The Restaurant Roundup : Prateek Sadhu's restaurant, Gourmet in-flight Meals, Ros Omelette in NZ

Joanna Lobo rounds up all the biggest news in F&B this month.

Stop the press! You can now make an invisible potato chip. Among the many fascinating things taking the food internet by storm are this potato chip, and a travel blogger making cereal for himself in the air! 

Bengaluru is in the news because of the last-minute cancellation of stand-up comedian Trevor Noah’s show. But, the bigger news is the city hosted the 5th World Coffee Conference, which had skill-building workshops, competitions and awards, and an exhibition showcasing cutting-edge coffee products and services. 

In some unfortunate news, the low monsoon in India has resulted in close to 410 districts — which comprise more than 50% of the country — facing drought-like conditions. On the plus side, an RTI by Kerala-based activist K Govindan Nampoothiry found that the government managed to save over four times more food grains in granaries across the country, from 2018 to 2023. India’s household consumption is expected to quadruple by 2030, making it the world’s fifth-largest consumer of food and food technology. 

Here is what else is making news in the hospitality space. 

Hot off the Press: Gourmet in-flight fare, Prateek Sadhu’s Naar, Burma Burma retail

As part of the new chapter of the SWISS Taste of Switzerland inflight culinary programme, passengers of SWISS International Air Lines (SWISS) in Business and First Class can now avail of food — think poached char with lemongrass sauce, miso-marinated pike, perch with port wine sauce, a veal fillet with truffle sauce — from Geneva’s Michelin-starred L’Atelier Robuchon. In a welcome move that will hopefully be replicated across the world, Sweden is also rolling out a restaurant price cap at its main airports, to avoid customers paying exorbitant amounts for food.  

In New Zealand, as part of the annual 'Burger Wellington' contest, the Goan street staple ros omelette inspired chef Chetan Pangam of One 80 Restaurant to create the Goan Ros Pao Burger and won the top prize. 

The second edition of Culinary Culture Co’s Food Superstars – India’s TOP 30 Chefs, took place in Goa. The top 3 honours went to chefs Regi Mathew, Himanshu Saini and Hussain Shahzad. 

Burmese vegetarian restaurant, Burma Burma, launched Shop Burma Burma, their retail arm, offering ready-to-cook sauces, pastes and snacks. 

Indian chefs continue making waves abroad. This October, chef Hussain Shahzad will be returning to the kitchen of Eleven Madison Park as part of their Alumni Series. Chef Shriya Shetty of Buco India will be part of a culinary pop-up at the Michelin-featured Jhol in Bangkok. And, Chef Marina Balakrishnan will take her vegetarian oottupura to NYC. Chef Prateek Sadhu (who recently announced his new restaurant Naar) will be teaming up with Michelin-starred Marguerite’s Micheal Wilson for a four-hands dinner at Marguerite, Singapore as part of the Kita Food Festival in October. 

New Restaurants & Bars: Swwing, Bar Spirit Forward, Thea, Momoka

The Hyatt Regency Jaipur Mansarovar opened The North Club offering a touch of the old-world nostalgia and culinary heritage of India. Gurugram’s Leela Ambience has Le Rêve, a new luxury patisserie; while Le Méridien has the pan-Asian Taido. In Delhi is artisanal pizza place, Camillo’s. Hyderabad’s Jubilee Hills has chef Rohan D’Souza’s new venture, HALO - Cocktail Bar & Kitchen. In Pune is Yakii-Asian Tapas Bar & Restaurant. Elina Vara is a farm-to-fork brasserie in Chhatarpur. 

Goa saw the launch of nightclub Mantis by Levels; Japanese dessert bar, Momoka; Ochre Bar with its flavours from Pondicherry, and the pan-Asian Bomblii.

In Bengaluru is cocktail dive bar, Bar Spirit Forward, and Juliet with Asian tapas and fun cocktails; Chennai-based artisanal ice cream brand Amadora finds space in HSR Layout; White Garden is a vegetarian Indian fusion restaurant; the multi-cuisine Cumulus by SMOOR; the bar Pangeo; gourmet wine bar Swwing; and North Indian Loya at Taj West End; and Monkey Bar made its comeback to the city with an all new team and menu. 

Mumbai has the 3 storied Thea serving global cuisine; the community café Communion with chef Karishma Sakhrani heading the F&B curation; multi-cuisine Cray Craft; the Middle Eastern Kizbara; fish thali place Fish Curry Rice; and Coast & Bloom serving coastal fare.

Coming soon is the bar Gigi, Goan restaurant The Coconut Boy in Mumbai; The Backwaters in Kochi, Pandara Street in Goa; the Italian Casa Nostra in Kharadi; and GT Road in Indore.

New spirits and big wins: Greater IPA, Kumaon & I, and more 

Mixologist Aashie Bhatnagar made it to the Top 12 of World Class Global Finals in Sao Paulo, where she won People’s Choice Award.

There’s another new gin in the market. Himmaleh Spirits launched Kumaon & I, a dry gin that celebrates Uttarakhand’s Kumaon region.  Stranger & Sons have launched a Sherry Cask Aged Gin, rested in ex-Amontillado and Oloroso sherry casks for over a year and infused with cascara and wild honey. Bira 91 and NAO Spirits collaborated to create a limited-release gin-inspired beer called Greater IPA, which has a mix of piney and spicy notes. 

2 Down Beer Co. German-style beer for the Oktoberfest season is German Pilsner brewed with German malt (Weyermann Pilsner) and German hops (Hallertau Mittelfruh). Gradient Beverages launched Lucid Vodka. Glenmorangie’s A Tale of The Forest is a limited edition whisky created from barley kilned with woodland botanicals. 

United Breweries Limited (UBL) won big at the 2023 World Beer Awards hosted in the United Kingdom — UB Ellora Kingfisher Strong got a Gold Medal, UB Taloja Kingfisher Lager Beer secured a Silver, and UB Chamundi Kingfisher Ultra earned Bronze. Greater Than gin picked up a Gold in the London Dry category and Broken Bat got a Silver in the Cask-Aged category at Gin Masters Asia. Indri Diwali Collector’s Edition 2023 — a peated single malt made with six-row barley, distilled in copper pot stills and matured in PX Sherry Casks — won the Best in Show, Double Gold at the prestigious Whiskies of the World Awards. 

Cookbooks and recipes

The late Tarla Dalal’s daughter, Renu Dalal, launched Recipes from My Heart detailing some of her favourite dishes. Later this year will see the reissue of the 50th anniversary edition of Madhur Jaffrey’s seminal book An Invitation to Indian Cooking, updated to include 11 new recipes. 

Writer and author Sonal Ved’s new book, India Local, explores the country’s favourite street food. 

Martha Stewart announced the launch of her 100th cookbook, to be launched at the end of 2024. She has been writing books since 1982, and her latest, Fruit Desserts, hit the shelves two years ago.

Joanna Lobo is an independent journalist from Goa who enjoys writing about food, her Goan heritage, the freelance life, and other things that make her happy. Follow her on @thatdoggonelady. 

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