An Urraca Tasting Party in Goa

The mid-April sunlight that washes over Sangolda, Goa, is golden. At their beautiful Portuguese-style villa, Freedom Tree co-hosted Goya’s first-ever urraca tasting party. The story of urraca is very special to us at Goya, and one we hope to champion in exciting ways through the coming year, alongside India’s other indigenous spirits. Urraca is the first distillate of fermented cashew juice, a light, summery and absolutely delicious beverage with a very short season. Urraca is held up by an artisanal industry and a fascinating culture of its own, unique to the state of Goa.

Over prawn risois, slices of fresh cashew apple, and brined baby mango from Mapusa market, we hosted an intimate gathering of 30 people as Hansel Vaz, feni guru and founder of Cazulo Feni, led us through the tastings. We began with niro, juice of the cashew fruit (funky smelling, but unbelieveably sweet), two kinds of urraca (from north and south goa), and two kinds of feni. Hansel shared anecdotes and discoveries from his years of research on the subject, proving to a captivated audience that fact is always stranger than fiction.

Nachiket Pimprikar documents the process of harvesting cashew and distilling urraca at Hansel’s farm, Fazenda Cazulo. See the photo-essay here.

More on the urraca tasting here.

A Valentine's Day Picnic Takeover: Mumbai & Bangalore

Goya celebrated February, the month of romance and the onset of spring, with a picnic to recharge and connect with loved ones over delicious food, and Hoegaarden’s season-special Rosée witbier on draught Picture red checkered tablecloths, cold beer, crisp cocktails, live music, and a spectacular picnic spread.

In the lead up to our two-city picnic, we invited our community to share their favourite picnic foods with us, and artist Pranita Kocharekar illustrated our favourites on the go. (You can view it here). 

In Bangalore, our picnic was held at a sunny rooftop garden on MG Road, with delicious bakes by chef Rhea Aaron and Hoegaarden on draught, under the last of Bangalore’s winter skies.

In Mumbai, cocktails and beer by Hoegaarden were paired with a picnic spread by Heena Punwani of Maska Bakery — think Gymkhana shepherd’s pie, Kejriwal babka with eggs sunny side up, and endless piles of choux pastry.

Exploring the Hidden Flavours of Delhi’s Food Culture: Goya at India Art Fair

Goya was invited to curate a session at the India Art Fair in Delhi this year, for the Young Collectors’ Program. Together with chef and researcher, Taiyaba Ali, and artist and textile designer, Daksha Salam, we curated a sensorial experience of food, to explore invisible facets of the city’s expansive cuisine and heritage.

Delhi’s layered and complex food culture is woven with cuisines of immigrant communities that remain faceless; invisible in the canvas of the city’s food conversations. While high cuisine and fine dining often borrow from the creativity and innovation of the streets, these conversations remain absent in intimate dining spaces. Over a grazing table format that featured foods from 6 of these communities: Bihar, Manipuri, Himalayan, Nepali, Afghani and post-Partition Delhi, guests experienced flavours and dishes like litti chokha, kapok, shapale, tingmo, achar mulo, ema datchi, sel roti, aloo dum, Afghani naan, chicken seekh, makke ki roti, sarson ka saag, jaggery, white butter and more.

The afternoon began with a sensorial experience of produce and beauty, as Daksha used produce from the local market to style the table, demonstrating the role of beauty in self-expression and celebration for communities on the margins. The table was laid with crockery from our partners at the Singleton Social X Nicobar collection, featuring marble cake stands, wooden platters and ceramic bowls.

Taiyaba led the conversation with people representing these flavours and communities: chef and author Sadaf Hussain, artist Daksha Salam, Nicole Juneja of Mood in Delhi, Dickey Bhutia of Lha Kitchen, Aditi of Ilham Kitchen, representing the Afghani refugee women through UNHCR, and chef Megha Kohli.

Here’s a peek at our market visit the day before, where we went to source flowers, vegetables and foliage.

Food Nerd Festival '23 by Goya & Edible Issues

One of the most anticipated culinary events of the year, Goya Media & Edible Issues together with design and branding partner Two Tigers & Co teamed up to organise the first edition Food Nerd Festival in November 2023. This was a day-long celebration of all things culinary, featuring some of the brightest and most exciting names in the business.

