The Restaurant Roundup: A Waitering Race, Dining in Space, & Indian Restaurant Ratings

Joanna Lobo rounds up all the biggest news in F&B.

The latest controversy was the announcement of a Pure Veg Mode and a Pure Veg Fleet on Zomato, for customers who have a 100% vegetarian dietary preference. After receiving a strong backlash on social media, the founder rolled back the on-ground uniform segregation (green) but will still continue with the line.

All this while India is dealing with zero-food shame, which will remain unaddressed in the upcoming election rallies. While promises of Indians not going hungry are repeated ad nauseum, the numbers tell another story. A study that used data from the Union health ministry’s National Family Health Survey for 2019-2021 found that India’s prevalence of ‘zero-food’ children — those who haven’t consumed anything in a 24-hour span is 19.3%, the third highest after Guinea’s 21.8% and Mali’s 20.5%.

Desi News: Order food in Theatres & Trains; MTR makes the world’s longest dosa; a Mahua Feast

Starbucks announced the inauguration of its 400th store in India at Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. One can now order food inside PVR, Gurgaon. And, you can order food from Swiggy on trains, beginning with four stations — Bengaluru, Bhubaneshwar, Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada — from March 12, and will be expanded to 59 additional city stations, in the coming weeks.

Food poisoning cases in India are on the rise, be it in Noida, or Nagpur.

Remember your mother forcing you to eat your vegetables? She had a point because people are increasingly realising that green leafy vegetables are the best food for a healthy brain.

MTR celebrated 100 years of business by creating a Guinness World Record for making the world’s longest dosa, at 123 feet. Elsewhere, Manam Chocolate went online with an e-karkhana selling its popular barks, fudge, cookies, tablets and more.

Chef Sandeep Sreedharan (ex-Mahe) and start-up founder, Sophie Radtke, launched Chefsgate, a hospitality recruitment agency helping Indian chefs build careers in Europe. Indian celebrity chef, Ranveer Brar, is serving a special dal at his restaurant in Dubai, in a wooden chest and containing powdered 24-carat gold. Is this dal at Kashkan the most expensive dal in the world (priced at approx. Rs1,300)? Chef Vikas Khanna opened what he calls his last restaurant, Bungalow, inspired by member’s only clubhouses in British India.

Legendary chef Imtiaz Qureshi died of age-related ailments, in February this year, at the age of 93.

Chefs across Pugdundee Safari lodges created mahua special drinks and cocktails to coincide with the flowering season.

This Holi, which coincided with the brief window of mahua flowering saw Pugdundee Safari Lodges at Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Pench, and Satpura, organise a special mahua programme — chefs curated mahua-inspired recipes, and drinks, and visitors got to see the collection of the flowers, visit the local markets, and see how mahua is brewed.

In March, Mussoorie played host to a series of events, organised by Pravaas, which saw chef Prateek Sadhu host a Himalayan culinary experience; as part of the experience, there was an authentic Garhwali feast in a forest.

Culinary Culture Co launched the Ultimate Restaurant Ratings by spotlighting restaurants from Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai, and Goa. They launched with a three-tier rating scale — 3 Stars – Very Good; 4 Stars – Excellent; 5 Stars – The Ultimate.

Australian chef Shannon Bennett conducted his first pop-up at Mumbai’s Jolie’s.

MasterChef Australia continues to hold sway over India: chef Shannon Bennett did his first pop-up at Mumbai’s Jolie’s; MasterChef Australia 2018 winner, Sashikumar Cheliah, did a one-day pop-up at JW Marriott Goa; and chef Gary Mehigan teamed up with The Ardmore for exclusive dinners in Gurgaon, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

Students from Chennais Amirta International Institute of Hotel Management brought home three gold and six silver medals at IKA / Culinary Olympics 2024.

Global News: Robots Delivering Food; Meal in Space; Melbourne Food &Wine Festival

France has banned companies using traditional meat terms like steak and ham for plant protein products. In China, you could get food delivered by a robot; while at Munich Airport, a self-driving service snackbot, Jeeves, offers chilled soft drinks and snacks.

US-based global adventure company, Explore Worldwide, analysed 12 months of Google data for a comprehensive list of the most searched chefs around the world. Sanjay Thumma of the YouTube account, @vahrehvah, ranked fifteenth and was the third among the most Googled chefs in Asia, followed by Kunal Kapur, Maneet Chauhan, Gaggan Anand and Madhur Jaffrey.

Australia’s annual festival of food and drink, Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, saw Indian Accent team up with Daughter in Law for a pop up. Also in Melbourne, Anjali Ganpathy of Pig Out (Coorg Kitchen) cooked at Toddy Shop.

Anjali Ganpathy of Pig Out (Coorg Kitchen) did a pop-up at Toddy Shop in Melbourne.

A 110-year-old race, resurrected after 13 years, saw waiters and waitresses dressed up in their uniforms dash through central Paris carrying trays with a regulation pastry, small (empty) coffee cup and full glass of water for the 2-kilometer (1 1/4-mile) loop.

