A tasting menu often comes with a quiet question. Will it actually be enough? At RAEN – The Chef’s Studio where Michelin Star French Chef Michel Christmann hosted a two-night showcase at The Leela Hyderabad, that question fades somewhere around the third course. The plates may look restrained, but the food carries a kind of richness that builds steadily. By the time you reach the middle of the meal, you are already slowing down.
Chef Michel’s journey through Michelin kitchens shows up in the details. “I started very early, at 16, and trained in three Michelin star restaurants for many years. That’s where you learn discipline, care, and how to respect every ingredient,” he says. That discipline is visible in the way each course is constructed, from the balance on the plate to the precision of sauces, something he calls the backbone of French cuisine.
But this isn’t a strictly classical French menu. Having spent nearly nine years in Pondicherry, where he runs his restaurant–Rasa, the chef brings in Indian influences with ease. Not in a way that overwhelms, but in small, thoughtful touches. Curry leaf oil appears as a finishing note. Coconut milk steps in where cream would usually sit. “It’s always about balance,” he explains. “I don’t want to lose the French identity, but I adapt to where I am.”
The vegetarian tasting menu, in particular, is where this approach comes through most clearly. It begins with an amuse bouche, followed by a composed dish of apple, hibiscus and tamarind, layered with rocket leaves and goat cheese cream. The tamarind, reduced and slightly sharp, cuts through the sweetness of the apple in a way that feels both familiar and new.
One of the more interesting plates is what looks like a scallop but isn’t one. A radish is shaped and treated with the same technique, paired with spinach purée, roasted seeds and a light lemon butter sauce. “I wanted to play with perception,” he says. “You see one thing, but you taste something else.”
The caramelised cauliflower is perhaps the most surprising course of the evening. It arrives in multiple textures, paired with pistachio, coconut and a soft vanilla note. It’s a dish that sounds simple on paper but turns out to be one of the most talked about. “People don’t expect much from cauliflower,” he admits, “but with the right technique, it can become something very different.”
There are small details throughout that reflect where the meal is being cooked. Some ingredients are sourced from hydroponic farms within the hotel itself, adding a layer of freshness that the chef values deeply. “We try to use what’s around us. That’s also part of the Michelin mindset,” he says.
Dessert brings the menu back to a more classic space. A 75 percent chocolate tart, made with Indian cocoa, and then bell pepper-flavoured sorbet with cinnamon ice cream that cuts through the richness. It’s a strong finish, one that stays with you.
For Chef Michel, cooking in India has been as much about learning as it has been about teaching. “It took time to understand the ingredients here, to adapt. But now it’s about using them in a way that still feels true to my cooking,” he says.
And that’s what this tasting menu at the Leela Hyderabad does best. It doesn’t try to redefine French food. It simply lets it travel, pick up a few new notes, and settle comfortably into a different landscape.
Dining and Cooking