https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/industry-veteran-creates-new-marketplace-for-smart-liquor-brands/January 30, 2021, 8:11 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/g3.jpgOthersIn the 10-15 minutes of free time he got before my phone call, Rahul Gagerna, co-founder and Managing Director, Boutique Spirit Brands (BSB), had already thought of 10-15 names of future products and asked one of his managers to start getting them...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/indias-first-one-stop-shop-for-savoury-snacks-takes-off-and-how/January 30, 2021, 8:10 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/g2.jpgOthersAshish Nichani and Sudarsan Metla look delighted to pose with a selection of their products; Postcard’s tribute to its home city, Bengaluru. https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/a-hearty-whiff-of-singapores-street-hawker-culture/January 30, 2021, 8:06 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Singapore.jpgOthersAfter wowing Delhi with her haute Japanese restaurant Kampai at the Aerocity, Avantika Sinha Behl is all set to introduce the city to Singapore’s authentic street flavours. https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/into-the-alimentary-tract-of-muslim-south-asia/January 16, 2021, 3:20 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/e4897e23_1349_P_5_mr_.jpgOthersFood is a defining part of our lives and a marker of our identities. We figured this out from our edible obsessions during the pandemic of lockdowns. An anthology of food writing from Muslim South Asia underscores this reality.https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/dont-forget-those-who-gave-you-joy-but-have-no-jobs-today/January 9, 2021, 7:33 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/eb444567_1272_P_6_mr-1.jpgOthersThe deleterious fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic on restaurants and bars has resulted in the loss of two million jobs, of which one million will have to be written off forever.https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/honey-honey-you-dont-make-me-dizzy-no-more/December 26, 2020, 1:03 pmOthersThe Centre for Science and Environment expose on the sugar overload in our honey brands is a call to rediscover our uncontaminated artisanal products.https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/adding-whisky-kababs-to-the-joys-of-al-fresco-dining/December 19, 2020, 4:08 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/9ced3a84_1034_P_10_mr-1.jpgOthersThe Park has combined a brilliantly executed menu, economic pricing and the evening magic of Aqua at its Kebabs for Grabs with Malts festival, which concludes tonight.https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/five-star-biryani-at-standalone-prices-delivered-at-homeitc/December 19, 2020, 4:06 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/9ced3a84_1034_P_3_mr-1-1.jpgOthersHotels Chief Operating Officer Anil Chadha is leading the biryani initiative, which promises to be a game-changer in the home-delivery business.https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/time-to-stop-counting-calories-and-go-bingeing/December 19, 2020, 4:02 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/9ced3a84_1034_P_9_mr-1.jpgOthersWith Christmas in the air, check out the tasty treats synonymous with the festive season —and dig the stories that have driven their timeless popularity. Ankita Sood of The Artful Baker with her Gingerbread Men and Coffee and Salted Caramel Yule L...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/enterprising-chefs-lift-pall-of-gloom-over-covid-hit-restaurant-sector/December 12, 2020, 5:15 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/719352f9_957_P_9_mr-1.jpgOthersThe heart-warming stories of Harangad Singh and Vikramjit Roy, who turned their backs on adversity and invested their lives’ savings to start afresh on their ownHarangad Singh and Ravi Tokas launched the cloud kitchen Parat three months back after...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/zorawar-kalras-ode-to-indias-love-for-the-utterly-butterly/December 5, 2020, 5:02 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/b7d177f0_882_P_5_mr-1.jpgOthersThe man behind Masala Art and Farzi Cafe has descended from his Progressive Indian hobby horse to launch the cloud kitchen-based Butter Delivery across nine cities.https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/spirituality/a-creative-twist-to-the-chatter-about-chaat/November 28, 2020, 12:58 pmSpiritually SpeakingManish Mehrotra, India’s most talented chef, has lifted the everyday chaat to the realms of fine dining in a celebration of the gentrification of street food.https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/theres-more-to-do-with-a-pistachio-than-chew-on-it/November 21, 2020, 11:03 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Pista.jpgOthersPistachios can be put to multiple culinary uses beyond sweets, such as the roasted whole cauliflower that celebrity American chef and restaurateur Nancy Silverton presented to an international audience comprising journalists in India, China and th...