THE CHIKOO TREE PROJECT – A  FUSION OF THE EAST AND SOUTH 

Goa is a tourism state and there exist many cuisines which have originated from Portuguese, Indian, Mexican, continental, and Chinese cuisine. One can get in any nook and corner of Goa and find these. The Chikoo Tree Project is one such combination of a fusion kitchen that is very rare in Goa at the moment. The venture was started by Ms. Trupti,  the heart, and soul of this kitchen. According to Trupti, she has always been in the hospitality industry, taking care of various positions during her tenure.

“After graduating from the Oberoi Center of Learning and Development in Delhi, I worked in their resorts at various locations across the country and later due to my interest in wildlife, I joined a company called Sujan Luxury and was heading their camp in Rajasthan as the general manager,” she said adding that following that, she moved to Goa. Trupti always wanted to start her own business and that is how she started this venture called Chikoo Tree In South Goa. “I always wanted to do something with food and I am a very passionate about cooking,” she said. 

Chikoo Tree is a fusion of two major cosines from South and East. “I am originally from Mysore and the whole concept of Chikoo Tree came to me from my ancestral house in Mysore where we have a big Chikoo tree at the entrance of our house, and my grandmother and my mother have been cooking under that, so it’s more of a memory and we named it as the Chikoo tree,” she narrated. According to Trupti, the food at Chikoo Tree Project is inspired by the whatever she saw while growing up in Mysore. “My recipes are inspired by my mother & grandmother’s recipes, in that some are mine and some have come from my mother in law. Most of the Bengali dishes on the menu come from my husband Anand’s mother,” she said adding that, “My main focus is on providing healthy food to my guests and I always make sure that I make very limited use of oil while cooking the food, and the ingredients that we use are of the highest standards, and we grow our own vegetables and herbs in the backyard of the restaurant and, whatever we cannot grow; we get it from a vendor who grows it organically.”

When you visit this place you will find the menu may not be very friendly unless you are used to south Indian cuisine and it is little on the expensive side, but the food quality is definitely very good. You won’t find the dishes spicy even if you are not used to a lot of spice and at the same time you can feel the aroma and taste of each ingredient used in the dishes they make. “I have personally worked out the pricing on the menu according to my clientele where people love spending on food and taste different types of food and appreciate healthy, tasty and flavourful food,” said Trupti. Another thing that she brought to our notice is, they do not prepare any food items in advance. “There is nothing pre-cooked on our menu, we start preparing it as soon as the customer places an order. I personally monitor and cook myself whenever required so that there shouldn’t be any compromise in terms of quality.”  

Overall, Incredible Goa gives The Chikoo Tree Project 4.5 star out of 5 for the quality and authenticity of the food. While the ambiance is not as good as a five-star hotel, it is a place based on a “hangout place” and we suggest everyone try this place out and give your feedback on the same. You can also review this place on our website and give your desired stars to it depending on your experience with the place.