Ellipsis’s Rocky Road ice cream.
Twenty chefs demonstrating 30 dishes over five sessions, 12 pop-up restaurants serving 48 dishes of four bites each, and yet, most of us will pick only one four-hour session ticket and manage to fit five dishes into our tummies through the three-day Taste of Mumbai festival, which kicks off on Friday, February 22.
Anybody who loves food is going to have to spend a few hours next week poring over the schedule of demos across two open kitchens, and shortlisting from the eating, shopping and drinking options. Every decision’s flip side, therefore, will involve plenty of bite-sized sacrifices. These decisions need to be made, sooner rather than later, because tickets for each session are limited.
While all the information (restaurant and chef profiles, demo schedules) about the festival is available on the official website Tasteofmumbai.in, we decided to do some of the poring over and sifting through to help make this process easier. Here’s a guide to how to make the most of your limited time and money next weekend:
EATING
Twelve restaurants each will serve four tasting portions of dishes (three signature and one iconic). Each dish will have four bites to a serving, so the prices will be much lower than those on the restaurant menu. To try out the most number of samples, therefore, we recommend you go with three other friends, so that each person gets one bite of a each dish. Here are four menus that we’d like to try:
LIGHT, POSH AND VEGETARIAN
Caperberry (Bangalore) Molecular “spheres” of flavour in three varieties: tamarind and spice; mango and feta; mozzarella and balsamic reduction. Rs150. Stuffed morels, with fettucini, porcini foam and truffle oil. Rs300.
Kofuku Vegetarian maki. Rs100. Korean “Okonomiyaki” pancake. Rs100.
Koh Thai guava crumble with Granny Smith apple and guava compote, butterscotch-miso, and vanilla sauce. Rs200.
Ellipsis The restaurant’s signature Rocky Road dessert of cookie ice cream with liquid nitrogen-frozen chocolate rocks (contains egg). Rs200.
Cinnamon Club (London) Toffee pudding with carrot halwa roll. Rs200.
EXPERIMENTAL AND OMNIVOROUS
Cinnamon Club (London) Mumbai mutton mille feuille with balsam-smoked paprika raita. Rs250.
Graffiti (New York) Truffle, goat cheese and crab pizza for non-vegetarians, and truffle, mushroom and goat cheese pizza for vegetarians. Rs500 each.
Arola Spiced and fried chicken wings stuffed with salsify (a root vegetable called videshi kachalu in Hindi). Rs200.
Olive Bar & Kitchen Ravioli of duck confit and prunes with foie gras sauce. Rs250.
Fire (Delhi) Paan ki rasmalai. Rs150.
TWISTS ON CLASSICS
Cinnamon Club Crisp pink aubergine with sesame and tamarind sauce. Rs200.
Impresario/Smoke House Grill (Delhi) Citrus prawn tempura. Rs250.
China House Sichuan poached chicken with crushed peanuts. Rs250. Fire chicken kebab stuffed with feta, onions and pomegranate. Rs250.
Ellipsis Braised lamb shank and citrus cous cous with arugula and cucumber. Rs250.
Graffiti Chocolate caviar. Rs250.
GLOBAL COMFORT FOOD
Arola Garlic prawns. Rs250.
Smoke House Deli Spinach and ricotta ravioli. Rs200.
China House Hand-pulled dan dan noodles with chicken, peanut broth and Sichaun pickles. Rs500.
Prego Spaghetti aglio e olio, option of vegetarian, prawns or clams. Rs250.
Kofuku Black cod marinated in saikyo miso sauce. Rs500.
Olive Lamb “osso buco”, braised New Zealand lamb shanks with saffron risotto and gremolata. Rs500.
Prego Tiramisu. Rs200.
Impresario/Mocha Chocolate avalanche. Rs250.
TASTE THEATRE DEMONSTRATIONS
One ticket allows admission to only one of the five four-hour Taste of Mumbai sessions, with the first one on Friday evening and the last one on Sunday evening. During each session, there will be cooking demonstrations by Indian and international chefs at the Taste Theatre. Each session will feature a different line-up. Some chefs may offer tastings after the demo. Here’s a guide on the best dishes of the Taste Theatre, and how to select the session that works best for you. The session-wise of break up of chefs is here.
SESSION 1: FRIDAY 22, 6PM TO 10PM
For serious foodies and risotto fans looking for tips on classic skills and techniques.