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/kwality-is-still-going-strong-at-sprightly-80/November 21, 2020, 11:01 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Kwality.jpgOthersKwality’s founders Pishori Lal Lamba and Iqbal Ghai created India’s first international restaurant brand. The restaurant, which has turned 80, is famous for its Pindi chana and bhatura, apart from its mutton seekh kababs and tomato fish. https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/craft-gin-brands-stir-a-heady-success-story/November 21, 2020, 10:58 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Gin.jpgOthersThe just-concluded #IndianGinTrail online review of India’s craft gin brands shows why they are ready to take their place on the high tables of the world. https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/diwali-gifting-dips-but-gets-innovative/November 7, 2020, 6:19 pmhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Diwali-gifting.jpgOthersSid Mathur, creator of the Khoya brand of designer mithai, says his big buyers now insist that the Diwali dabbas must be accompanied by innovative new products such as meetha paan-scented incense sticks. https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/restaurant-brand-designer-creates-cloud-kitchen/November 7, 2020, 6:15 pmhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Featured.jpgOthersAnkur Gupta, seen with his wife and business partner Aparajita, has designed big-ticket restaurant brands such as Yum Yum Cha and Farzi Cafe, has launched Sloppy Sticks with a menu sprinkled with Japanese and Pan Asian favourites.https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/its-time-for-us-to-raise-a-cheer-for-indian-cacao/November 7, 2020, 6:11 pmhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Cocoa.jpgOthersSheetal Saxena, creator of the craft chocolate Colocal and the ‘chocolate dining experience’ that goes by the same name at Dhan Mill, is the newest votary of the goodness of Indian cacao.https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/industry-veteran-creates-new-marketplace-for-smart-liquor-brands/January 30, 2021, 8:11 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/g3.jpgOthersI am inspired by a WhatsApp conversation I had with Sanhita Dasgupta Sensharma, whose home-delivered Durga Puja meal I have just finished praising, to write this ode to the khichuri developed at the Belur Math and now served on festive o...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/industry-veteran-creates-new-marketplace-for-smart-liquor-brands/January 30, 2021, 8:11 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/g3.jpgOthersSadly, Fratelli unveiled its revolutionary idea, wines in a can, just a couple of days after the tragic premature passing away of its 43-year-old co-founder, Kapil Sekhri. But the soft-spoken, forever-gentlemanly Sekhri couldn’t have asked for a b...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/industry-veteran-creates-new-marketplace-for-smart-liquor-brands/January 30, 2021, 8:11 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/g3.jpgOthersIt’s heartening to see the number of home chefs growing, especially since the lockdown inspired just about every talented cook in our city to take to serious cooking, and for some, the next step was to turn entrepreneurial. One such food enterpris...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/why-kabab-remains-the-undisputed-king/October 31, 2020, 6:42 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/043c55bf_511_P_11_mr.jpgOthersPunjab Grill’s Kabab Di Kahaniyan celebrates India’s treasure trove of kababs— and breathing life into the unique story of each one of them. https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/industry-veteran-creates-new-marketplace-for-smart-liquor-brands/January 30, 2021, 8:11 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/g3.jpgOthersSwami Vivekananda used to keep reminding his disciples the famous words of his guru, Sri Ramakrishna: “Religion is not good for an empty stomach.” Bengalis have for long cherished their tradition of Pet Pujo—the worship of the stomach—and it keeps...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/industry-veteran-creates-new-marketplace-for-smart-liquor-brands/January 30, 2021, 8:11 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/g3.jpgOthersThanks to Covid-19, we have been denied the unalloyed joy of going to a puja pandal and digging the khichuri bhog, which is one of the best parts of the Durga Puja festivities. I wish puja committees had been allowed the r...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/why-good-food-is-central-to-durga-puja/October 24, 2020, 8:14 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/FORLEAD-DurgaPuja1830-1840s.jpgOthersThe most defining celebration of Bengali cultural identity, Durga Puja has a fascinating history and a story behind the unique festive food that comes with it https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/industry-veteran-creates-new-marketplace-for-smart-liquor-brands/January 30, 2021, 8:11 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/g3.jpgOthersIn my last column, I had shared my excitement about being invited to a dinner where the writer and restaurateur Pritha Sen would recreate the recipes originally given in what is believed to be India’s first printed cookbook, Pakrajeshwar. Written ...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/industry-veteran-creates-new-marketplace-for-smart-liquor-brands/January 30, 2021, 8:11 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/g3.jpgOthersComing back from Agra without your box of pethas is almost blasphemous as visiting the city for the first time and not visiting the Taj or Fatehpur Sikri. The Agra experience is not complete without gorging on this sweetmeat made with cubes or cyl...