The sessions at the Food Nerd Playground cooked in collaboration with Zomato Live! saw a packed audience, who asked insightful questions, took copious notes and behaved like proper fans.  It is where chefs Pooja Dhingra and Thomas Zacharias, and illustrator Alicia Souza bonded over having blogs, growing their brand organically, and the need to stand for something offline (and not only online). Diaspora Co’s Sana Javeri Kadri and PR powerhouse, Radhika Mishra, had the audience in splits even while imparting serious advice about building people-centric brands. Marketing expert, Smriti Rao, and Blue Tokai’s Matt Chitranjan, led an insightful session on gaining the first 1000 customers. Anand Virmani of Hapusa, and Latika Khosla of Freedom Tree, shared lessons on building storytelling into their beloved brands. Kainaz Messman of Theobroma, alongside Akhila Srinivas, Sumeet Kaur and Rajiv Srivatsa debated the choice between scaling a business and staying boutique. Ishka Farms’ Fiona Arakal offered a witty and insightful conclusion to the festival by taking people through her caper business.

At the Food Nerd Labs, experimentations and learnings continued under the themes SALT FAT ACID HEAT. Cheese superstar, Mansi Jasani, walked people through cheese and chocolate pairings; chacutier Balagopal Menon and chef Gautam Krishnakutty talked about all things flavour and salt. Sana Javeri Kadri of Diaspora Co led a spice appreciation workshop alongside a tasting of Godawan, an Indian craft whiskey rooted in Rajasthan. And Honey Islam and Ashish D’abreo led a workshop on fermentation in kombucha and coffee.

The Food Nerd festival is an organic offshoot of the Food Nerd Party, a Goya & Edible Issues annual tradition since 2021. As befitting its roots, there were parties — the pre-event Food Nerd Party, and After Hours post the event. The highlight of After Hours was a collaboration between Lavonne’s Vinesh Johny and Le 15’s Pooja Dhingra who served up an indulgent menu with pecan brownies, banana peanut butter blondies, pumpkin pie latte, and olive oil and sourdough cookie, while taking breaks to take selfies with fans.

What’s a food festival without good food? Chef Karan Upmanyu, an old Food Nerd party hand, served up an inspired menu for the Food Nerd party, with Christmas foods from around India. Think savoury achappams with mushroom/chicken pate, mutton sliders and furikake button idlis, paired with Christmas cocktails by Talisker. Butterfingers, a pop-up by Taiyaba Ali & Maki Patisserie, curated a stunning lunch for the festival’s speakers, who were spotted raving about the nihari puff, and chaat tarts.  

After Hours had different food zones: Chef Tresa Francis filled up The Conservatory space with her coconut and curry leaf flavoured prawn fry, and lotus stem chips. Downstairs in the Courtyard, chef Karan Thakker whipped up delish sandwiches including a smoked eggplant one. And during the day, The Food Nerd Market had vendors feeding hungry people: from cheesy sandwiches from Kase Cheese x Loafer & Co, Burmese salads from Burma Burma, mutton treats from Malgudi Mylari Mane, fresh kombucha from Umami Brew, and coffee from Blue Tokai Coffee. The food was paired with cocktails with Tanqueray's London Dry Gin, and Talisker whiskey.

Farmers' Feast: A 4-City Tour with Godawan

The overwhelming response to the first edition of the Farmers’ Feast in Mumbai, featuring Gaytri from Vrindavan Farm, Pranoy from Kerehaklu, and Achintya from Krishi Cresh, convinced us to carry the experience to our communities in 3 other cities - Jaipur, Gurgaon and Hyderabad. Big shout out to our partners at Godawan, who shared our vision, and brought the unique flavours of their whiskey, rooted in the deserts of Rajasthan, to each dining experience.

