On the menu, at Pumpkin Tales’ Harvest Table
| Photo Credit: Rishandhan
We meet Canadian Chef Jeff Van Geest fresh off a visit to Chennai’s Koyambedu vegetable market. A place he describes as ‘intense and incredible’.
Jeff is prepping for what promises to be a memorable meal. To celebrate the harvest season, he will be using seasonal, local produce to create a six course contemporary Italian meal. Harvest Table, is an initiative of Pumpkin Tales in association with The Hindu Lit For Life, and will be on for lunch and dinner on January 21, Wednesday.
All proceeds from the meal will be donated to the Tamil Nadu Seed Savers Network, a farmer-led initiative that works on conserving, protecting and distributing inigeneous, climate-resilient seeds. Chindi Varadarajulu, creative chef and founder, Pumpkin Tales and Zhouyu, Chennai says she and her team have always wanted to find ways to support local farmers. “Despite there being awareness about the troubles they face, there continue to be issues that affect them. The food industry cannot grow without our farmers. We need good ingredients to continue to do better,” she says, explaining why this fundraiser is so important to her.
Chef Jeff Van Geest
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
A champion of local producers, Jeff says, “When you buy from local farms, you get the best, and tastiest, ingredients.” Currently chef at Miradoro Restaurant, Tinhorn Creek Winery in Canada, Jeff brings his Mediterranean-inspired, farm-to-table philosophy to the menu, while working and partnering with local growers, ranchers, and foragers.
“Chindi and I and realised that it wouldn’t make sense to simply replicate a menu from Canada here, and we then began to brainstorm on how to retain the same philosophy and find the best of what we can locally here. It has been about how to use the produce here in a smart way to fit into the menu, while not compromising on the essence of Italian cooking,” Jeff explains.
The six-course menu will begin with an unexpected twist on the popular Italian bagna cauda, using avarakkai or broad beans with other vegetables along with a warm garlic-anchovy or cashew-ghee sauce. “This is like a warm bath for your vegetables,” says Jeff, adding “During our market visits, one of our main goals was to find inspiration for this dish and we tried a lot of different vegetables before finally choosing the ones to use.” Also keep
Bagna Cauda
| Photo Credit:
Rishandhan
He is also working with sea bass, chow chow and mustard seed caviar, for an unconventional pesce crudo. Of course, there will be pasta, but not in any form you have seen before. (Enter amaranth cream ravioli and fried curry leaves.) Jeff and Chindi say that they went through several different types of locally grown flour, to arrive at the one that best matched their Italian pasta needs. “I was also excited to work with Indian ricotta cheese and loved the colour that the red amaranth brings,” Jeff says.
We will not give away too much – as this tasting menu pivots on surprise, with familiar vegetables developing a startling Italian accent. But, we will say this: We ate our way through a trial, and it was delicious. Keep an eye out for the grilled mackeral and pumpkin saffron risotto.
Jeff says he tapped into the memories of his travels to Piedmont in Northern Italy for the dessert, a Piedmontese flan heroing Chennai’s favourite cliche: filter coffee.
To make reservations for Harvest Table, register at https://tinyurl.com/HarvestTableReservations at ₹3500 per person, all-inclusive.
Published – January 15, 2026 07:32 pm IST
Dining and Cooking