Check out the Crazy Food Festival this weekend!
Heading to Mumbai this weekend? Don’t miss some good food, great shopping and lots of entertainment at the CFF. Read on...
How would you like to spend a weekend tucking into a bowl of fried chicken bao, a platter of lamb kebab, a deep dish biryani or a golden apple pie, without going restaurant hopping? Here’s a chance to do just that, with The Crazy Food Festival, that brings a variety of cuisines, chefs, edible merchandise and entertainment under one roof.
If you live in Mumbai or are heading to the City of Dreams this weekend, drop into this food-lovers' carnival, brought to you by the A La Carte company.
Food festivals are very popular in places like Naples, Honfleur, Turin, Arles, Rotterdam and Russia
It will be the perfect way to step into foodie heaven, as you sip, sample and savour different kinds of wines, foods and beverages. You can also indulge in dishes inspired by home chefs and artisanal creations of restaurants and explore the evolving culinary scene of the country.
This one-of-a-kind event that has been organised by Rekha Pamani Gulati and Nisha Sareen, will be spread over December 8 and 9 and will be held at RWITC grounds. But, there is far more to this fest than just sampling the food and eating different kinds of food. You can buy gourmet food products, shop for some artsy décor or check out the home chefs for a unique, personalised experience. Live music and performances by artists and bands will light up the evening.
Here’s an interview with the Co-founders, Rekha Pamani Gulati and Nisha Sareen of CFF
What is the aim of the 'Crazy Food Festival'?
Food festivals are huge globally and cities like Delhi and Bengaluru have been doing this successfully for a few years. Mumbai does not have too many such food festivals - but there have been a few that have popped up and not returned. This festival is dedicated to giving you your best day and weekend out in Mumbai! We have planned over 70 food brands taking part in the festival and this includes packaged foods, restaurants, home chefs, desserts, shakes and more! There is also a Nickelodeon kids’ zone, a cocktail bar, a spa, races and a Santa too.
What are the main highlights of the event in your own words? What are you looking forward to?
Nisha Sareen
We are looking forward to the whole weekend and the huge variety of food brands that will be participating in this festival. There will be a large selection of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food, besides vegan cuisine and health foods. There will be musical performances and a special kids’ zone for children, with jugglers and mime artists, clowns, magicians, balloon art, stilt-walkers and of course, Santa! A special Nickelodeon zone has also been planned with fun activities and intriguing games.
What are some of the cuisines that you have managed to bring under one roof?
Rekha Pamani Gulati
This time around we have Tamrah from Dubai and Salim's restaurant from Delhi. We have a variety of cuisines like Chinese, Japanese, Korean, India, Lebanese, Turkish, Italian, South Indian and Mexican.
What are the desserts that are being offered?
We are planning a variety of ice creams – Baklava, churros, popsicles, ice cream cones, homemade waffles, doughnuts, cookies, cakes, brownies, strawberries, milkshakes, bakes and much more.
What is the entertainment that people can look forward to?
We have bands like Kiran and The Impresarios, Ankur and The Ghalat Family, Tejas Menon, The Stage Artists and Tanique Fossa. We plan to let youngsters take the stage during the day and give them a great line up of music in the evenings. A Capoeira display, which is an Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics, and music and The Abhishek Zaveri Dance Flash, will take place on Saturday.
Why will children love the festival too?
There are plenty of games to be played and merchandise to be won by children. We are also planning an obstacle course for the kids, a Zipline, stilt-walkers, mime artistes and an unicyclist to add to the feel of a carnival.
Are you planning more editions of this festival in other cities in India too?
For now This Crazy Food Festival is unique to Mumbai every December. But in February 2019, we will be launching The Great Indian Ice Cream Festival, which we hope to take across India! This festival will not be limited only to ice creams but will also have desserts, savoury foods and much more.
