That's my table

April begins with a day for fools and it kind of does make sense because you’d be one, if you missed the opportunity to experience some of the best restaurants in the country that is. Plus the sheer joy of paying just Rs750 for a fixed menu makes it all the more delightful.

As premium stand-alone and five star hotel restaurants in Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi get their menus ready for the Citibank Restaurant Week India, participating chefs from Bangalore talk about the prospects of such promotions and why they chose to be part of this ten-day festival.

Executive chef of Vivanta by Taj—Yeshwantpur, Uddipan Chakravarthy, says that this is a great opportunity for new establishments to make their mark in the city. “We are participating in this event for the first time and are quite optimistic about the response.
Most people are a little concerned about experimenting with fine-dining restaurants because  of the expense factor; an event such as this enables the same people to try something some different and at a price that won’t scare them.”

Amit Samson, general manager of the Lalit, Bangalore, believes that a food festival that runs across establishments helps restaurants to reach out to those who would not normally go to upmarket restaurants. “What is really great about it is that a restaurant gets to tap into guests who would not walk into their establishment on a regular day.”

For many participating restaurants, it’s the second time around and the unanimous vote is that such a concept is always welcome in a city like Bangalore simply because ‘we love to eat’. Corporate chef—Fine Dine Division, Oriental Cuisines Pvt Ltd, Aji Joseph, says that it’s the best way for Bangaloreans to try a complete meal without worrying about the bill or the meal portions. “A lot of people worry that if they try one dish too many, they will end up wasting food but it’s not the case for fixed menus. And the high affordability factor is a big selling point,” he says.

Chef Abhijit Saha, founder-director, Avant Garde Hospitality, concurs. “We received an overwhelming response from the last edition of Restaurant Week at Caperberry and we are sure this season will be good too. For a property like ours, which is often considered to be too expensive, it’s a good way to tell people that we are actually not as exorbitant as they think we are,” he says.

Executive assistant manager of ITC Windsor, Avinash Deshmukh,  sums it up pretty well.
“The Restaurant Week India is an initiative that creates an opportunity to connect with a new audience and in the process, gain newer patrons. This event gives us the opportunity to widen the horizon of our guests and present the subtle nuances of our cuisines to a wider spectrum of diners.”