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/agra-bounces-back-as-delhiites-descend-on-it/October 17, 2020, 9:15 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/FeastingDuringAStaycation.jpgOthersThe best way to unwind in Agra is to find a cosy nook and catch up on essential reading, but if you wish to get moving, you must not miss its street food, quaint churches and old temples.https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/industry-veteran-creates-new-marketplace-for-smart-liquor-brands/January 30, 2021, 8:11 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/g3.jpgOthersFor Netflix India, this is the season for romantic comedies (rom-coms)—Emily in Paris, starring Phil Collin’s daughter Lily, was the one I binge-watched over a night, soaking in the sights and food experiences of the French capital, and I have jus...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/industry-veteran-creates-new-marketplace-for-smart-liquor-brands/January 30, 2021, 8:11 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/g3.jpgOthersThe Burdwan Estate may not ring a bell today, but it was a princely state in British Raj Bengal that was established in 1657 by a Khatri merchant-prince from Punjab named Sangam Rai Kapoor. Emperor Shahjahan apparently owed a favour to the dynasty...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/machan-opens-third-innings-with-sassier-new-look/October 10, 2020, 9:01 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/50c330cba22abe35f1ca63e5_600x315.jpgOthersIcon retires buffet, reinvents breakfast as it launches third life with Kona Coffee at Rs 5 a pour.https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/industry-veteran-creates-new-marketplace-for-smart-liquor-brands/January 30, 2021, 8:11 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/g3.jpgOthersIf new food entrepreneurs have turned cloud kitchens into a viable business model, then established brands are discovering new markets through the home delivery model. Take L’Opera, which I believe is one of the country’s finest chain of stores fo...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/industry-veteran-creates-new-marketplace-for-smart-liquor-brands/January 30, 2021, 8:11 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/g3.jpgOthersIT’S a pity that Fire at The Park, which I can confidently describe as Delhi-NCR’s first Modern Indian restaurant that opened a little ahead of its time, is still shut, although the hotel, strategically located where Sansad Marg meets Connaught Pl...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/industry-veteran-creates-new-marketplace-for-smart-liquor-brands/January 30, 2021, 8:11 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/g3.jpgOthersThe part about the ‘cloud kitchens’ story that I find most exciting is that chefs are pouring their creative juices into the business. One of them is Osama Jalali, who has converted his one-acre farm at Nangli Umarpur, at Sector-62, Gurgaon, into ...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/theres-just-no-stopping-cloud-kitchens/October 3, 2020, 7:30 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/food-300x169.jpgOthersThe most creative response to the economic pandemic triggered by Covid-19, cloud kitchens shows no signs of slowing down, thanks to their growing popularityhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/industry-veteran-creates-new-marketplace-for-smart-liquor-brands/January 30, 2021, 8:11 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/g3.jpgOthersWhen Viet Nom opened at Cyber Hub, Gurgaon, last year, I had ecstatically welcomed it as a restaurant that let its food do the talking. It had ventured into a territory—Vietnamese cuisine—no one had gone into before and its owners, Manish Sharma a...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/industry-veteran-creates-new-marketplace-for-smart-liquor-brands/January 30, 2021, 8:11 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/g3.jpgOthersManish Mehrotra has never been in the rat race to become a celebrity chef, but fame follows him, whether he’s on Instagram or at Indian Accent, because of his inventive cuisine. One of his many creations is the Jackfruit (kathal) Phulka Taco, whic...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/the-food-business-is-back-in-business-how/September 26, 2020, 7:49 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/food-300x169.jpgOthersThe reopening of The Great Kabab Factory and Viet Nom, and Makery.com’s successful user-friendly Indian Accent meal kits, have renewed the buzz around food.https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/poisons-are-subsidised-not-organic-farming/September 19, 2020, 10:58 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/The-earth-collective.jpgOthersThe Centre for Science and Environment’s report on organic and natural farming raises disturbing questions on the food we eat and its consequences on our daily diet. https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/upward-mobility-in-the-time-of-lockdown/September 12, 2020, 10:34 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Lockdown.jpgOthersWith a little help from us, our domestic help could harness their talents to create profitable food businesses. Here’s one such heartening story born out of the compulsions of the lockdown. https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/enter-the-age-of-new-normal/September 5, 2020, 3:57 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/g1.pngOthersThe warmth of the smiles that greet you in a restaurant hides behind face masks and the candles quietly make way for hand sanitisers. The ‘New Normal’ makes you want the ‘Old Normal’ to return. https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/others/food-chronicle-that-tastes-so-different/August 29, 2020, 5:03 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/c1-3.pngOthersThere are a myriad ways of studying the food culture of a nation. For starters, the most important question to ask in the contemporary context is: Does food have a religion?