In Jaipur, our dear friends at the Johri laid out stunning tablescapes and hosted us with legendary Rajasthani hospitality. Chef Sonu worked his magic on produce that came in from Sneh Yadav of Tijara Organic, Akshay Garg of Good Root Organic Farm, and Francis Jacob’s fruit orchards in Somanavana Plantation, to create an exquisite spread. To meet our community in Jaipur was truly special — a coming together of artists, designers, farmers, authors, poets, and hospitality stalwarts.

At each city, Godawan’s mixologist Akhilesh, wove produce from each farm into the unique flavours of Godawan’s two expressions of whiskey. Godawan, India’s first craft whiskey, is also rooted in the land — its home is the desert of Rajasthan and draws its ethos and inspiration from the craft and beauty of the region and its craftspeople.

In Gurgaon, chef Vanshika Bhatia curated a feast at the local neighbourhood speakeasy, Cocktails & Dreams. Her meal showcased produce from Jaya of Desi Utpad, Sneh from Tijara, and Sumit’s stunning collection of mushrooms from Shroomery. Gurgaon’s Farmers’ Feast was an intimate experience, under the low lights of C&D; our guests sat elbow-to-elbow with farmers, listening to life-altering stories of finding a calling, turning to farming, working with all-women teams on the land, and being driven by the need to find new solutions.

Our last feast of the season was in Hyderabad, where Kartik Pendse hosted a meal at the stunning Tabula Rasa, showcasing his Maratha and Kannadiga lineage over 8 courses. Our produce came in from Fiona Arakal of Ishka Farms, Madhu Reddy of Aiyorbai Farm, and Nayantara Nanda Kumar of Our Sacred Space. Each of them told stories of remarkable resilience, vision and passion.

Another peek at the event here, here and here.

Farmers' Feast, Mumbai: Goya X Godawan X Ekaa

In the sunlit dining room at Ekaa, Goya launched its first edition of the Farmers’ Feast.

The Farmers’ Feast began as an idea in conversation with Pranoy Thipaiah, 2nd generation farmer at Kerehaklu, Chickmagalur, and outspoken champion of agriculture in harmony with local biodiversity: Can we create a meal experience with produce straight off the farm, with farmers who harvested the avocados we are eating; who know where the brahmi grows, how the turmeric leaves flourish, what the pandan leaves smell like. An experience where the diner can taste sweet pomelos; be caught by surprise at the delicate flavour of mango-ginger, freshly harvested.

And that is exactly what the afternoon was about. Three farmers — from Chickmagalur, Palghar, and Delhi, brought their produce to Mumbai, so diners could see through fresh eyes. Chef Niyati Rao curated a 7-course menu that reflected Ekaa’s ingredient-forward ethos, while also creating space for each farmer’s expression of region, season and terroir. Pranoy from Kerehaklu shared coffee, avocados and pomelos. Gaytri from Vrindavan Farm shared Mahadi red rice, bamboo, turmeric and pandas leaves, mango ginger, fresh mulberry; and from Krishi Cress, Achintya sent red cabbage sauerkraut, pickled beets and pickled Nasturtium buds. 

Jishnu, at the bar, worked with the herbs and aromatics from each farm, weaving them into the unique flavours of Godawan’s two expressions of whiskey. Godawan, India’s first craft whiskey, is also rooted in the land - its home is the desert of Rajasthan; it draws its ethos and inspiration from the craft and beauty of the region and its craftspeople.

While great food is often the experience at the heart of a meal, we often don’t see beyond the kitchen. Telling this narrative over a community dining experience, is something Goya holds dear. We believe change begins over conversations at the dinner table. 

Another peek at the event here.

A Taste of Shillong, Hyderabad

Goya’s debut weekend in Hyderabad was cosy, dreamy and full of great food. The late July rains meant a steady drizzle outside the soft lit windows of the Freedom Tree Store in Jubilee Hills, where we hosted A Taste of Shillong.

Freedom Tree, a brand we love collaborating with, brought warmth, colour and playfulness, as they set up a long community table full of flowers, lights and signature ceramics. As guests gathered around, sitting elbow-to-elbow on a table that creaked under the weight of a spectacular spread, we realised once again why food and community are at the heart of what we do at Goya.

