Who better than Munaf Kapadia of The Bohri Kitchen to talk about the rise and reign of home cooks? After all, the ex-Google employee turned his mother’s cooking into a business venture back in 2014, setting the stage for a wave of culinary pop-ups across the country. Soon, young entrepreneurs were choosing to specialise in specific cuisines, ingredients and techniques. Take Mumbai’s Nuzha Ebrahim of Fromagerie and Pooja Pangtey of Meraki, who chose to explore cheese and Northeast mountain cuisine respectively. Or Natasha Diddee , who has a Zen approach to what’s on her plate, as The Gutless Foodie.
Now, thanks to Bread & Butter , a food networking event at WeWorks, BKC, in Mumbai, enthusiasts can meet these fascinating people, and others like them. Organised by professional networking platform, Dysco, the day-long itinerary at the co-working address includes talks, workshops, installations, and food and beverage stalls. Khrisha Shah, co-founder of the platform (with her brother, Mishal), says that the food industry falls somewhere between the creative and non-creative sections. “So you have restaurant owners, chefs, people who finance food ventures, and others who don't seem to be able to find each other on LinkedIn,” she explains.
Khrisha and Mishal Shah
Making connections
In the past, Dysco has organised similar gatherings on topics like redefining your vocation, and gender equality at the workplace. In this edition, they are looking to draw close to 500 people from a varied audience. The participants alone add up to over 30. When research indicated that people wanted to know about things like investment, branding, health and nutrition, and gender equality in commercial kitchens, they narrowed down on who would be the most interesting person to speak about the topic.
So Prashant Mehta of Lightbox Venture Capital (which funds Faasos) will talk about financing food ventures in the current economy. Chef Rahul Akerkar of Qualia will delve into decades of experience to tell us what makes for a happy kitchen. At Daniel Shechter’s food and photography workshop, learn how he makes food from Pooja Dhingra’s Le 15 Patisserie look drool-worthy on Instagram. There’s also a crash course in craft beers by Abhishek Chinchalkar of Bombay Duck Brewing.
That indie spirit
Khrisha says that in organising an event of this scale, they had certain freedoms that food magazines or hotels do not enjoy. “Dysco is a neutral platform, so we have no bias in terms of wanting to serve a certain purpose or make a sponsor happy. We’re doing it because we believe in the idea of collaboration. We put a heavy emphasis on curation and personalisation, which takes a lot of time, effort and thinking. Not everyone has the luxury of doing this,” she says.
As for monetising this effort, Dysco’s start-up tag means people are happy to support them — speakers attend for free, venue and event partners come on board easily. “But to find bigger partners who can help us cover costs is harder. Now, everyone is about experiential marketing and having a direct relationship with your end consumer and building a community, and that’s exactly what we want to do,” concludes Khrisha.
Bread & Butter takes place n June 30 at WeWorks, BKC, Mumbai, from 10 am to 9 pm. Tickets from ₹1,100 on insider.in .
