Sunday, October 2, 2011

The West View bar & Grill - On the Other side

Yup! Last night I stepped into the kitchen of the West View Bar & Grill at the ITC Grand Maratha. I was followed by an enthusiastic bunch of fellow food bloggers who took many fun photos of me along with the chefs in the kitchen grilling up some lamb and pork chops and some Indian Pomfret. I carried with me Papa's Magic Masala and sprinkled it generously on the various assortments of meats and fish and vegetables and one by one placed them on the grill to cook them to slightly charred perfection. It was fun. In the kitchen with chefs- in a white skirt and yellow heals and the funny chefs hat. Not the most practical thing to wear in a professional kitchen but none the less fun.

This was our almost bi- monthly Mumbai Food Bloggers meet. Now a very boisterous and raucous bunch of folks who diligently bring forth beautiful food stories, restaurant reviews, recipes, travel adventures. Each one has his or her take on the food but constantly pushing pixels, little superstars in their own rights with a global fan following. These meets are organized by food blogger and consultant Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal who calls herself the mother hen of the peck. Rushina writes the blog A Perfect Bite and now has column in the Hindustan Times called the Spice Route. This group by far is the most enthusiastic, well organized, most interested in all things food that I have been a part of.

So what was the West View Bar & Grill like? Well as a concept you pick your raw vegetables and meats and fish on a plate and hand it over to the kitchen and they will prepare it for you either in a lemon butter sauce or a red wine reduction on the flame. Chef  Padmaja experiments with spices and sauces and innovates each night. She was one of the most delightful, cheerful chefs I have ever met. Enthusiastically letting me into her kitchen with my own spice mix- Papa's Magic masala, and then setting up a hot stone grill showdown for the rest of the bloggers.

It was a fun and spirited evening. Here is to many more such wonderful evenings with my Merry Band of Mumbai Food Blogger friends. Cheers!

Vegetarians beware- raw meat pictures follow:

Big Thanks to Rushina and the folks at ITC for the lovely evening.

15 comments:

  1. Sensational pics as usual Jo. Thanks for coming and I cannot get enough of that Llaya Channa. I planned to save a bit for Aman to try but then I didnt want to share!

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  2. Awesome pictures! And so bloody yum.

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  3. Absolutely spiffing. Gorgeous photographs and fun words. I'm getting all nostalgic now!

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  4. I am sure it must have been an amazing experience to cook with the Master Chef of a five star kitchen. All plates look yum....yum...Jyo, you have written the whole event so vividly. I loved reading through it.

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  5. Amazing pics, totally droolacious...I am feeling carnivorous like never before!

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  6. OK I have no words for the pictures they are absolutely stunning, and I love the captions and font used... just like how a blog post should be... had a lot of fun :)

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  7. @Rushina: Thanks for doing these.
    @Gopal: You can say that again- bloody delicious and you missed it
    @Vinda: I like the word spiffing. I hope you got more out of the evening.
    @Mom: Thanks mom- there were alot of vegetarian options also
    @Anand: Have a great trip- to more carnivorous adventures
    @Nikhil: Hey thanks for noticing the blog format. Yes making an effort to change the look.

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  8. Glad to know that Mumbai Food Bloggers have such meets, it would be wonderful to meet up with fellow food bloggers.

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  9. Good Stuff! Jyotika! Loved the pictures!

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  10. PS ... it was a Lemongrass Creme Brule

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  11. Oh, those pics are so mouthwatering!!

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  12. Mmm ... that pear and apple chutney sounds most intriguing.

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  13. Thank you for giving me such a good chance, let me be able to read this essay so good of a son, thank you very much.

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