The Restaurant Roundup: Forest Dining with Amninder Sandhu, India Cocktail Week, Food Nerd Festival

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

There’s fusion food and then there’s blasphemy. Recently, a Singapore blogger cause ire on the Internet for mixing chocolate cereal with a meat curry. As someone rightly pointed it, he is a cereal killer!

Singapore is also in the news because an enterprising duo believes the future of drinks contains insects. Fura, the restaurant, has a menu that includes mealworms, crickets, grasshoppers, grasshopper flour and locusts; their jellyfish martini is popular.

Junk food is doing big business in India — it’s a $30 billion market — even as the market in western countries is shrinking. Amid export restrictions, India will export 103,600 tonnes of food items — wheat grain, wheat flour, maida, sooji, broken rice and sugar — to Bhutan under a humanitarian operation. Scientists from Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) shared figures recently pointing to how India is wasting 74 million tonnes of food every year — 22% of food grain output — largely owing to inaccurate storage facilities. The Agriculture Ministry released Food grain and horticulture production estimates, which claimed that food grain output in 2022-23 stood at a record 329.68 million tons, up 4% or 14.1 million tons higher than a year ago. And, The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has recommended the inclusion of QR code on food products to aid visually impaired individuals.

Here is what else is making news in the hospitality space.

Newsworthy: The Food Nerd Festival, Indian Women Winning Big Abroad, Three NY restaurants on Michelin Guide

The biggest news of the month was the Food Nerd Festival, an initiative by Goya Media and Edible Issues. The festival, ticketed by Zomato Live, was held at The Courtyard Community and The Conservatory and saw a series of discussions, featuring people like chefs Thomas Zacharias and Pooja Dhingra, Sana Javeri Kadri of Diaspora Co, Anand Virmani of Nao Spirits, and Matt Chitharanjan of Blue Tokai. Food Nerd Labs were themed on Salt, Fat, Heat, and Acid and had compelling workshops featuring Mansi Jasani, Balagopal Menon and chef Gautam Krishnakutty. As befitting a food festival, food and drinks flowed freely with cocktails from Godawan Single Malt, Talisker, a hot chocolate bar by Baileys, and a collaboration between Lavonne’s Vinesh Johny and Le 15’s Pooja Dhingra. The festival’s distinctive retro-pop design language, a delightful talking point online, was the creation of branding and strategy firm Two Tigers & Co.

Making news abroad is Goa’s Susegado beer, which won Chairman's Selection certificate for Dark/Brown Ales, and a gold for its Kokum Gose, at the Asia Beer Championship in Vietnam. In other spirited news, the Macallan Adami 1926, which Sotheby’s called the “holy grail” of whisky sold for a record $2.7 million at Sotheby’s November Whisky Auction. India Wine Awards 50 Best Places to Drink 2023 list is out and winning top place are Mumbai’s Americano, The Bombay Canteen, and Goa’s Hideaway.

Indian women are making us proud on the global stage. Mumbai-based pastry chef, Zareen Shaukat, came fourth in the World Tapas Competition 2023 Competition held in Spain by creating a Murgh Makhani Mille Feuille with a smoked saffron labneh. The Cheese Collective’s Mansi Jasani is the first Indian to be inducted in the Guilde des Fromagers, and recently, was part of the Super Jury at the World Cheese Awards 2023.

The Michelin Guide announced its city guides for New York, Washington DC and Chicago, and they include three Indian restaurants—Semma in New York City, Rania in Washington DC and Indienne in Chicago.

Goan chef Avinash Martins has his own TV show, on FoodXp called, Taste of Tides — he will showcase food from the coasts of India but with his own twists.

New: Magnolia Bakery, Amninder Sandhu’s Palaash, a 12-week Bandra pop-up Bandra Born

India continues to be the flavour of the year for brands seeking to expand their business. The big opening in Mumbai was New York City’s Magnolia Bakery, which opened its first flagship store serving up a wide range of hand-baked desserts, including its famous banana pudding.

Magnolia Bakery makes its foray into India, dishing up its famed banana pudding.

Also in Mumbai, chef Gresham Fernandes launched a 12 week pop up called Bandra Born. Other restaurants include the Latin American Los Cavos, Maharashtrian Sasarwadi, pizza spot Lil Gamby, cocktail and cigar lounge Larrikin, Bali-themed Baliboo, Mexican Tijuana, Therapy Cocktail Bar; Tango Tamari with Japanese and Peruvian food; Indian Kari Apla; café The Nest, and bakery Love Crumbbs. Juhu’s Sea Princess Hotel has The Ribbon Room Bar & Tequileria with an agave-focussed bar; Ramee Techome opened Rasoi Kitchen and Mutuswami Café; and the Thane Club now has the South Indian South Stories. In re-openings, there is Bastian, the Sri Lankan Hoppumm, and Allamanda Terrace at Hotel Marine Plaza. Food Square is the newest gourmet retail store. The city’s iconic, and oldest operating dairy, the 107-year old Parsi Dairy Farm, has a new look and a revamped store.

