A FAMILY TIME: Food is central to a brunch. Right, a magician entertaining kids
Six years ago ChefRamu Butlerintroduced a brunchon Sundays at
Ramada Resort, an outlierwaterfront property in a bidto promote a new concept ina city moving towards a biglifestyle change. He could seeit, he says, the opportunity infamily bonding over food in aresort like ambiance on aSunday. He conceptualisedthe portmanteau outing -breakfast plus lunch - as onelaced with a choice ofcuisines, play in the pool,slow conversations allthrough unhurried hours of alazy day. He worked out a bigmenu- “something foreverybody”; he offered awelcome drink, a day in thepool and even a magic showfor kids. The firstrespondents were mainlybusinessmen and NRIsvisiting the city.
Today the success of theSunday brunch finds manycity hotels offering similarand even more on their menuand a clientele that hasgrown from a trickle to acrowd. “I have seen anincrease in the number offamilies that now opt for abrunch. Our Sunday covershave increased significantly;we have 80 to 100 packsnow,”says Vinod Rodrigoes,Food & Beverages ManagerHotel Le Meridien thatintroduced the brunch twoyears ago. Another changethat Vinod finds is in theclientele profile. Earlier itcomprised business familiesbut now office going couplesare savouring a day out withkids. Preea Mathai finds it asa practical and enjoyableoption for the family on dayswhen the house help takes anoff. It also means no kitchenchores and quality time tobond with family. “Besidesboth breakfast and lunch aretaken care of,” says Preea, amother of three.
Vivanta by Taj hasenhanced its brunch byoffering the works thatinclude sparkling wine, useof pool, discounts at the spa,happy hours at the bar and asail down the Vembanad inits natty yacht. “We haveadded evening tea as well,”says Aquino Lopes, the F&BManager who says that thebrunch offer is aimed atlocals and not at in-houseguests who enjoy theproperty nevertheless.
Concurs Dinuj Viswanath,Restaurant Manager, HotelCasino, “We have the brunchon for a year now and find
many families from the citycome to spend a day. It is notfor tourists.” Theindulgences on offer here arethe two piece band, live foodstations, discount onayurveda massage and thespa, use of the pool and ofcourse a menu that caters todifferent palates.
Food is central to thebrunch. Ramu Butler speaksof an elaborate menu, inwhich he includes food forthe diet conscious, for thevegetarians and a popular‘naadan’ counter for NRIs.Amie Inman, DesignDirector, Raxa Collective andthe one to curate the brunchat Xandari Harbour, therebranded Spice Harbour inMattancherry, lays as muchstress on food as onambiance. The waterfrontproperty with a spectacular
view of thecity beyond thelake and of the channel offersclients indulgence at itsinfinity pool. Amie speaks interms of “Malabar soul food’which is about therelationship of the lost foodof the travellers who came tothe shores. “We offerEgyptian, Persian and EastMediterraneancuisines…foods connectedwith the spice route. This is
all part of thebrunch.” Amie sees
the brunch as an experientialouting for the family in aparticular setting and at theproperty it is history thatrises to the fore. AnjaliKurian who loves theambiance at Xandari findsbrunching a wonderfulfamily time.
“The Saturday nighthangover invariably resultsin most people waking up
late on a Sunday morning, soI have kept the brunch from11.30 a.m. onwards,” saysRamu. He has paid specialattention to the needs ofkids, as this is a family outingand children are importantclients. An indoor play areafor kids, the use of pool and amagic show has beenincluded in the brunch.Govind Kuttikat, anexecutive in a tea firmindulges in a Sunday brunchat Hotel Casino twice amonth. He finds unwindingwith kids in the pool, alongwith a long, lazy lunch asuper time for familybonding. “My sons love thepool and we as a family havea good time. Besides, thehospitality is top class,” hesays. Businessman DevanRaghavan relishes his Sundaybrunches not only for the
spread of food but also forthe unhurried pace it offers.“A Sunday is special. Yourhouse help does not turn up,you don’t want to cook andso the best option is thebrunch,” he says. Devanspeaks of combining abusiness meeting in a brunchas there is a choice of food forpeople and unlimited hoursto chat over. He is thrilled atthe variety of food available.“It’s generally half akilometre long buffet. If youdon’t like it spicy there is acontinental option, if you likenaadan, or Chinese, or breadsor fish specialities it is allthere. Now if you are toofastidious or undecided, thechef rustles up somethingespecially for you. There ispersonalised attention. TheSunday brunch is a greatconcept,” he says. Devanfrequents Hotel Le Meridien.
Preea says that the ratesthat range from Rs. 750 up toRs. 2,000 are value formoney because it is suchvaluable time spent happilywith the family.
There are many like Devanand Preea sold out on thebrunch and the hotels areresponding in style—offeringunlimited hospitality.
(Photo courtesy: Hotel LeMeridien, Ramada Resort,Xandari Harbour and HotelCasino )
BRUNCH BONDING Families are savouring the Sunday brunch at hotels, which are fancy affairs with
offers of yacht rides, the spa and the pool
PRIYADERSHINI S.