Time 6.30pm to7.30pm
Chefs Alain Fabregues and Emmanuel Mollois from The Loosebox (Mundaring, near Perth, Australia)
Dish Scallops in a vermouth emulsion on saffron risotto
Time 7.45pm to 8.45pm
Chef Ritu Dalmia from Diva (Delhi)
Dish Wild berry and goat cheese risotto
SESSION 2: SATURDAY 23, NOON TO 4PM
Featuring chefs and dishes that women love.
Time 12.15pm to 1pm
Chef Vicky Ratnani from Aurus, and television show Vicky Goes Veg
Dishes Garlic chutney scallops, beet and kand falafel, scallion crema
Time 1.15pm to 2pm
Chef Pooja Dhingra from Le15
Dish Macaroons
Time 3.15pm to 4pm
Chef Saby Gorai from Olive Bar & Kitchen (Delhi)
Dishes Daulat ki chaat; marshmallow-stuffed malpua; white asparagus murabba
SESSION 3: SATURDAY 23, 6PM to 10PM
For people who like traditional foods with a twist, and oyster lovers.
Time 7.15pm to 8pm
Chef Manuel Olivera from Arola
Dish Arola-style patatas bravas
Time 8.15pm to 9pm
Chef Ajay Chopra from Westin Mumbai Garden City, former judge and co-host on MasterChef India
Dishes Compressed fruit chaat; goda-masala stuffed chicken roulade with curry leaf-tempered vegetables, coconut and tamarind sauce
Time 9.15pm to 10pm
Chef Shailendra Kekade from StoneWaterGrill (Pune)
Dishes Smoked oysters and roasted garlic bisque; oysters in pomegranate Bloody Mary shots; grilled oysters in orange gremolata; oysters Benedictine/Florentine; oysters au natural with passion fruit pearls and Tabasco air; oysters with chilli and fresh kokum mignonette
SESSION 4: SUNDAY 24, NOON TO 4PM
For people who like making and eating fun breakfasts.
Time 12.15pm to 1pm
Chef Jehangir Mehta of Graffiti and Mehtaphor (New York City)
Dish Stir-fried green bean vermicelli
Time 2.15pm to 3pm
Chef James Zam Lai Bak from Kofuku
Dish Korean “okonomiyaki” pancake with cabbage, spring onion and chicken, topped with bonito, nori and okonomiyaki sauce
Time 3.15pm to 4pm
Chef Viraf Patel from Cafe Zoe
Dishes Egg Florentine ravioli, and the cafe’s very popular truffled scrambled eggs
SESSION 5: SUNDAY 24, 6PM to 10PM
For adventurous gourmands.
Time 6.15pm to 7pm
Chef Margot Janse from Relais and Chateaux Le Quartier Francais Hotel (South Africa)
Dish Coconut ice cream with baobab hearts, caramelised macadamia nuts, honeybush butterscotch sauce and honeybush dust
Time 7.15pm to 8pm
Chef Manu Chandra, Olive Beach, LikeThatOnly, and Monkey Bar (Bangalore)
Dish Honey soy-glazed pork belly on skewers with mustard-miso sauce
Time 8.15pm to 9pm
Chef Rajesh Radhakrishnan from The Park (Chennai)
Dish Grilled prawns with black cumin, served with avocado chutney and chilli balsamic reduction
How to select which ticket to buy
Standard ticket Rs600.
This provides entry into the festival and allows the visitor to watch demos at the Taste Theatre. It’s good for people who are planning to visit multiple times, or who want to keep their food, shopping and drinking expenses limited or completely flexible.
Premium ticket Rs1,000.
In addition to the provisions of the standard ticket, this one includes Rs500 in Taste Currency, known as Crowns, which can then be spent on food, hard drinks and soft beverages, and at the exhibitors’ stalls. It offers Rs100 more value compared to the standard ticket. This option works for people who plan to visit once, want to nibble around a bit and then decide how much more to spend.
VIP Ticket Rs2,000.
Folks who buy this ticket get all sorts of perks. It starts with priority entry with a much shorter wait time, and access directly into sponsor American Express’ air-conditioned VIP lounge. They also get Rs1,000 in taste currency and a dram of Glenfiddich single malt. So, in a way, this pretty much pays for itself. Also, after the chefs finish their demos at the Taste Theatre, the come hang with the people at the VIP lounge. I’m planning to get this one. It’s good for a short, intense experience of Taste of Mumbai. It’s best for people who want to spend at least four hours at the event during a single visit and get the best value for their time and money.
Roshni Bajaj Sanghvi is a Mumbai-based food journalist, a contributing editor at Vogue magazine, a graduate of the French Culinary Institute in New York City, and the restaurant reviewer for the Hindustan Times newspaper in Mumbai.