Susegado at St Regis in Goa has a new sustainably-driven seafood menu

St. Regis Resort, Goa re-launched Susegado with a curated cocktail programme and a new sustainably driven seafood menu. Also in Goa is Marāi - The Courtyard Of Slow Living — restaurant, bar, deli, and bakery; pizzeria Como Agua; bar The Bootlegger; delivery kitchen Maachher Jhol; Indian restaurant Pandara Street; bakery and café State of Good Vibes; resto-lounge Just B; café Goa Wake and Kashmiri place, Kashmash.

In Kochi is The Backwaters with chef Rohan D'Souza offering a blend of global flavours and rustic Kerala cuisine — guests can catch their own fish, kayak, sail, or enjoy a traditional dining experience on a rice boat. In Tipeshwar forest’s Tipai is Palaash, chef Amninder Sandhu’s newest dining experience celebrating the hyper-local flavours of regional India. In Delhi is new Asian delivery kitchen Kaleido and Qavalli with its Mughlai favourites. Kolkata has the modern India, Altair. Hyderabad has the global Chirp, the modern Indian Tevar, and Burma Burma. Cheesiano Group launched Saucy Subs in Pune; and Ramee Grand Hotel & Spa has the South Indian Mutuswami. The Hyatt Regency Jaipur Mansarovar unveiled cocktail bar and tipple terrace, The Pink Bar. In Delhi is Atul Kocchar’s Glasshouse: World Grill & Bar. Dehradun has Basque, offering Italian, Asian and progressive Indian cuisine.

In Bengaluru is The Drawing Room by Smoke House Deli with a special gin experience; the pub Sector 144; multi-cuisine Tudum with DIY cocktails; the Burmese Société Rangoon; Labonel’s first flagship gourmet patisserie; rooftop bar Niro, and Thai and Cantonese space, Muro.

Chef Ritu Dalmia launched her first restaurant in Dubai called Atrangi by Ritu Dalmia, focussed on Indian food.

Coming soon is Pepito in Hyderabad, and The Tanjore Tiffin Room in Goa.

Collabs & pop-ups: Gaggan Anand experience, pandan ice cream, Ladakh x Thai food

Singapore is making waves in India too. Chefs LG Han and Jason Tan came to Masque for a six-hands dinner with Chef Varun Totlani; the trio cooked up a storm at Labyrinth in Singapore in July this year. Elsewhere, Woodside Inn hosted a Secret Supper Club in collaboration with Chef Peter Smit from Singapore’s Dirty Supper — dishes like lamb heart tartare with pickled jalapeno, BBQ squid with pork fat relish and slow-roasted goat shoulder.

Masterchef Australia may have concluded its current season but the buzz refuses to die down. Former winner Diana Chan did a degustation menu at Koji, Pune. Former hosts — Gary Mehigan, Matt Preston, and George Calombaris — hosted a workshop, and meet and greet, in Bengaluru.

Nara Thai x Tsas | Goya — Nara Thai, Mumbai teams up with Tsas by Dolkhar from Ladakh for a unique collaboration.

It’s also the season for collaborations. Ladakhi ingredients meet modern Thai food at Nara Thai x Ladakh’s TSAS by Dolkhar pop-up; a limited-edition, five dessert collection between That's Amoor by Cin Cin and Natasha Moor will be available till December; Singapore Tourism Board x Naturals Now teamed up for a limited-edition pandan-infused ice cream sundae, available till December 31, only at Juhu; Noon is partnering with the world's first zero-waste restaurant, Silo London for a pop up on December 9,10; and JW Marriott Kolkata will welcome Kolkata-born chef Gaggan Anand for a theatrical dining experience, ‘Eat, Cook, Play with Chef Gaggan Anand’ (December 9,10).

At Alba, in Bengaluru’s JW Marriott, The Pranzo with Chef Matteo celebrates the authentic flavors of Italy with artisanal orecchiette pasta, red wine risotto with tome and parmesan, burrata with avocado tartare and gazpacho, roast turkey with tonnata sauce, almond and pistachio-crusted shrimp, and Saturday Roasts featuring slow-cooked pork belly with herb-roasted baby potatoes.

Spirit forward: Chambal and Cherrapunji gin, India Cocktail Week

Bapuna Alcobrew launched Chambal Gin made with wild cinnamon bark, black cardamom and green cardamom and almonds. But, it’s not just gin flooding the market. Chandon launched Aurva, a new red wine. Liquor tech company Comte de Grasse launched 44oN Gin and 06 Vodka Rosé in Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Independence Brewing Co has a new Blueberry GRAF infused with blueberry and apple juice. The two new craft rums are SĪTÄRĀ, and Hemp Craft Rum by Satiwa Alco Bev. Meghalaya has a new gin called Cherrapunji. Piccadily Distilleries launches Camikara 3 Years Old (YO), a 100% pure cane juice rum aged in American oak barrels.

The Gin Explorers Club is hosting a gin festival, Retroverse Edition 1, in Bengaluru. In Mumbai, India Cocktail Week returns for its second edition on December 2,3.

Festive special: Nilgiris Earth Festival

The Nilgiris Earth Festival 2023, set against the backdrop of the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve, will take place in December (19-23). It’s an event that aims to bring together the finest in food, culture, and environmental consciousness. Food enthusiasts can look forward to farm-to-table dining experiences with local and organic produce, interactive cooking demonstrations, insights into millets and heritage rice, exploring flavors of the Badaga community, and engaging tea-tasting sessions with experts.