Philips Foodathon - A Marathon of Food Bloggers

On my recent visit to Philips Foodathon, a marathon of food bloggers where members of the ecosystem came together to celebrate their love for food, i had an experience of my lifetime .As we all know passion for food in our country is next to cricket or probably Bollywood. So it made a lot of sense for a lot of partners to come together and organize an event basis their novel concept. Philips was the primary sponsor of the event while the V Sot Cafe+Bar gave the location courtesy. The world renowned food blogger Sid Khullar was the consulting partner (Chef at Large). The event was organized by one of India's leading PR agency - 20:20MSL.

It was a great experience since the very beginning. A 'block-your-date' invite much prior to the event (which was much appreciated), followed by a formal invite 4 days prior to the event along with polite reminder call made me feel good much before i finally went to the event.

There were no logistical issues as 20:20 MSL people took care of it all indeed very professionally. My travel to the venue was also smooth and I loved the location - Gurgaon!The location was also, I must say, a perfect choice for the event. V Spot Cafe+Bar immediately give you good vibes as soon as you enter the place. You immediately start feeling "Happy" :)

The 'rain is falling chama cham cham' colourful wall took a great deal of my attention while i entered the place. The gracious host at the registration desk (Radhika) greeted me with immense politeness and made me feel comfortable.

Image Courtesy : Ragini Vasishtha

Needless to say all the people were were friendly and made everything look easy (not that there was any difficult part, but you might feel uncomfortable when you meet a lot of new people)

The ambience of the place was bang on! Right from the interiors to the tissue papers (very interesting ones!), to the washroom walls , everything spelled 'coolness' and it was all too subtle, nothing 'in-your-face'.A nice bar and terrace seating arrangement had set the tone of the event - it was going to be "Legendary". The agenda was set (it was in the press kits that were distributed) and it all began around 12:55pm. The MC was also a charming host and made sure everyone in the room was smiling.

Image Courtesy : Monica Miglani

After this, the Philips air-fryer was showcased (and trust me, nothing had wooed me to that extent in quite a while now). An amazing product, it fries stuff without oil (YES!!!!). It uses the technique of using hot air and the final dish has almost 80% lesser fat content (compared to the usual oil deep frying.  In Indian households where one is so fond of deep fried stuff, the Philips Air-Fryer is definitely a boon for many households. Four air-fryers were set to 'fry' eatables for some real experience. Chiken-tikka, french fries and aloo tikki were cooked and as a pleasant surprise it actually felt 'awesome'. The french fries were best amongst the lot - not a drop of oil and crisp like a dream. Usually while cooking french fries at home, we deep fry it twice to get that crunch, but the air fryer will just make life simpler (and slimmer ;) )

Image Courtesy : Faizan patel

To my utter astonishment, Philips Foodathon was trending in Delhi, on twitter in the first half an hour of beginning (Kudos to the 20:20 MSL team)

Sid Khullar also addressed the audience for a while and share some interesting thoughts and sparked a discussion with topics like , if advertising was the only way to monetize your blog .Foodathon was not all general fun,it was a place where I learned a lot as well.

A master class was taken by the executive chef of Shangri La, Darren Canole. He taught a lot about plating and also plated a dish in front of the audience and left us spell bound with his amazing skills (and sense of humour ;) )

Ace photographer, Hemant Sud, took a class on food photography and gave some real insights. The chef and the Hemant later were the jury of a plating contest. The participants of the plating contest were selected by a small quiz which was held by Sid Khullar and MC (Akash). The ones who answered the question were selected for the contest.

Image Courtesy : Ragini Vasishtha

Image Courtesy : Faizan Patel

Chef shared two great insights while announcing the winning dish - One, a dish which has some amount of height to it will always attract eyes more as compared to a flat dish. Secondly, while decorating your dish, make sure you use an odd number of the extras (brain does not connect, even number with decoration of dishes).

Then came FOOD - aha! The lovely names spelled in the menu were making me as tempted as possible and finally it came to tasting.

I completely fell in love with the Chermoula Marinated Fish. It was a perfect balance of taste and texture. The fish was cotton soft and the taste was well balanced with right amount of salt, spices and also had a hint of sugar which gave the tongue that complexity of flavours. In desserts i loved the coffee mousse (the Chocolate mud cake, though was not as per my expectation).Rosemary potatoes were the surprise element on the table as they looked quite simple but the combination of rosemary with potatoes was a connoisseur's delight.

