[روووح مادهوري]

!

The Times Food and Nightlife Guide Awards 2010 was a tasteful affair

REAGAN GAVIN RASQUINHA Times News Network



How often have you heard the phrase ‘you are what you eat’? True, that. And if the huge and diverse spread at the Times Food and Nightlife Guide Awards 2010 on Saturday night was anything to go by, then one of Mumbai’s key components is most definitely its myriad flavours of food. For this is a city that takes its food very seriously. So, after the IPL excitement that evening receded, and the thunder of the cheers for the winners quietened, this event at the Taj Lands End (hospitality partners, under the aegis of the hotel’s GM Rohit Khosla along with Ranju Singh and executive chef Anirudhya Roy) was the place to be. Unlike the previous years, this year marked a few firsts as well. Good things come in threes too, and for the first time in its history, there were three books on offer, Eating Out, Nightlife and the new baby, Eating In (a gourmet guide to rare and lesserknown sources of great food) all authored by Rashmi Uday Singh. Another first, this year saw the introduction of a third category, that of the stand-alone restaurant, like Joss or a Cafe Madras, for example. These were the kind of restaurants that had the wherewithal and resources to put out the kind of great food despite not being attached to a five star hotel. The Times Food & Nightlife Guide Awards were presented by Bombay Times in association with timescity.com, the innovative way to find out about, and participate in, what’s going on in your city. Timescity delivers timely insight on everything from local bars and clubs, the neighbourhood chaatwala and fine dining. Not only can you read what the food experts have to say about each restaurant and club, but also view reviews and ratings from all your peers and friends, whether you are looking for romantic ideas for a first date or a evening with a bunch of pals, planning a day or night out in the city, want to know what to eat, what to drink, where to party – timescity.com has all the information.
Furthermore, in addition to the sous chefs, the big guns of the food industry, Hemant Oberoi, Neville Vajifdar, Rajdeep Kapoor, Anil Malik, Farrokh Khambatta, Pankaj Sampat and Ravi Anchan to name just a few, were also present in force. Correctly called the Oscars of the Food World, the evening got off to a pleasant start with guests mingling over canapés and conversation and sipping on some Seagram’s Blenders Pride (which was the main sponsor for the The Times Food & Nightlife Guide-Mumbai 2010 along with co-sponsors SugarFree & Nutralite) or a tall glass of supporting sponsor Kingfisher’s well-loved product, before the awards show commenced.
Kicking things off was emcee Vir Das’s saucy introduction, which left little leeway, as he put it, for the vegetarians in the audience, in both taste and temperament. The award
presentation would be speckled with his ribald humour.
The three books were unveiled by Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor and Times Group MD, Vineet Jain, after which the awards commenced. Harsh Goenka and Queenie were then invited onstage to give away the awards to the best Indian restaurant, and on it went from there with, among others, Subhash Ghai, Gulshan Grover (accompanied by Charlie Chaplin’s ganddaughters Carmen and Dolores), Celina Jaitly, Talat Aziz, Kabir Bedi, Manish Malhotra, Sanjeev Kapoor and Jacqueline Fernandez.
And then came the ‘free food countdown’ as Vir hilariously put it, where the tasty part of the evening got underway under open skies. And what a splendid presentation of food it was! It was apparent that every single one of the restaurants had spared no effort in presenting their treats. Fantasie Fine Chocolates too, also supporting sponsor was a popular stop for the chocoholics. The variation of food itself spanned continents and cultures and make no mistake, nowhere else for love or for money, and at no other event could you catch the city’s best restaurants all in one place. Yes indeed, the glam
brigade, corporate czars and of course, Bollywood, they all wined and dined on this starry, starry night.



STANDING TALL: Jacqueline Fernandez and (above) Pooja Chopra


PRETTY: Eesha Narang and Celina Jaitly


Irrfan Khan gave away the award for Best Confectionery Shop to Kamal and Kainaz Messman of Theobroma


Best Vegetarian Restaurant was given to Pinky Chandan Dixit and Gaurav Chandan for Soam by Dia Mirza and Arshad Warsi


Subhash Ghai presents the award for Best Italian Restaurant to GM Guy Godet, Chef Orianna Tribassi and Executive Chef Stephen Doe of Mezzo Mezzo, North Mumbai


FOR THE FOODIES: Bollywood superstars Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan launch the Times Food and Nightlife Guide