India, July 12 -- It was February 1911. The British government had officially announced about the shifting of the country's capital from the then Calcutta to Delhi. And as a country changes from time to time, its culinary traditions also might keep focussing on minute details. The 1911 Restaurant, a French outlet, at The Imperial, New Delhi, showcases just that - a confluence of the British and the French.

As I joined the restaurant for lunch at their ongoing la Fete nationale, which celebrates the Bastille Day, they had an array of classic French delicacies on buffet. And I began my lunch with the vegetable salad. Artichoke and sun-dried tomato terrine, the first. I savoured the tiny baguettes, topped with marinated, quartered artichoke...