Goa Is Changing The Way It Dines

The food culture of a country as rich and diverse as India is largely defined by the regional and historical lineage that is unparalleled. In addition to diverse cultural sensibilities, the country is home to quintessentially diverse food too. And now, with the world becoming a global village, those in the business of culinary arts are experiencing a tremendous change. From home chefs opening their homes for discerning foodies, to pop-up kitchens offering lesser popular cuisines – Goa’s palate is witnessing an explosion of flavours from across the world. Planet Goa finds out more.

BY KISHORE AMATI

AFTER moving to Goa a little over 8 months ago, the restless foodie in Nandita Mukherjee made her frantically look for Kasha Mangsho online to put her cravings to rest. She finally stumbled upon ‘Hidden Kitchen Goa’ that she initially took as a restaurant serving various regional authentic cuisines. But after spending some time learning about her new discovery, she realised that she will be enjoying her native food in the company of a fellow native home chef.

It took her a few minutes to understand the entire mechanics of this revolutionary trend in the food business but once set, Nandita couldn’t contain her excitement. The sheer demand for home-cooked food has encouraged home chefs to open their homes and spaces for discerning diners. The advantage is that the diners not only get authentic food cooked by a home chef personally in their home environment, specially curated for a fixed number of people, but also makes possible interaction with people from myriad walks of life and different cultures.

Vaishali Sood, a seasoned restaurateur and a true-blue Bong, started Hidden Kitchen Goa after struggling to relocate her restaurant that was running successfully. Vaishali says, “The whole concept was to be among food lovers and share and talk of food integrating different cultures too. I chose Bengali cuisine as there wasn’t any good authentic home-made style Bengali food available.”

From large cities to rural towns, pop-up restaurants are a growing trend taking chefs and consumers by storm. Offering anything from fast-casual fusion dishes to high-end gourmet meals, this concept lends itself perfectly to those looking to express their creativity and those who wish to consume it. The appeal of pop-up restaurants is that chefs can temporarily test out restaurant or menu concepts, in addition to having the liberty to offer high-end, gourmet food at a more affordable price by cutting out restaurant costs. Not to mention, it also offers one total creative freedom sans a large risk factor.