CMYK
KI-KI
KochiSaturday, May 30, 2015
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Live Music‘Under the Tree’, a musicalevening by young musicdirector and composerGowry Lekshmi will be heldat Café Papaya, , NorthJanatha Road, Palarivattomon May 30 at 7 p.m. Formore details contact:9895019900
TheatreThe Indian Council forCultural Relations, incollaboration with TheKerala Fine Arts Society,will present The TrainDriver, a play by Gnatak,Bangalore at Kerala FineArts Hall on May 30 at 6.45 p.m.
FilmscreeningMohsenMakhmalbef’s recentfilm The Presidentwill be screened byMetro Film Societyat Children’s ParkTheatre on May 31 at6. 30 p.m.
Art showA solo show of works by artiste Aami Atmaja, ‘1+1 is 3’that features colourfulworks is on at BC Gallery inMattancherry, till May31. The gallery hoursare from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Vocal ConcertYuvaprathibaSangamam, two concertsby vocalists VishweshSwaminathan andKarthik Parameswaranorganised by SreePoornathrayeesaSangeetha Sabha,Tripunithura, will be heldat Kalikota Palace onMay 31 at 5 .30 p.m.
Admit two
ALTER POINT P2THE 93-YEAR-OLD COCHINGOLF CLUB AT BOLGHATTY
VANITY FARE P4WHAT TO DO WITH YOURHAIR THIS SEASON?
SPECTRUM P6WHAT MUSIC MEANS TOKEYBOARD WIZARD JOEJOHNSON
In MemoryOn the occasion of the 28th death anniversary offilmmaker John Abraham, atalk by RamachandranBabu and Sunny Joseph will be held on May 30 at 4 p.m. at Nannappa ArtGallery
Sonam Kapoor’s featheryElie Saab did not quite evokethe response that she or herarmy of stylists wereexpecting. On day two ofSonam’s Cannes outing, theactor turned up wearingwhat appeared to be a big,yellow, shaggy rug. Of course,Twitterati was unforgiving.
Memes comparing theoutfit to papa Anil Kapoor’shair were funny. As werecomparisons to Cousin Ittfrom the Addams family, BigBird from Sesame Street, astack of hay, Komondor (thedog you mistake for a rug),Suhel Seth and the Bengalicutlet, kabiraji.
Kapoor’s much-ridiculedcouture gown was made upof long feathers near thebust, reminding many of amop of hair. The shade ofyellow was uninspiring andthe gown seemed to have alife of its own. Pairing thedress with Chopard rubydrop earrings, even Sonam’sinherent swag couldn’tsalvage the overwhelming
outfit. Designer Nimish Shah,
however, says, “I believeSonam owned the look.This direction on gowns is
bang on trend – alternativeyet conservative with agood balance of drama.”
Earlier in the month,Prime Minister NarendraModi was on a three-daytrip to China, where hevisited the famousterracotta warriorsmuseum in Xi’an.The PrimeMinister, dressedin a white kurta-churidarcombination, with abrown shawl thrownover his shoulder,examined the exhibits.
But, what caught themedia’s attention, andeveryone else’s, werethe rectangular-shaped, darksunglasses that hesported.
Pictures of Modistriking poses withthe terracottawarriors, walkingaround theexhibits andlooking at themclosely – all throughthose rectangular, dark
sunglasses led to quite afew LOL-inducingmoments, includingcomparisons to The Matrixand jokes on the ‘funniestphoto in rectangularglasses’.
Celebrity looks from2015’s Met Gala have been
the source of someInternet fun recently.Rihanna’s canary
coloured, 25kg GuoPei robe was
compared to anomelette, pizza
and other
savoury foods. SarahJessica’s Philip Treacycustom headdress, worn atthe same event, wasequated with the flameemoji and unflatteringsimilarities were drawn tosuper villain Syndrome’shairstyle.
With ‘China: Through theLooking Glass’ being thetheme, many predicted theevent would be a low pointfor celebrities anddesigners. However, stylegurus called the event a
success and the fashionquotient as the highest everseen. Rihanna, SarahJessica Parker, Lady Gagaand Beyonce emerged asthe best-dressed, even asmemes on their looksquickly became viral.
“Rihanna’s dress trainlooked like a sizzlingomelette. As for SarahJessica Parker, her headgear resembled a Japanesecartoon confection. TheMet Gala’s red carpet was aRocky horror picture show.
“The Chinese actresseswho wore beautiful
China-inspiredgarments were
the best-dressed. Thetheme, afterall, wasChina,” saysGoa-based
fashiondesigner, Wendell
Rodricks. He adds as an aside, “I
hope to God Anna Wintourdoes not plan an Indiantheme next year. Thatwould be a nightmare.”
Oh, so meme!Internet memes ridiculing celebrity fashion outings are a source for a few laughs. But, do these fashion choices really merit ridicule? MADHULIKA GAUTAMA
MP Kochi/ CITY Front_Pg User: kigml 05-29-2015 17:05 Color: CMYK