Food Nerd Party 2022 attendees | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Bengaluru’s food circuit has always been much talked about, even more so in the last few years as the city’s entrepreneurs have been experimenting with new formats. Think specially-crafted tasting menus, farm-to-plate experiences, and multiple pop-ups held almost every weekend. The latter brought chefs from across the country to Bengaluru and showcased their culinary magic in a city that is always open to trying new experiences.
The culmination of all this has now led to The Food Nerd Festival which will bring together everyone from chefs and small business owners to food photographers, writers and more. All set to take place this weekend, organizers – food media house, Goya Media, and food/design collective, Edible Issues – say hosting the event has been a dream. “We have been dreaming of creating an edition of this festival for a long time,” says Anisha Oman, co-founder and director of Goya Media. “In 2021, we are coming together to hold our annual Christmas party, the first Food Nerd Party Returns. , to say thank you to all the people we have worked with throughout the year. 2022 was bigger, more exciting, and the party became a place where knowledge sharing happened organically, and plans for collaborations and future projects were made. So this year, we have decided to create a space dedicated to highlighting this magic,” she says of this weekend’s festival.
(L-R) Elizabeth York and Anusha Murthy of Edible Issues, Anisha Rachel Oman and Ayesha Tanya of Goya Media | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Anisha explains how Goya works extensively with small businesses in the food and alco-bev sector, and “the festival is built on the questions they ask us”. “For example, how do we get our first 1,000 customers; How do we develop the storytelling style in our brand; How can we scale or is it better to remain boutique? For the Food Nerd Festival, we reached out to people who are experts on these topics, and we wanted to create a platform where the community could access them. With workshops, discussions, a market, among other features, the event will bring together chef Thomas Zacharias (of Locavore), Cannaj Messman of Theobroma, pastry chef Pooja Dhingra (Le 15 Patisserie), co-founder Matt Chitraranjan. Blue Tokai, Anirudh and Anvesh of Brick Oven and others from the culinary world. Apart from food, celebrities like painter Alicia Souza, Sana Zaveri Qadri of Diaspora Company, PR consultant Radhika Mishra etc. will discuss on topics related to brand building.
Food Nerd Party 2022 attendees | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“We have an interesting range of different food businesses,” explains Anusha Murthy of Edible Issues, which she co-founded with Elizabeth York. Chennai’s popular cheese brand Kase is collaborating with Bengaluru-based bakery Loafer & Co., Malgudi Mylari Mane will host its first pop-up in the city, Coimbatore’s chocolate brand Soclate will be retailing its patisserie range. “For the Food Nerd After Hours (after-party), we are collaborating with Pooja Dhingra and Vinesh Johny of Lavon for the first time in the city,” she says of the party where you can expect a hot chocolate. There are bars, and cocktails by Godavan, Tanqueray London Dry and Talisker.
A dish served at Food Nerd Party 2022 Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Another highlight of the two-day festival is the Food Nerd Labs which will feature four hands-on workshops based on the theme ‘Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat’. “Cooking workshops are also exciting for those who want to improve their culinary creativity and skills. “The four sessions feature exciting topics ranging from cheese and chocolate pairing to kombucha to meat curing and chili tasting,” says Anusha.
On 24th and 25th November at Courtyard & Conservatory, Shantinagar, Bengaluru. Details at foodnerdfestival.com
Source: www.thehindu.com
