3-star Michelin Chef Massimo Bottura all set to visit for a pop-up in Mumbai

Massimo Bottura

Word comes in that next month will see none other than 3-star Michelin Chef Massimo Bottura flying into India for the first time for a pop-up in Mumbai, hosted jointly by jeweller Nirav Modi and an international travel glossy. To be held at a mid-city hotel, sources say that the pop-up, part of the magazine's on-going property 'Hot Tables', was initially supposed to have taken place at a five-star in SoBo. "There were also talks of Bottura cooking at Antilia for a few select guests," says a source, "But that is not on the cards now."

Nirav Modi

As is known, Bottura's eatery Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy, is on every foodie's map, and the celebrated chef, who had been no.1 on the World's 50 Best list last year (this year, he is at No 2), is an international star. In an earlier instalment of the property, the magazine had flown in Sri Lankan celebrity chef Darshan Munidasa for a similar pop-up in Bangalore, which had seen the city's movers and shakers gather for a signature meal. Next month, Mumbai will be witness to one more such. But for those who cannot make it to the pop-up, there is always a second chance: Bottura is said to be flying directly to Bangkok for another pop-up in that
city!

The 'Trump look-alike' shopping at Kolkata

Rockets for the rocket man?
For our money, the wittiest Diwali-related meme this year is this one which features the very familiar figure of Donald Trump (blonde hair, orange tan, burgeoning paunch), caught in the act of buying Diwali firecrackers at an unremarkable and typical stall in Kolkata. 'Donald Trump at Hosur,' says the caption, 'Buying rocket for North Korea.'

Chancing upon it on the timeline of a very witty advertising guru, who we had once worked with in Kolkata, we were besides ourselves with curiosity. Was it photoshopped? Or had a Trump look-alike actually been spotted and photographed at a firecracker stall in one of Kolkata's busy crowded markets? Our friend has not responded yet with the answer, but we are sure we will get an explanation soon. Meanwhile, enjoy.

The 24-carrot necklace

Of carats and broken teeth
An industrialist with a sense of humour is a very welcome animal. Too often, captains of industry and masters of the universe take themselves so seriously, that they misplace their funny bones altogether, making them dour and pompous creatures. So it is good to know that Harsh Goenka, chairman of RGP and an avid art collector, has a great sense of humour. It takes only a glance at his popular Twitter account (he has over a million followers) to realise this.

Harsh Goenka

This week, while most tweeple were busy sending out flowery and saccharine festive greetings on social media, the industrialist tweeted, "On the auspicious Dhanteras day, gave my wife what she always wanted - a 24 carrot necklace," along with a picture of a necklace, to which were attached 24 real carrots. As expected, the tweet garnered a lot of delighted traction, and resulted in many social media giggles from that of singer Adnan Sami and politician Priyanka Chaturvedi, who inquired what his wife had given him in return. To which Goenka promptly responded, "Broken teeth". Nice!

Ekta Kapoor with her parents Jitendra and Shobha, Akash Ambani, Manoj Modi

Big fat Diwali bash
According to guests, TV producer Ekta Kapoor's Diwali party this year, which saw most of Bollywood in attendance, including Jaya Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, Sunita Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Sidharth Malhotra, Kriti Sanon, Arjun Kapoor and Sushant Singh Rajput, harked back to the big splashy style Diwali parties of yore. "It was super crowded, as she had nearly doubled the number of invitees and had even made personal calls to some of the stars to attend," says a source. "What's more, other than the usual suspects of TV's best and brightest, the party saw a sizeable section of Bollywood this year. Most of them dropped in to wish the Kapoors and make a hasty exit to drop in at Sanjay Kapoor's birthday do next door."

And in true Punjabi OTT style, the bash saw ample khana and peena, with the food arranged near the building's driveway with waiters desperately trying to make their way through the thronging crowds, says the source. The next day, Ekta, who is said to have been the perfect hostess and looked particularly fetching in traditional Indian wear, shared this photo of herself along with her father, yesteryear superstar Jitendra, Akash Ambani and one of Reliance's top executives Manoj Modi, captioning it, "With my partners!!! Akash and Manoj Ji #jioandbalaji #newbeginings". As is known, a few months ago, Reliance announced that it had picked up 25 per cent stake in Balaji Telefilms.

Not forever?
This beautiful young star (no one's accused her of being an actress yet) is believed to have spent a small fortune recently buying herself a pair of beautiful 2-carat solitaire earrings. Like most women, it had always been a symbol of having made it on her own terms, and she was naturally very chuffed with her purchase. However, sources say her excitement came crashing down when some of her 'friends' pricked her bubble, by informing her that she had paid almost twice the amount she should have for the beauties.

Now, the glamorous young lady is said to be gunning for the friend through whom she is believed to have made the purchase. That this happens to be one of her closest gal pals, her gym buddy, and also her business partner is causing considerable fur to fly, as one can imagine. Who said they were a girl's best friend, in any case?