So far in the year we have already seen two editions of The Grub Fest, a Foodistan and multiple other food festivals of small and big magnitude being churned out throughout the year. However, the credit of introducing the concept of food festivals in the country goes to the duo of Aditi Kapoor and Ruchi Sibal who established The Palate Fest in 2014 and married the idea of going out for food with the experience of a family picnic.
They will always be one of the pioneers of the food festival culture of the country and hence when it was announced that The Palate Festival was returning from 27-29th November 2015 to provide yet another gastronomic experience expectations were at an all time high.
As I was entering the Nehru Stadium with my taste buds eager to cherish some of the most exquisite delicacies, I was greeted by this sign board.
"The Original and the most innovative food festival in Delhi." Yes, the sign was an underlining testament of the fact that the organizers of Palate are aware of the other food festival and their offerings so far and i was assured that i won't be disappointed.
This year the Palate Fest featured over 100 stalls and brought in diverse culinary experiences from all corners of the world. From Coastal South recipes to Eastern specialties, all had comfortably found their place at the Palate Fest. While leading restaurant names like Tikka Town, Dusit, Jehan Numa Palace, QBA, ITC, The Great Kebab Factory and the Park added a certain amount of class to the festival, the smaller eateries such as Miss Chhotees, Kitchen Central, Sugar Cube, Baked beauty and others caught the most attention from the attendees.
The cooking demonstrations lineup featured names of Chef Kunal Kapur, Chef Vicky Ratnani, Chef Ranveer Brar, Chef Pablo Morales and Chef Rakhee Vaswani among others. And with bands like Mrigya, Menwhopause, Nasha, Ved and Euphoria raising the entertainment quotient of the festival, the Palate Fest '15 was certainly an enjoyable place for families to be at.
However, unlike its first, this edition of the Palate fest was slightly disappointing for art lovers with no stunning art installations to truly mesmerize the gathering.
The highlights of the Palate Fest 2015 was undoubtedly the price quotient of food items. Compared to all the food festivals this year, the prices of all the eateries at the Palate was the most reasonable and as a result people were able to enjoy and experiment more with their food choices in comparison to what they had expected.
Rashmi (23) said, "I am very happy with the prices of all the stalls. It is much better than all the other festivals i have been to this year. I came here with my family today but since its so reasonable i will definitely come back with my friends on Sunday."
And with all those who rejoiced at the low pricing for food at stalls, there were a few in attendance who were unhappy with the engagement quotient at the festival. Harinder Singh (27) said, "I was expecting this to be bigger and better than the last edition. It's not bad but i personally expected a lot more in terms on on-ground engagements. Like more photo-opportunities, more buzz, flash mobs, more direct in the overall vibe actually."
It goes without saying that the Palate Festival '15 too was a success with families coming in large numbers for all 3 days of the festivals. However, with the bar set so high after the first edition of their own festival, the expectations were too damn high from the second edition. A lot of which weren't delivered upon. As a result even though we had the most amazing time trying out the best delicacies from around the world, me and my friends left from Palate a little disappointed. In desperate hope that their third edition packs the missing punch.
