Soul food

"So much food that it can fill an entire hall," exclaimed downtown resident Nikhita Chopra in glee as she walked into the Bombay Fusion Food Festival. The festival saw a mélange of food stalls serving continental bhel in waffle cones, chilli cheese sev puri, spicy rasgulla, brownies, chocolate syringes, tea cakes in cutting chai glasses and flavoured green herbal tea, to name a few.

"There is something for everyone," gushed the 26-year-old designer as she reached out for a packet of tea from the Gardner high tea collection. A one-stop destination for home bakers, chefs and cooks to meet and interact with like-minded food lovers, Bombay Fusion, 2014, saw the best of the gourmet business under one roof with over 30 pop-up stalls selling exotic desserts, cakes, breads, beverages, wines, cheese, pickles and gourmet food.

From Green Tokri (known for its leafy veggies, sauces and herbs), Brownie Cottage, 8 Food (known for its soups, salads and sandwiches), The Indian Bean to Exquisite, Le Kitchen, Cake Crafters and Icing On Top, the festival offered a platform for enterprising people in the food business.

"The quality of products available here is amazing! You'd have to probably save room for some delicious food that is not easily available in Mumbai," announced another guest.

In its third year, the food festival has been curated by Power Struggle and Spicy Sangria. The organisers take pride in the fact that they have personally tasted most of the stuff put up on the stalls. "There's no run-of-the-mill stuff. Participants have been hand-picked by us based on the quality of their food," said Trilok Nichlani, partner at Power Struggle.

The event also had workshops to introduce guests to the joys of cooking with lessons on brownie topping, food photography and making sangria. Apart from gourmet food, Bombay Fusion also featured fashion accessories, home décor and quirky apparels.

After the food shopping, guests could relax their tired feet and pamper themselves at a Jean-Claude Biguine stall offering free nail art. Well! Bombay Fusion could turn out to be the food festival the city actually needs!

The third edition of Bombay Fusion took place on September 3, 2014 at The Royal Oak Banquet at Kalaghoda.