, artisanal French cuisine, he is also equally fond of the fierce curries from the south of India and the Northeast. Some 11 years ago, when he arrived here, it was partly Indian food which made him realise he had arrived at a special place—almost a second home. So, Chef Cousin stayed back. A string of restaurant consultancy jobs later, he started his own small bistro-bar in the capital. There, he met Laurent Guiraud—the second member of the trio which includes entrepreneur Rajiv Aneja. Guiraud became a regular at the bistro and introduced Aneja to the team. I am told that several bottles of wine were consumed while planning and plotting an authentic, unique French cuisine for Delhi people. Finally, the dream came true in 2012 and soon Rara Avis was celebrating its first year anniversary— with the launch of an off-shoot in Goa. What’s next on the menu you ask? Well, world domination would be appropriate, but for now India will have to do.