Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Raise a toast to chef Viraf in BKC
In January, when we announced on this page that chef Viraf Patel had bid goodbye to Café Zoe, the city's F&B sleuths (including us) were keen to know his next move. And once again, we're telling it to you before everyone else does - Patel will now hold dual responsibility as the executive chef and brand head for the chic BKC restaurant, Toast & Tonic. Known for his innovative menu and edgy flavours, Patel will work on presenting Indian produce in a non-traditional way and will soon launch a special menu.

"Toast & Tonic is an exciting and challenging product and its food philosophy aligns with my beliefs on the opportunities to use indigenous ingredients in global cuisine. It provides an open platform to use local ingredients, and in today's atmosphere, where we as chefs are increasingly embracing what traditionally grows around our cities and wish to be able to experiment and cook with these ingredients, I think there couldn't have been a more exciting prospect for me to work alongside chef Manu [Chandra]," says Patel.

When cabbage is king
Trust our social media-savvy chefs to remind us of oddball foodie-centric days, and cool ways to celebrate them too. One of the frontrunners in this large pool is chef-entrepreneur Ranveer Brar. Last Saturday, the enterprising Lucknow-born chef increased this diarist's knowledge about the date when the world celebrates Cabbage Day.

Ranveer Brar

Considering we aren't exactly fans of this particular vegetable, it did pique our curiosity to learn, courtesy the chef's post, that it has ample Vitamin B6, C and K along with essential dietary fibre. Brar went on to share a video of a quick-fix dish using green and purple cabbage. We'll have to give it a shot in the kitchen before moving over to the other, greener side.

McLaughlin's keeping busy
You can take John McLaughlin out of India, but you can't take India out of John McLaughlin. And now that the legendary guitarist is back in the country he loves, he seems to be making the most of his time here when it comes to collaborating with musicians. He started with a gig at a SoBo venue with his band, which includes Mumbai local Ranjit Barot. Then, he spent a day at a studio recording with Shankar Ehsaan Loy, the trio of Bollywood hit makers.

John McLaughlin (centre) with Shankar Mahadevan (left) and V Selvaganesh

And finally, McLaughlin ended last week at the Udupi festival in Bengaluru, where he shared the stage with Shankar Mahadevan, Selvaganesh and Gino Banks. So, even as the 76-year-old has announced that he will not do long tours anymore, it seems as if he's more than happy to perform at a concert here and a concert there, especially if it is in our part of the world.

Pic/Satej Shinde

Not rocket science
Neha Dhupia is all ears as a young student explains a display at a science expo in Andheri over the weekend.

Polygonal masonry at Hostel II inside TISS. Pic/@asanyfuleknow

Remembering Durga Bajpai's legacy
He is always mentioned in the same breath as post-Independent India's greatest urban planners and architects like Charles Correa, Habib Rahman, IM Kadri, Achyut Kanvinde and BV Doshi. And when it comes to Mumbai's landmarks, architect Durga Bajpai's contribution remains particularly special.

Jehangir Art Gallery by Durga Bajpai

Bajpai designed two of the city's most important educational and cultural institutions - Jehangir Art Gallery and Tata Institute of Social Sciences. In today's times, where we are grappling with architectural misadventures in the city, courtesy mindless builders and uninspired planners, this frame of Bajpai's polygonal masonry at TISS that appeared on social media, made us feel proud and also saddened at the paucity of such fine examples of urban design.

Losing its sheen
Seems like the Nirav Modi (inset) scam has hit the gems and jewellery industry in a big way. Echoing the sentiments of several players, jewellery designer to the stars, Farah Ali Khan, took to social media to express her concern. following the massive bust-up.

She posted that the fallout would make it tougher for their ilk to do business with brands, going on to share that the industry employs 50 lakh craftsmen, has three lakh retail showrooms and earns 15% of foreign exchange.

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