Vernika Awal
Deputy Editor
Over the past years, India’s food industry has very evidently matured. From dividing cuisines simply by region, we’ve now begun delving deeper into sub-cuisines–looking at how the food from two sides of a state, such as that of Rajasthan or West Bengal, differ so drastically. The rise of the home-chefs is, in fact, a testimony to that.
Today, it wouldn’t be out of place to observe that the palate and the understanding of food for us have evolved well–and that stands applicable to the rest of the world’s cuisines, too. Gone are the days when international cuisine meant ‘continental’ and ‘Chinese’–today’s discerning restaurant goer wants to experience something beyond the desi-fied versions that we’ve eaten (and even loved) for decades.
On this cue, Goa, which is slowly but steadily turning into a bit of an abode for the food explorer, has a new entrant called Isabella–a spanish tapas bar. Interestingly, while it offers a seemingly authentic taste of Spain, it does so with the twist of local produce.
A similar story can be found in Pune’s stylish new restaurant, Tao-Fu–in JW Marriott, Pune. Chef Fu Lei, who heads the kitchen here, has put on offer traditional Chinese recipes from his mother’s kitchen–and the dishes are being lapped up by his patrons. The non-metro cities are the ones to watch out for in the years to come, I say!
Meanwhile, as we lead up to Diwali, a rather important task at hand–courtesy the Diwali parties that you probably have lined up–is to chalk out your shortlist of spirits that would make your home bar this year. From the finest single malts to the most indulgent wines, it could be quite a task to cater to the likings of each guest.
This is where our list of the finest whiskies right now will come in handy for you–and some of them are definitely keepers.
Exciting times are just commencing for the F&B industry as we enter the last quarter of the year with a bang of festivities. For someone so deeply invested, it’s the season that shapes what we’ll see next year. Exciting, isn’t it!