The city will host the first-ever Superchef Chennai Feastathon this weekend at Amir Mahal, an initiative by the Madras Cosmopolitan Ladies Circle 38 & Madras Cosmopolitan Round Table 94 supported by the Arcot Foundation and the Dewan to His Highness the Prince of Arcot, Nawabzada Mohammed Asif Ali. While the first Superchef was hosted seven years ago, this will be more than just a competition, as it extends to a food carnival, with 40 unique food stalls featuring local favourites, home-bakers, gourmet food as well as food trucks, for people to choose from. The event will be a fundraiser and this time it will raise funds for Sanjeevi Primary Healthcare Centre, which provides medical facilities to 40 villages in the state.
“While there was previously more than one stall serving the same kind of food, this year, we decided to keep every stall unique, so that people can taste all kinds of food, and at the same time help the vendors be unique,” Rukmini Reddy, Chairperson of the MCLC 38 tells us. From Uncle Sam’s wood-fired pizzas and Parotta Master Kadai’s kothu parotta to Bob’s bike BBQ’s grilled lobsters and Mr Papdi’s classic vada pav — the festival will cater to a varied palate.“It is also one of the few times that we will be privileged to experience the royal cuisines of the historic Amir Mahal,” Rukmini reveals to us.
Interestingly, the secret is that while the people have got a taste of a lot of South Indian and European food, the Feastathon will also see a kulfi vendor coming all the way from Gwalior.“He is usually at all our family functions but his kulfis are not commercially available anywhere else, so this time I thought, why not get him to serve the authentic kulfi here in Chennai,” she adds. But, what if you haven’t tasted enough yet and want to taste a little bit of everything and even want to take something back home? There is definitely something for all as the popular goli soda by Rocket Soda and the fruit-flavoured sugarcane by Cane 4 You is sure to quench your thirst.
With so much of food doing the rounds, there definitely will be some music and dance and Feastathon has not one but two bands — Blessing Chimanga and the Dreams, and the other is the city-based band, Staccato. Being a singer-songwriter and marimba player from Zimbabwe, Blessing is quite a popular face in the city with his African rhythms, keeping people on their feet. On the other hand, Staccato with their contemporary music and breezy compositions definitely promise going to keep you hooked.
Entry ticket is at Rs 150.
The Superchef Chennai Feastathon will take place on January 20th between 4 pm - 10 pm.