Vikhroli Cucina to host Rise of The Culinary Explorer

A series of coversations with thought leaders in the industry to review food trends in India

Mumbai: Godrej Group’s flagship property - Vikhroli Cucina is hosting a conversation series titled – Rise of The Culinary Explorer. Given that seven out of the ten trends predicted by the Godrej Food Trends Report -2020 saw acceleration during the lockdown, the series will bring together thought leaders, Chefs, food influencers from across the country for a mid-year review.

The conversations will be in two Parts. The first segment will be a series of one-on-one Instagram LIVE conversations on the Vikhroli Cucina Instagram handle (@Vikhrolicucina) from 14th – 18th September. The second segment will be a series of curated panel discussions on Zoom from 21 Sept onwards. This seies will feature thought leaders from across the food industry such as Chef Varun Inamdar, Chef Suvir Saran,Chef Vicky Ratnani,   Kunal Vijayakar, Actor, Food Writer, Author, TV Personality,  Tara Deshpande Cookbook Author and Chef, Rocky Mohan Founder and Mentor of Gourmet Passport,  Aslam Gafoor, General Manager, Luxury Dining – Dineout, Monica Manchanda, Food Consultant and Writer, Roxanne Bamboat, Food and Travel Writer Shubra Chatterji, Culinary Researcher, TV and Web Producer/Director,  and Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal will participate in the discussions.

Speaking about the event, Sujit Patil, VP & Head Corporate Brand and Communications Godrej Industries Limited & Associate Companies, said, “The Godrej Food Trends Report – 2020, predicted Ghar-ka-khana to top the chart. The pandemic has disrupted the out-of-home consumption for the food industry. However, the renewed interest in Ghar-ka-khana also brought to the fore and accelerated new opportunities such as the emergence of neighbourhood foodpreneur, commitment to mindful eating and more. The report has truly become a ready reckoner for the food industry. This mid-year conversations will set the stage for next year’s report. I eagerly await to see what the experts predict for next year.”

Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal, Survey Designer, The Godrej Food Trends Report 2020, said, This pandemic has caused a paradigm shift in the global food industry.  When we launched GFTR 2020 in February this year, nobody could have imagined a crisis like this could wreak havoc on global health, economy and industry just weeks after!  As curator of the annual Godrej Food Trend Report I have been watching trends with mixed feelings. Dismay at the state of the restaurant industry as it grapples to stay afloat, and tempered relief to see some aspects of the food industry registering healthy growth. But just like history has shown that crisis can cause havoc, it has also shown that it can lead to positives as well. And as I begin work on the Godrej Food Trend Report for 2021, it’s clear to me that a new order of things is here and we need to ambrace it. Team GFTR has curated a series of conversations to deliberate on how trends have played out in the last few months and collectively reflect on how we need to and can reinvent ourselves and our businesses, to create our space in the new order.

The Godrej Food Trend Report is a one of a kind initiative that reaches out to thought leaders across verticals in the Indian food industry, collects quantitative and qualitative inputs that are then collated, analyzed and distilled into trends that will prevail in the forthcoming year. Over 150 experts and thought leaders including celebrity chefs, home chefs, professional chefs, food bloggers, health professionals, media professionals, mixologists, nutritionists, restaurateurs, sommeliers, food producers, and many more, shared insights about their respective areas of expertise for the Godrej Food Trends Report 2020.

Godrej Group is well ensconced in the food industry through various brands such as Godrej Real Good Chicken, Godrej Vegoils, Godrej Appliances, Godrej Interio, Godrej Protekt, Godrej Jersey, Cartini Knives etc. The Godrej Food Trends Report has been one of the  strategic initiatives under its owned media platform – Vikhroli Cucina. It enables Godrej to catalyse engagement and build a community of advocates in the food industry. Vikhroli Cucina has now transformed into a publishing platform where all food enthusiasts can network, engage and collaborate.

The Godrej Food Trends 2020 Report promises to be an important addition to every food professional’s reading list. The report can be downloaded from www.vikhrolicucina.com

About Godrej Group:

Established in 1897, the Godrej Group has its roots in India's Independence and Swadeshi movement. Our founder, Ardeshir Godrej, lawyer-turned-serial entrepreneur failed with a few ventures, before he struck gold with a locks business. Today, we enjoy the patronage of 1.15 billion consumers globally across consumer goods, real estate, appliances, agriculture and many other businesses. In fact, our geographical footprint extends beyond Earth, with our engines now powering many of India's space missions. With revenues of over USD 4.5 billion we are growing fast, and have exciting, ambitious aspirations. For us, it is most important that besides our strong financial performance and innovative, much-loved products, we remain a good company. About 23 per cent of the promoters’ holding in the Godrej Group is held in trusts that invest in the environment, health and education. We are also bringing together our passion and purpose to make a difference through our Good & Green strategy of 'shared value' to create a more inclusive and greener India. At the heart of all of this, are our people. We take much pride in fostering an inspiring workplace, with an agile and high-performance culture. We are deeply committed to recognizing and valuing diversity across our teams.