A string of pop-up restaurants in the city has us drooling over this new food trend that is quickly catching up among foodies
Diners at the pop-up restaurant
As far as food fads go, pop-up restaurants are the most interesting. Imagine sitting down for a surprise, being one of the few to taste something completely new and exotic, only available for a short time. But that’s exactly the kind of euphoria that pop-up eateries or supper clubs feed on. While the West has seen its share of temporary eateries and travelling food trucks in public spaces, as well as some options at home, the trend was still in its nascent stage in Chennai. Until now, that is.
The rains notwithstanding, this weekend was a memorable one for foodies in the city with, not one, but two pop-up restaurants taking off among hungry Chennaiites. The Hyatt Regency’s Yakiniku — a Japanese pop-up, and the recently concluded Supper Club at the Food Consulate. Guests, who were quite taken by surprise themselves, met both events with a positive response.
At the latter event, a group of 14 people, both strangers and friends, sat down for a modern European dinner prepared by ‘The Nomads’, India’s very own travelling band of chefs, who specialise in pop-ups. “The oldest in our group is 24!” says Vignesh Ramachandran, who has travelled extensively and cooked for supper clubs in various Indian cities alongside fellow chefs Tushar Sood and Karan Upmanyu.
Shows like Masterchef has informed food tastes, and it gives the chefs the free hand of trying new things with each go instead of sticking to a routine. M Mohammad Ali of the Chennai Food Guide tells us that the Supper Club was a way to make different cuisines and home chefs accessible to the people. Even with Yakiniku, the idea is to surprise and satisfy. Madhav Sehgal, General Manager at the Hyatt Regency says — “The concept of pop-up restaurants isn’t new and is popular in cities like Chicago, New York, Hong Kong and Tokyo. People not having the time to travel but the desire to try new things, is the driving force behind the success of pop-up restaurants.”
KP Balakumar, blogger and founder of the Home Bakers Guild, agrees with that idea. Just last year, he had partnered with Sandy’s to launch the city’s first-ever pop-up restaurant that specialised in regional, home-cooked food. “Chennai is very open to new foods trends as long as it’s authentic and different. It should create an entirely new dining experience — for us it was about creating high quality homecooked food,” Balakumar opines.
The surprise element is important, says Meena Chabbria. Having had her first taste of a pop-up meal, she can’t wait to try out more. “I was expecting an Indian-style buffet and was quite surprised to see how the tables were set for an international dining experience. More than the food, it was about sitting down with a group of people I had never met. But by the end of the night, we were all friends!” she laughs, and signs off.
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( Source : deccan chronicle )
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