CHENNAI: Variants of white chocolate made of chilies sourced from Madurai. Smooth natural butter made of nuts and grains. Traditional sweets made of millets, jaggery and palm sugar. The collection on display was a food temptress drawing the attention of discerning patrons at Novotel OMR, who had gathered to attend Eat, Pay, Love — an event curated by foodies and founders Munira Daniel and Batul Turabe. The room was populated with bloggers clicking droolworthy snaps for Instagram and food enthusiasts sampling menu at different stalls. This was the third edition by the Ministry of Home Chefs.
The two-day food pop-up was the platform that aspiring home chefs and bakers needed. From a seven-year-old baker to a 70-year-old grandmother, home chefs churned out the best of their recipes. “It took four months to filter the list of home chefs. We wanted to bring in cuisines like Dutch, Portuguese and Korean that aren’t common to the city. All these brands have gifting options keeping in mind the festive season. So, we decided to explore this side of the city to highlight talents from ECR and OMR. Some of the brands are making a debut at the edition,” said Munira.
The Gourmet Granny run by a daughter-in-law and mother-in-law duo caught our attention. We were enticed by the aroma of the Goan and Anglo-Indian delicacies: fish croquettes, prawn rissois, pork buns, jars of balchao and fruit cake. “We don’t want to go commercial with the heirloom recipes. The products are prepared based on demand and delivered to a few areas like Adyar and Alwarpet,” said the mother-in-law, who was shy to be featured in our story.
The home bakers indulged the crowd with their sweet offerings. The Bread Bar showcased an assorted variety of their artisanal bread, croissant and short-eats. Brown Bakes offered liquor-based cakes and mousse. V’s Bakehouse’s French macaroon was a hot-seller. “All these are successful women in top positions at companies. They pursue the food business part-time and eventually turn it into a profession. The number has only been increasing since the first edition,” said Batul.
Eat, Pay, Love has been encouraging entrepreneurs with lessons in detailing, presentation, packaging and promoting their business. “The brand recall value increases if interaction happens in person. We’re happy to launch more homegrown brands,” said Munira.