My week began on a sweet note (pun intended, just couldn’t resist) with a Sensory Sweet Tooth activation at Palladium in association with Le Creuset. Let me paint you a picture. Desserts of every kind, stretching out in every direction, and home bakers vying for the top spots. As an audience member, I couldn’t think of a better place to be. While the official judges were making their decisions, we were entertained by a cellist Alexandra playing some of our favourite top 40 hits, along with a baking demo by Sulu (of Sweetlife from Sulu’s Kitchen). She proceeded to show her adoring fans in the crowd how to create sugar roses, and honestly, she could’ve had me fooled. I almost complimented the florist on the arrangement earlier on, only to find that they were her creations. We ‘oohed’ and ‘aahed’ and marveled at her skill as she serenely worked her magic. After the best in each category were announced, we got to sample all of the entries, some too beautiful to eat, but in the end we did. From macaroon towers, to chocolate tempered into hearts and spheres, and every type of brownie you can think of — it was hard to pick a favourite, but after much deliberation, my vote goes to a carefully crafted bouquet of macaroon hearts.
We shifted from sweet treats to beautiful melodies, later in the week, at an afternoon soirée at ITC Grand Chola, where special invitees were treated to timeless classics performed on the piano by Nawabzada Mohammed Asif Ali. Hosted by Zubin Songadwala, the evening saw the diplomatic brigade in attendance, along with Chennai’s swish set. From the golden oldies to the new age ‘faves’, there was something for everyone. A fantastic high tea accompanied the music, with everything from Takoyaki to Bunny Chao, topped off with the offerings from the decadent Fabelle station, a must-try for any chocolate lover. Sweet bites like the Vanilla Creamux bar, Ruby Chocolate éclair and the Chocolate Shakerato, had people saying ‘just one more.’ It was a beautiful coming together of music, people and conversations, with everyone getting to catch up after so long.