After this wonderful event we were bid goodbye with a goodie bag. It had a box of Dunkin Donuts, a V spot Cafe mug and a Foodathon t-shirt. Dunkin Donuts were another surprise element to the event. I call it a 'box of wonder'. It looked fantastic, and tasted even better. The donuts will be launched soon and are positioned as 'Diwali Specials'. I think the company has made sure they bring all the elements one look for in traditional sweets in this box of donuts - the icing of the donuts and varied flavours which will appeal to the Indian palate. I could find hints of mango, chocolate and recotta. These definitely should be a success because it gives people an option apart from the usual sweets and over done dry fruit gift packs.

Diwali Special Dunkin Donuts

Box of Dunkin Donuts

All in all it was a great initiative and i will definitely look forward to many more Foodathons. I highly recommend it should be turned into an annual property.After many lazy weekends, this was indeed a Saturday - WELL-SPENT!

Fasting or Feasting? Places to check out during Navratras

Restaurants in the Capital are serving up global dishes to cater to the faithful during Navratri. In the weeks preceding Navratri, pious homes around Delhi, and indeed the whole of India, start stocking up ingredients that go into special recipes - from kuttu (buckwheat) flour to makhanas (fox nuts) and sabudana (tapioca). For centuries, several such items have made up the staples of Hindu diets during the nine-day festival, which signifies the change of seasons and is marked by worshipping of the Mother Goddess in her nine forms. People avoid going out to eat, and confine themselves to one meal a day, usually after the sunset. To combat this lean period, restaurants usually offer traditional ‘Navratri platters’. Since it’s only Indian and multi-cuisine restaurants which can do this, Continental and Oriental eateries are usually hors de combat and end up waving the white flag until festivities are concluded. However, this year has seen a dramatic paradigm shift, as European and Asian restaurants around the city are determined not to go down without a fight. From pizzas made out of buckwheat to stir-fried vegetables cooked sans onions and garlic, restaurants are showcasing just how sattvic ‘foreign foods’ can be. Sanjay Chaddha, owner of Asia Kitchen, which has outlets in Hauz Khas, Noida and Vasant Vihar, says, “Oriental food has the distinct advantage over Indian food that it’s cooked on the spot, and so, can be fine-tuned exactly according to the guests’ specific requirements. People are usually apprehensive about eating out during Navratri, so we are doing everything we can to ensure they can eat out without having any cause for concern.” Other Asian restaurant serving Navratri-inspired dishes is Yum Yum Tree in New Friends Colony. People with a more European palate can head to Pizzeria Rossa in Hauz Khas or Buzz in Saket. Chef Sudipta Saha at Buzz says, “While onions and garlic are used in a large number of European dishes, it is still possible to tweak them with other flavours, which have the same impact. For example, we’ve twisted the traditional risotto and substituted arborio rice with sabudana, and onions and garlic with olive oil and herbs.” The Metropolitan Hotel and Spa in Connaught Place has introduced a range of Navratri cookies. Executive Chef Sandeep Panwar says, “People are ready to experiment with food, but only up to a certain extent. So, we have introduced variations such as candied pineapple cookies and cookies made out of singhara flour, which are getting a very good response.” Those looking for fancier dining experiences may pick up Navratri platters at ITC Maurya. Senior Executive Chef Manisha Bhasin and her team have come up with three options: while one is a traditional thali, the other two options are an Oriental Bento Box and a Western Plate. “While treats from Gujarat, Rajasthan and other states are usually the norm when it comes to eating during the Navratri, people can get tired of the monotomy. So, this year we decided to tweak the Navratri menu in accordance with the new eating habits of guests,” explains Bhasin. This translates into pizzas and dim sums made using buckwheat flour, among other degustations. Similarly, the Hilton in Mayur Vihar has introduced a special menu during the Navratri, which includes dishes such as Buckwheat Black Pepper Pasta, Navratra Vegetable Stack and sweet potato soup. Chefs and restaurateurs are pleased with the response. Bhasin says people are more than happy to eat out and there has been a pretty even split between the Indian thalis and the other options. Chaddha adds, “Earlier, Navratri was always a very lean period for us. However this year, after we’ve introduced the new menu, business has been surprisingly good, much better than we expected. Now, we’re planning to incorporate a special Navratri menu every year.” Article Courtesy : The Indian Express