From corndogs to brownie kulcha and authentic sushi rolled in bamboo mats, The Grub Fest is offering an interesting variety to gastronomes. Shrabasti Mallik visits the ongoing festival and finds an impressive range of takeaways
As we walked down the sun-kissed race tracks at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium lawns hosting The Grub Fest, we were greeted by a large standee of the United Coffee House, where you can click a picture of yourself with the standee in the backdrop and get 15 per cent discount the next time you dine at the restaurant. “People like to take pictures of places they are visiting and they love food so we bought these two together. It is a promotional strategy and is a fun way to get people to come to the restaurant,” said Puneet Kukreja, its manager.
Although the overnight rain had played a spoilsport by knocking down some of the cabanas and wetting most of the decorations at the stalls on day one, it did not dampen the spirits of the food loving population of Delhi. Even as owners rushed, trying to put their stalls in place in time for receiving their customers, people had already begun to throng the stalls. While some of them could accommodate some customers, some excused themselves for some time.
The Grub Fest, which will continue till Sunday at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium lawns, is all about breaking norms. A walk in the festival would make one realise that along with food, the ambience or the décor has been carefully designed to offer guests a curated experience. The quirkier it is, the better. We came across a black board that read, “Not so virgin mojito” and at the bottom it read, “let’s not be virgin tomorrow.” While the manager of ATM and PCO was busy trying to set the place up, marketing manager, Pritika lall said, “PCO is Delhi’s first speak easy bar inspired by America’s underground bars which were iconic and served drinks illegally. At PCO we serve only alcohol but since it is a dry day (Good Friday), we are not serving alcohol, hence ‘virgin’ mojito. We will be serving alcohol from Saturday.”
Manasvi Arora, on the other hand, was having a hard time trying to manage ice cream orders from children. So what was so special about themIJ The ice cream that Arora served at Gourmet Affaire’s was frozen through liquid nitrogen at -300 degree celsius. “Today, people want everything fast. They do not like to wait. The longer you make them wait, the more they lose interest. liquid nitrogen ice cream is really fast and unlike the normal process of freezing the product, this method takes just two minutes,” explained Arora, director and chef. Not just the liquid ice cream but we also came across a group of women digging in a plate of corndogs and brownie kulcha. “I fell in love with corndogs when I tasted them when I was visiting Canada. I never imagined I would find waffles and corndogs in Delhi,” said Honey Patnaik, creative consultant at Prelude Digital.
Corndogs and waffles are not the only items that have made their way into the Delhi food lover’s palate. People made a beeline to see chef lee preparing sushi with a bamboo mat and have dumplings steamed in traditional bamboo pots with chopsticks at Asian Haus and Sushi Haus, branches of Foodcraft. “Everything is becoming authentic. We fly in spices and source authentic sauces. This change is coming in mostly because of the young generation. They are not afraid to try new flavours, spices and even meat. Five years ago, an attempt like this would have failed,” said Kula T Naidu, director of Foodcraft.
We came across a small stall with the water cart that you find on streets at the entrance. The cabana inside had a small working candy floss machine with ladles hanging like chandeliers. “Dining is 99 per cent food and one per cent environment. All objects that are used to decorate the store are the ones you will normally find around you,” said Mousim Sidana, owner of Food Stories, who will be serving customers thyme and lemon juice from the cart and authentic barbeque dishes from all over the world.
There’s a wide range of takeaway food at the fest. While Royal China has come up with ‘meal in a bowl’, Zizo has come up with preparations like falafel rolls and cheese rolls and Shiv Sagar has designed a special spring dosa with capsicum, onions and cheese cut in rectangular shapes. These preparations are easy to carry, non greasy and do not run a chance of oozing or spilling. Explaining the reason behind the growing trend of takeout, chef Chandra Shekhar of Shiv Sagar said, “People are so busy now. At the end of a hectic day, most people do not have the energy to go back home and cook and that is why they prefer takeouts. When they do, they expect a full meal and that is why we make sure that whatever goes into making the takeout is wholesome.”
The three-day food carnival has also come at an appropriate time with an extended weekend and people we came across were taking full advantage of it. “It is the perfect time to indulge. You have the option to choose from the best of food,” said Bhanu Vavilala, a housewife. And although the turnout was low on day one, restaurateurs are confident that the footfall will pick up over the weekend. “There is nothing that can stop people from coming to a food festival. The footfall might have dipped but it will pick up over the weekend,” said Sercan, manager, Ala Turkan.