Global flavours on your plate at Racecourse
MUMBAI: This weekend, head to the Mahalaxmi Racecourse for a multi-cuisine festival right in the middle of horse-racing season.
In its first edition in the city, the two-day Hindustan Times Palate Fest — a much-anticipated event in Delhi for years — will feature 40 food stalls from some of India’s finest restaurants, along with master classes by celebrity chefs, and live performances by local and international music acts.
The restaurants participating include Farzi Café, Pizza Express, Punjab Grill, Tamak and El Mercado, alongside brands from Delhi that do not yet have a presence in Mumbai — like Fat Lulu’s and Patiala Tigers.
“HT Palate Fest offers access to exclusive brands that rarely pop up offline, like Parvatiya Preserves, which serves organic condiments, chutneys and preserves,” says Aditi Kapoor, co-founder and director of Palate Fest.
“They’ve been a huge hit in Delhi and we hope they will be a hit with the Mumbai crowd as well.”
Visitors can also attend free classes by chefs Harpal Singh Sokhi, Ripu Daman Handa, Aditi Govitrikar and Nishant Chaubey.
American rapper Bohemia and Indian rock band Euphoria are scheduled to perform.
“The Mumbai diner is more health-conscious and the variety of gluten-free, vegan, low-calorie meals available at restaurants here proves that people are also open to experimenting. This will be their chance to do both, outdoors, at an unusual venue,” says Ruchi Sibal, the festival’s other co-founder and director.
Chef Chaubey plans to hold a session on using culinary techniques to make comfort food look and taste like a gourmet meal. “This means learning to make khatti-meethi gobi and use sustainable ingredients,” he says. Chef Handa will offer lessons on using healthy foods with a twist,
to create dishes like bajra risotto, “which is easy and quick”. He adds: “I want to use this session to share anecdotes about my own weight-loss journey too.”