To complete the evening, Stranger & Sons sent over their fantastic team to serve up 4 cocktails to pair with every course of the meal. Part of Third Eye Distillery, Goa, Stranger & Sons Gin is made with handpicked local spices, and is an ode to the spice boxes found in Indian kitchens.

At the heart of the experience was a journey through the cuisine and ingredients of the hills of Meghalaya. A family-style Khasi meal, cooked by sisters Daphimanroi and Dakiwanri, celebrated the fresh and unique flavours of Shillong. Khasi food is minimalist, and cooked with an elegant restraint, allowing the true flavours of each ingredient to shine through. The meal included deeply-beloved ingredients of Khasi cuisine, like black sesame, wild mushrooms, tree tomato and more, while introducing diners to new flavours and dishes, cooked using seasonal, and wild ingredients.

#1000Kitchens Cookbook Club, Bangalore

For this edition of the Goya Cookbook Club, we re-visited our favourite series on Goya, 1000 Kitchens, and invited our community to Bangalore to join us for a potluck at Trippy Goat. The potluck featured dishes that have been cooked as part of 1000 Kitchens — Alok’s Kashmiri Pulao, Freny’s Falooda, Rafia’s Kozhi Porichathu, and so many more!

The Goya Cookbook Club is all about fostering community, and doing it through our two most loved mediums — food and books!

To be the first to know about the next edition of the Goya Cookbook Club, subscribe to our newsletter here!

Mapping Coorg Cuisine with Anjali Ganapathy

MASQUELAB X GOYA is a series where we bring home chefs from around India to showcase their work and culinary heritage within the dialogue of food and culture.

In this third edition of the #MasqueLabXGoya series, Goya hosted three sold-out seatings in collaboration with our friends at Masque Lab, to explore the flavours of Kodava cuisine with Anjali Ganapathy.

Anjali took us on a culinary journey that extended beyond pandi curry, through context and storytelling that added depth to the meal, showcasing the textures, flavours, and ingredients unique to Kodava cuisine. The dishes featured a variety of ingredients, including mango, rice, bamboo, fish, mutton, beef, mushroom, jackfruit, chicken, and banana flower; there was something for everyone to enjoy. More on Anjali’s work as a culinary curator of Kodava dining experiences here; and more on the MasqueLabXGoya series here.

Saee Koranne-Khandekar Re-imagines Maharashtrian Cuisine

MASQUELAB X GOYA is a series where we bring home chefs from around India to showcase their work and culinary heritage within the dialogue of food and culture.

Saee Koranne-Khandekar, author and culinary consultant, cooks an experimental interpretation of Maharashtrian cuisine over 7 courses. “The format is in keeping with a Masque tasting menu, but the ingredients and cooking techniques are absolutely true to tradition.” Maharashtrian food has never made it into mainstream representations of Indian cuisine. Through her books and pop-ups, Saee hopes to restart the conversation (and curiosity) around her mother cuisine. “Even when we entertain at home, the vast majority of us hardly ever think of the rarer dishes from regional repertoire, and so, many ingredients and cooking techniques are slipping out of our collective food memories.”

Taiyaba Ali Does Homestyle Lakhnawi Cuisine

MASQUELAB X GOYA is a series where we bring home chefs from around India to showcase their work and culinary heritage within the dialogue of food and culture.

Taiyaba Ali cooks homestyle Lakhnawi food at the restaurant Khanposh in Bangalore, drawing from her own heritage to shift the conversation around Lakhnawi cuisine from opulent and lavish, to restrained, resourceful and delicious, as it is cooked in homes in the region. She brings her signature interpretation of Awadhi home-cooking to MasqueLab, for the January instalment of MasqueLab X Goya. More on Taiyaba and her philosophy here.

Thomas Girard at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2022

Goya is closed out 2022 with its most exciting evening yet. French bartender, Thomas Girard #worlds50best, whose repertoire spans London, Paris, Cyprus and Singapore, created three craft cocktails inspired by Kochi and the art district. Our co-host, Pepper House in Fort Kochi, is one of the Biennale’s most beloved art venues.

