Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Shraddha Kapoor

Going a-stray

While promoting her upcoming movie with Sushant Rajput, Shraddha Kapoor stops to engage with a stray on set in Goregaon over the weekend. Pic/Sneha Kharabe

Going the whole hog

The allure of fresh produce shines with new glimmer each day. As it were, Brisbane-born chef Drew Nocente - who spent his childhood growing up in a family barn and now spearheads the kitchen at Singapore's famed contemporary Australian restaurant, Salted and Hung - will be coming to Mumbai next month as a guest chef for a series at Magazine Street Kitchen. Drew's latest menu incorporates the logic of the "whole hog," which makes use of all parts of an animal (the chef is famous for his grills). His intriguing fare will be available to city diners on September 13. Ahead of the special dinner, he told this diarist, "India is an exotic country. The spices and ingredients are vastly different from what we usually see at home. I'm interested in working with them to see how it will works in the menu that I've planned."

Time to #logout

The #logout movement, which has united the F&B industry in solidarity against the alleged menaces of food aggregators, is seeing a new turn each day. Last weekend, chef Shriya Shetty, who shuttles between Mumbai and Mangalore, had to face Swiggy's wrath for supporting the movement, as the app blocked her Mangalore-based venture out of service during peak hours. "Not only do they charge high commission rates from businesses, they also expect you to provide discounts or buy their 'growth packs' if you want to be visible on their app. Our bakery maintains a high quality of product with thin margins, how are we supposed to sustain ourselves?" Shetty, and her partner Varun Shetty shared with this diarist.

A word on Shashi Tharoor

This diarist is a huge fan of The Week That Wasn't, the satirical TV show that Cyrus Broacha and Kunal Vijayakar host, because of its tongue-in-cheek take on current affairs. And a person who was at the receiving end of their acerbic humour recently is politician-cum-master linguist Shashi Tharoor. Vijayakar shared with this diarist, "Coincidentally, Cyrus and I met Shashi at an event that Cyrus was moderating the very next day, and we had a huge laugh about the word 'fugacious' and how it's so archaic that no one would use it."

Raja Kumari on ramp

Grammy Award-nominated songwriter and rapper Raja Kumari is known for her edgy style. The Indian-American artiste will be making her debut on the ramp for designer Natasha Sumant next week. "The line will celebrate outspoken women, especially those breaking barriers and taking a stand against patriarchy. Raja Kumari's work merges street culture with her Indian roots, which is exactly the approach we had in mind," the designer told this diarist.

Museum darshan

Dr Bhau Daji Lad City Museum, Mumbai's oldest, had a special visitor last weekend. Dipti Pardeshi, director and chief of mission, International Organisation for Migration, and wife of Municipal Commissioner Praveen Pardeshi, decided to stop by the Byculla landmark. Pardeshi mentioned in her comments that it was an eye-opener, and that the collection was well-maintained with a thrust towards education. The curators also came in for praise. With such positive feedback from the missus, it will be interesting to see if Mr Commissioner follows suit.

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