They first surfaced in April this year, and brought with them pleasant gastronomic surprises at the first Grub Fest that they organised. In just one edition, they’ve amassed an incredible body of knowledge that’s encouraged young entrepreneurs, Aman Kumar, Arjun Jain, Chaitanya Mathur and Mani Singh Cheema, who’re presenting the festival, to take big brave steps towards showcasing their second one. Their backgrounds in entertainment, music, events, digital media, and banking have only made things work in their favour.
To start on October 23, the festival brings you make-shift restaurants, ranging from 16- to 120-seater. “We provide restaurants huge kitchen spaces to prepare their food. The other thing different about us is that we’ve invited speciality chefs to make signatures from cuisines of West Bengal, Kerala, Nagaland, Kashmir and Goa,” says Kumar.
Some of the popular restaurants that are part of this extravaganza are Punjab Grill, Olive Bistro, SodaBottleOpenerWala, Social, Indigo Deli, Fio, Smokeys, Zerzura, Imperfecto, Mamagoto, Fat Lulu’s and others. “We’re also introducing some remarkable new concepts, one of which is Grub Stories—Asia’s first, high-end, multistorey travelling restaurant with a terrace bar, that has a 360-degree view of the festival. This 100-seater has luxurious interiors and clear glass structures, and offers Modern European cuisine, and Nona’s home-style Mediterranean and progressive BBQ,” shares Mathur.
Of course, the festival is a lot about food, but it’s not just about food alone. Several other elements such as entertainment have been looked into. You’ll find acoustic, rock, indie and electronic music performances, in addition to some comedy. There are art installations too. “At the Grub Fest, it’s all about having fun. Although, we’re neck-deep in work, it’s all in great spirit. Basically, our work is a whole bunch of chaotic excitement,” says Cheema.
On one side of the carnival there will also be a grub market displaying fresh farm produce and organic, pro-environmental preparations. Salads homemade jams, namkeen, wine ice-cream, waffles, cupcakes, honey, aam papad, gluten-free cakes and more can be bought from these stalls.
The team of four organisers is still a new player in this challenging world of food-oriented business, but confidence in their respective strengths makes them think big and far ahead of what lies in the moment. Forward planning is one of them. “We’re taking the fest to Pune in January, Bangalore in February, back to Delhi in March and London in July. There are not many challenges in the event industry if you are organised,” says Jain, adding, “We’re confident about our plan.” Well...before all that happens, the upcoming edition will surely be a good time to test the waters for these young turks.