The Kochi-Muziris Biennale is India’s first ever biennial of international contemporary art, and its story is unique to India’s current reality—its political, social and artistic landscape. It features over 80 artists from around the world, and Fort Kochi is transformed into an art district with visitors and tourists from all over the world arriving to experience the Biennale. The Biennale is a centre for artistic engagement, drawing from the rich tradition of public action and engagement of Kerala, while also seeking to project new energies of artistic practices from the subcontinent. 

The cocktails for the evening included Thomas’s signature cocktail, the Curry Leaf Negroni; a betel leaf-infused gin and tonic; and the Kerala Milk Punch — a whisky and rum based cocktail, infused with spices and clarified through coconut milk, pineapple juice and lime. Our partners for this year-end event were Paul John Nirvana who sponsored the beverages, and Freedom Tree Home on decor, lighting and drinkware.

Date: 30, December 2022
Venue: Pepper House, 11/10 A&B, Calvathy Rd, Near Hotel Seagull, Fort Kochi, Kerala 682002
Time: 6:00 PM

Food Nerd Party 2022, Bangalore

Goya and Edible Issues hosted our second annual Food Nerd Party at the Conservatory in Bangalore on December 1, and it was an evening of spending time with our colleagues and friends in the F&B industry. The menu featured canapés by Chef Karan Upmanyu, that drew inspiration from Christmas foods from around India with his own playful spin — think savoury achappams with mushroom/chicken pate, duck fugiyas, bite-sized appams served with rich Kerala vegetable stew. The night ended on a sweet note with Christmas crackers by Saving Grains featuring some excellent laddus.

Cacao Salon, Bangalore: Goya X Chef Gresham Fernandes X Freedom Tree

Chocolate needs no introduction, but the cacao plant has a few more delicious tricks up its sleeve. Cacao Salon, an intimate dinner in celebration of cacao and its surrounding biodiversity, is Chef Gresham Fernandes’ love letter to cacao. 

Gresham Fernandes is the Culinary Director of Impressario Entertainment & Hospitality, the powerhouse behind some of the most beloved eateries in the country including Smoke House Deli, Social, and Salt Water Cafe. For Cacao Salon, Chef Gresham brings his signature irreverent but thoughtful style to an ingredient that is deeply loved, yet little-known. Through Cacao Salon, featuring cacao and related produce, sourced directly from farms in the region, we hope to showcase the true versatility of the cacao plant.

Our small-business partners for the event included Kuruvinakunnel Tharavadu Farms, 6th generation farmers based in Pala, Kerala, and Kerehaklu, a biodiversity-friendly plantation in Chikmagalur, Karnataka, Mason & Co., as well as Mossant Fermentery.

We are also proud to have collaborated with Freedom Tree, our venue and decor partner, for Cacao Salon. Freedom Tree is a design and colour strategy studio with products ranging from designer furniture to home furnishings.

Goya’s Cacao Salon marks the celebration of India’s first Cacao & Craft Chocolate Festival.

Khasi Pop-Up Dinner, Mumbai: Goya X Freedom Tree X Hapusa

A pop up in collaboration with two brands that we have enormous respect and goodwill for — Freedom Tree and Hapusa. Freedom Tree is a design and colour strategy studio with products ranging from designer furniture to everything for your home furnishing.

From Nao Spirits comes Hapusa, an award-winning Himalayan Dry Gin produced in India using local ingredients.

A family-style Khasi meal cooked by sisters Daphimanroi and Dakiwanri, celebrating the fresh and unique flavours of Shillong. Khasi food is minimalist, and cooked with an elegant restraint, allowing the true flavours of each ingredient to shine through. The meal included deeply-beloved ingredients of Khasi cuisine, like black sesame paste and smoked meats, while introducing diners to new flavours and dishes, cooked using seasonal, and wild ingredients.

The dinner also featured cocktails by Hapusa, featuring ingredients from the region like Khasi honey, sohiong, and Lakadong turmeric. The dinner was hosted at the Freedom Tree Design Studio & Home Store in Mumbai, featuring serveware from their latest collections.

View more pictures here!

