India's Biggest Food Fest

The 16th UpperCrust Food & Wine Show

Touted to be the biggest exhibition in the food world of the country, the 16th edition of the UpperCrust Food & Wine Show was bigger, better, tastier

Text: Shraddha Mishra

All foodies gathered at the World Trade Centre, Bombay for their favourite time of the year– when UpperCrust brought together thousands of food and wine brands all under one roof to celebrate the biggest food festival of the Country. The 16th UpperCrust Food & Wine Show.

Chief Guest Shobhaa De inaugurated the three-day festival by lighting the auspicious lamp, followed by a fun session that included a rapid fire quiz round with Editor of UpperCrust and host of the show, Farzana Contractor. The social diva, who was also the UpperCrust cover girl in the women's special issue, said that year after year, the show has grown bigger, better, tastier.

Guest of honour, first Indian Michelin-starred chef and cover boy of UpperCrust, Vineet Bhatia joined Shobhaa De and Farzana Contractor for the inauguration. Eminent personalities of the culinary world including Chef Nimish Bhatia, Chef Bhairav Singh, Ashrafi Matcheswala and Farhat Jamal also attended the show. Among other dignitaries at the event were Dr Batra and Anu Malik.

The event that was held across the lawns and the Expo Centre of WTC saw the exhibition hall transform into a foodie's paradise where visitors came to their favourite brands' stall to check out new products, taste them and shop to their heart's content at attractive offers. Crowd favourite brands like Veeba, Koka noodles, Amul, London Dairy, Govardhan, Dr Oetker, Jindal Cocoa, Cornitos, Gadre Marine, Sprig, On1y, Chevon Agro, Grover Zampa and Rio Spritzer, who have been exhibiting at the UpperCrust Show year after year, were popular. New brands too found it to be the perfect destination to introduce their products to an enthusiastic market, including brands like Makino, Natch, The Gourmet Jar, MumMum Co, Sleepy Owl and Shree Nashik Panchvati Panjrapole. The UpperCrust Show is as much about showcasing the best and most popular food brands as it is about introducing foodies to the new ones on the market. The Young Entrepreneur's Junction is one such step towards providing a platform for the enterprising new food businesses. Brands such as Jagger Bombs, Pari's Minty Delight, Pallavi's Spices, Pep n Pure, Lily Aunty's, Waffle Mill, Kombucha, Mojoco and Come On Charlie had many happy shoppers as they introduced their products here.

While happy shoppers browsed through the exhibition, cooking enthusiasts attended masterclasses conducted by eminent chefs of the city's best hotels and restaurants at the lawns of the World Trade Centre. A highlight of the show, eagerly awaited, the cooking demos saw a number of chefs demonstrating varied cuisines for visitors observing and learning with great interest. Chef Vicky Ratnani demonstrated creative recipes using USA Pears, including a chaat and a prawn curry. Chef Kshitiz Shekhar of Marine Plaza, Marine Drive demonstrated recipes of Mediterranean cuisine. His Kataifi recipe was an instant hit with the visitors. Chef Vishal Atreya of JW Marriott Juhu showcased contemporary western cuisine, where visitors learnt how to make Seared Tuna Tataki and a delicious Panna Cotta, which everyone loved watching as well as tasting. Chef Saby Gorai cooked with California Walnuts. Chef Ajit Raman of Trident BKC and Chef Kshama Prabhu's masterclasses on western cuisine and Indian fun dining, respectively were a huge hit. The event also had Chef Chayanit Parampte visiting all the way from Thailand to showcase vegetarian and non-vegetarian Thai recipes at the show. In a fun session that truly raised the spirit at the show, expert mixologist Shatbhi Basu conducted a masterclass on cocktails with the Filibuster Bourbon. As the visitors learnt intricacies of cooking various cuisines, there was a share of fun even for children this year! Tara Deshpande conducted a cookie-making workshop, where the little ones got to experience how to prepare their own tempting treats!

A fun and exciting event for professional chefs and mixologists, as well as students from hospitality and catering colleges was the culinary and mixology contest. Chef Clyde of Flea Bazaar Caf&eacute impressed the judges with his Roast Chicken and Walnut Mousse, while Mixologists Dhaval Pillay representing South Bombay Bar and Tushar Nakte of Lord of the Drinks took home the winning certificates for the best cocktail and mocktail, respectively. Budding talent of the hospitality world also impressed the judges as students from ITM college Kaavya Shetty and Savali Rane won the prize for the best dish and Akshay Nair from Rizvi college and Brian Rodrigues from Don Bosco bagged the prize for the best cocktail and mocktail respectively.

It was all about delicious food and wine at the food court of the UpperCrust Show. Several popular restaurants of Bombay held their pop-ups at the show, where visitors enjoyed relaxing after heaps of shopping. Jafferbhai's Delhi Darbar served hearty biryani; Gokul Bite dished out delicious rolls; Punjab Da Chulah, a new restaurant in Juhu, became a crowd favourite for their Amritsari Chhole Bhature; Ministry of Eggs had some eggcellent offerings; Finding Momos served freshly steamed dumplings and Hurrycane made for a cool refreshment with their cold pressed sugarcane juice. Rhythm complemented the meals, serving interesting fruit wines by the glass.

With a musical evening as visitors dined under the stars, the gourmet weekend came to an end... until next year!