If you have $495,000, you can join six tourists on a six-hour journey in a hydrogen-filled space balloon to the stratosphere, where Danish chef Rasmus Munk will serve ‘dishes inspired by the role of space exploration’.

A new study published in Scientific Reports found that the cacao tree, which grows cocoa beans, seems to have begun spreading from the Amazon to other regions at least 5,000 years ago via human migration and trading routes.

New Launches: Papa’s by Husain Shahzad; Lavonne’s debut in Delhi; PF Chang comes to India

Mumbai saw the opening of two new spaces by two big chefs. Chef Husain Shazad launched Papa’s, an intimate 12-seater restaurant where he serves food that is a tribute to India’s diverse flavours; and chef Manuel Oliveira and his team from La Loca Maria dropped a new modern European cuisine 100-seater restaurant called La Panthera. Restaurant chain Avartana made its city debut at ITC Maratha with its progressive South Indian cuisine. There’s the café Journal; multi-cuisine Nadara; deli-cum-bakeshop by The Nutcracker, Noa; vegetarian speakeasy Charlee; plant forward bar Arggo's; Freny's, an all-day dining spot by Chef Freny Fernandes highlighting Anglo Indian/Portuguese-inspired food; the Asian Kembara; Japanese Megumi; Toast Doughnut Shop; multi-cuisine space Soro Zai; US based Asian chain PF Chang’s; Mool, showcasing Indian cuisine; Maiz Delivery Kitchen now has its first dine-in space; the aviation-inspired Captain’s Brew; and luxury ice-cream café, Gold.

Bengaluru has Moglu, a ‘borderless vegetarian’ restaurant with zero-proof drinks; an outpost from Chennai-based Kari Theory; wine bar Wine in Progress; progressive Indian cuisine space, Jugni; and Perch gets its first outpost after Mumbai and Delhi. There’s Mehico, and Italian Pepe Rosa in Kolkata. Pune has Murphies Bistro & Bar. In Delhi, People of Tomorrow has a new all-vegan restaurant with a cocktail bar and menu curated by seven chefs; Belgian chocolate boutique and café, Ledor World; Café Pero; a branch of Bengaluru’s Lavonne Café; and the Latin American Marièta in Gurugram.

Goa, meanwhile, shows no sign of slowing down. The latest releases have been: Grumps; resto-bar Birch by Romeo Lane; the global House of Goth; Feri cocktail bar; Moroccan style coastal flavours at Deck 88; pizzeria Open Kitchen; The Caveman’s Bar N Grill; cocktail bar and grill Kayena; rooftop bar LiLoLa; the Balinese Kasav; the Keralite Cardamom; tapas bar Toddy’s; the Goan Workshop; experiential dining space Mallakai; Italian Il Luogo; multi-cuisine Bayleaf Goa; Goan restaurant Raanteli and Sarah Todd’s The Sanctuary. There’s also The Gavti Lab, a venture reimagining plant-based desserts like gelatos using local produce, like sitaphal, bael, mango and jamun.

High Spirits: A Hemp Lager; Non-Alcoholic Beer; big wins for Short Story Gin and Camikara Rum

Goa saw the launch of CanaCraft, marketing itself as India's first hemp lager beer. Bandarful is the new cold brew coffee liqueur from India. Nao Spirits launched Punk Gin, made with fresh strawberries and hibiscus. The makers of Gin Gin have created Defy vodka; and Moonshine Meadery launched a limited edition (550 bottles) Mati, using a rare honey sourced from the hives of Asian Giant Rock bee. In addition, they have opened their meadery, The Hive, in Pirangut, to picnics on the weekend — expect a tasting of their mead, food by Nomad Food Project, guided tours, and board games.

Independence Brewing Co’s newest beer is Enzo, a medium bodied beer brewed with a special yeast strain from Weihenstephan Brewing Research Institute in Germany. Bira 91 and New Belgium Brewing from the USA introduced a limited-release beer, Chutney Sour, brewed with tamarind. Bacaano is a new non-alcoholic beer brand.

India Cocktail Week 2024 returned to Goa with two days of takeovers, and over 20 international and homegrown brands, and bar takeovers. Of note were Camikara rum cocktails by Barro Negro from Athens, and a stunning Picante (with jalapeno) from homegrown brand, Pistola.

At Rum & Cachaça Masters 2024, Camikara 12YO and 8YO won gold medals and Camikara 3YO secured a silver medal. Third Eye Distilleries’ Short Story Dry Gin bagged a Gold Medal and was the ‘Country Winner’ for being the best London Dry Gin from India, at the World Gin Awards 2024 in London.

make your own cocktail with this coaster from Barsys.

In promising tech news, Barsys launched the Coaster 2.0, a digital device that turns every customer into an instant mixologist, allowing them to make cocktails at home using just an app.

Joanna Lobo is an independent journalist from Goa who enjoys writing about food, her Goan heritage, the freelance life, and other things that make her happy. She’s also an editor at Goya. Follow her on @thatdoggonelady.

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