Celebrating Bombay: Goya X Play Fare at Kala Ghoda Cafe, Mumbai

In celebration of Mumbai’s historic and hybrid culinary culture, Goya partnered with Play Fare to co-host A Night of Hodgepodge Hijinks at the iconic Kala Ghoda Cafe. We invited some of our favourite writers on the city to read from their works: author and entrepreneur, Kainaz Messman of Theobroma, who read from her book, Baking A Dream: The Theobroma Story; Simin Patel, writer and historian behind Bombaywalla Historical Works, read an excerpt from her upcoming book on the city’s Irani cafes; beloved food & culture writer, Meher Mirza, read an excerpt from her piece on the charismatic and trailblazing Thangam Philip; Jane Borges read from her newest book, Bombay Balchao; and Sneha & Mallika of Play Fare read an excerpt from their research project on Mumbai’s colonial-era clubs.

It was truly an evening of celebration, where deeply-researched stories of the city, compelling and delicious in equal measure, came alive through the readings of their authors. The event also included a menu of club classics by the chefs of Kala Ghoda Cafe: chilli-cheese toast, cucumber-chutney sandwiches, ham and cheese toasties, ginger cake, espresso caramel custard, and rosemary-fennel lemonade. And some of greatest hits from Theobroma: mawa cakes and assorted puffs. And warmest shout-out to Bombay Perfumery, our gifting partners for their beautiful candles.

A Food Nerd Tea Party, Bangalore

After two isolating pandemic years, GOYA X EDIBLE ISSUES co-hosted an event at the Courtyard Cafe, Bangalore — a chance to meet and hang with our fellow food nerds. With the cosiest Christmas snacks by Rhea Aaron of Klaa Kitchen, this was a relaxed evening of intimate catching up with our friends from the food community.

Location: Courtyard Community
Dec 16, 2021, 6 PM
Theme: Come in your Christmas best/worst!

Christmas Edit of The Cookbook Club in Partnership with Terai

In this Christmas edition of The Goya Cookbook Club, we partnered with Terai to host a digital event, bringing together cookbook authors Pooja Dhingra, Anahita Dhondy and Terai Vice President, Karina Aggarwal, to talk about their Christmas traditions over some delicious hot chocolate.

Promotions for the event:

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Parsi Birthday Picnic Masterclass with Chef Anahita Dhondy

Goya partnered with chef Anahita Dhondy to mark her 31st birthday with a Masterclass Workshop themed around the Parsi Birthday Picnic. Conducted online, with over 125 signups, Anahita's masterclass included demos & recipes that featured Mom's Chocolate Cake, a selection of Old School Sandwiches, and Classic Parsi Croquettes, on May 29th, 2021.

100% of proceed from ticket sales were donated to the Kalap Trust, to support their efforts at the Covid-care Centre and Langar Kitchen in the Tons Valley of Uttarakhand.

Our friends at Nivaala offered big donors a discount on the purchase of the Heirloom Recipe Book, and the chance to win 5 curated Auroville Hampers featuring a range of artisan foods and products. The event raised over 1.5 lakh in total.

Asian Bread Class with Kathija Hashim

Goya, together with Kathija Hashim, held the first in a series of bread classes on Saturday, Feb 15th, 2020 at the Bangalore International Centre coffee shop. The workshop covered the Japanese style of bread-making, using the tangzhong technique that has been gaining popularity the world over, with lessons on 5 kinds of breads: Japanese milk bread (or Shopkupan), pizza, dinner rolls, whole wheat loaf, and cinnamon rolls. The lesson, as any good bread class should, included lots of snacking on warm bread and fresh-from-the-oven pizza.

The Japanese tangzhong 'secret ingredient' is a technique that improves hydration levels, keeps bread tender and moist with longer shelf life, and a very soft crumb. Kathija Hashim, our bread expert, is one half of the popular blog, The Malabar Tea Room. She is the co-author of The Family Table, a collection of recipes from the Mappila community of Kerala.

Kathija is also a deeply beloved and well-respected cook and baker within the food community. She has been teaching bread-making for several years, and began her journey as a self-taught baker, experimenting with different styles of breads. She is an engaging and passionate teacher, enthusiastic about imparting her skills to other home bakers.

More pictures of the event here.