Groups of people flocking to the nearest garden to soak up the sunshine as they chat, feast on snacks, or simply read a book under a tree—such sights have become synonymous with winter afternoons in Delhi. In fact, the clement afternoon weather in the city combined with the serenity of the scenic garden monuments make for a perfect leisure activity for citizens.
Over the years, Delhiites have openly embraced the timeless culture of picnics and have encouraged it as a form of socialising. Central to picnics are snacks and meals, and since putting them together can often be a tiring fix, these patisseries in Delhi will help you savour the classic picnic potluck lunch through their carefully-curated food baskets and boxes.
Conscious spread
Miam Patisserie’s picnic box contains everything from snacking options to plating alternatives. There’s also a barcode on it, which can be scanned for the perfect picnic playlist. The Lado Sarai based bakery introduced their picnic baskets last year. An instant hit among Delhiites, Miam’s basket had an array of items on offer. This year, their basket comprises crumpets, croissants, crackers, garlic and chive cream cheese, red pepper relish, a hazelnut cake, olive oil and feta soak as well as pickled cucumbers.
“I designed this [the picnic boxes] last year because I was pretty apprehensive myself about going out to restaurants or family gatherings because I was very cautious with COVID. I thought this would be a nice way to meet in the open—in a sort of socially distant way—and have this one pack that takes care of everything,” shares chef-founder Bani Nanda.
Miam’s picnic basket can help tackle food waste as it is crafted such that it can be used to dispose of the leftovers once your feast concludes. “I really wanted to address the issue of littering so I demonstrated [to the customers] how you can basically dump everything back in the box and discard,” adds Nanda.
COST: Rs 3,000 (per box)
TO BUY, VISIT: miampatisserie.com
TASTY OPTIONS GALORE
“We started the picnic box concept last year especially when Sunder Nursery became very popular [as a picnic spot] and people just wanted to get out of their homes post the lockdown,” shares Suramya Uppal, founder, The Maison Pantry. Launched as the delivery vertical of Saloni’s Kitchen, a South Extension-based catering service, they offer an assortment of food boxes, salads, as well as cakes.
Their picnic boxes on offer are of two kinds: the cheese box and the dips box. The cheese box contains a variety of cheese, fruits, crackers, while the dips box consists of a range of dips–mango salsa, tomato salsa, classic hummus and dil tzatziki–along with nachos, bagel bites, and crackers. Their ‘Marhaba- a Lebanese Feast’ box and ‘A little bit of everything' box offer further customisations. One can also choose from their non-alcoholic cocktail pre-mixes.
“Even though we have a series of boxes on our website, our concept is to always have a dip in the box to enjoy with the nibblers, and we try to include a variety of crackers to go with the cheese,” adds Uppal.
COST: Rs 1,500- Rs 4,000 (per pack)
TO BUY, VISIT: themaisonpantry.com
Bespoke, fresh feast
Individually curated and completely customisable, the picnic boxes launched by Khan Market-based The Artful Baker last year, offer a variety of items that can satiate one’s’ food cravings. Buyers have an option to choose from a number of juices, teas, sandwiches, cookies, muffins, brownies, and fruits to add in the basket. They also provide bio-degradable food-safe cutlery and napkins along with their boxes. “The weather in Delhi is really nice from late November till early February. In the last two years, we have been going through various lockdowns because of COVID. Our picnic baskets are an attempt to encourage people to go out in open spaces and celebrate,” shares Chef Ankita Sood.
COST: Rs 3,000 (per basket)
TO BUY, VISIT: theartfulbaker.dotpe.in
Revel and Relish