Latest news with #Masque
NDTV
5 days ago
- Business
- NDTV
Mumbai's Masque Ranked 68th On This Global List Of Best Restaurants For 2025
Mumbai's Masque has won yet another culinary accolade. It has been ranked 68th globally by a prestigious organisation. The World's 50 Best Restaurants just announced its extended list of establishments ranked from 51 to 100. Masque is the only Indian restaurant to be featured on it. The list includes restaurants in 37 cities across six continents. Masque is one of nine entries from Asia. Last year, it was a new entry on the same list, and it occupied the 78th position overall. Also Read: This South Indian Restaurant Has Been Ranked No. 1 In New York For 2025 The World's 50 Best noted, "Arguably India's most forward-thinking restaurant, Masque's raison d'etre is to show off the wealth of the country's produce, extracting maximum flavour from local ingredients in a 10-course tasting menu served in a stylish former Mumbai textile mill. With self-taught cook and entrepreneur Aditi Dugar at the helm, Masque has won a string of accolades since opening in 2016. After the departure of founding chef Prateek Sadhu in 2022, the culinary reins are in the skilled hands of Varun Totlani." Masque was ranked 19th on the list of Asia's 50 Best Restaurants for 2025, and it was thus named the best restaurant in India for this year. It has emerged as the top restaurant in the country multiple times, based on rankings by the same list. The other Indian entry on the Asia list for 2025 was Indian Accent Delhi at the 46th position. The Asia edition also has an extended list, which features several Indian restaurants this year. Click here to read more. View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Worlds 50 Best Restaurants (@theworlds50best) While no restaurant located in India has made it to the 50 best list in recent times, Indian cuisine restaurants abroad have managed to do so. For instance, Gaggan in Bangkok and Tresind Studio in Dubai have frequently secured top positions. Here's The Extended List Of The World's Best Restaurants Ranked From 51 to 100 For 2025: 51. Alcalde, Guadalajara 52. Schloss Schauenstein, Furstenau 53. Den, Tokyo 54. El Chato, Bogota 55. La Colombe, Cape Town 56. Jordnaer, Copenhagen 57. Onjium, Seoul 58. Restaurant Tim Raue, Berlin 59. Nobelhart & Schmutzig, Berlin 60. Pujol, Mexico City 61. Nuema, Quito 62. Willem Hiele, Oudenburg 63. Bozar, Brussels 64. Fu He Hui, Shanghai 65. Quique Dacosta, Denia 66. Saint Peter, Sydney 67. Arca, Tulum 68. Masque, Mumbai 69. Hisa Franko, Kobarid 70. Tuju, Sao Paulo 71. Sazenka, Tokyo 72. Chef Tam's Seasons, Macau 73. Tantris, Munich 74. Mountain, London 75. Mil, Cusco 76. Leo, Bogota 77. Le Doyenne, Saint-Vrain 78. Cocina Hermanos Torres, Barcelona 79. Coda, Berlin 80. SingleThread, Healdsburg 81. Oteque, Rio de Janeiro 82. Fyn, Cape Town 83. A Casa do Porco, Sao Paulo 84. Aponiente, El Puerto de Santa Maria 85. Txitxpa, Atxondo 86. The Clove Club, London 87. Mugaritz, San Sebastian 88. Salsify at the Roundhouse, Cape Town 89. Huniik, Merida 90. Le Bernardin, New York 91. Koan, Copenhagen 92. Al Gatto Verde, Modena 93. Burnt Ends, Singapore 94. Meet the Bund, Shanghai 95. Evvai, Sao Paulo 96. Atelier Crenn, San Francisco 97. Labyrinth, Singapore 98. Cesar, New York 99. Amisfield Restaurant, Queenstown 100. Neolokal, Istanbul The awards ceremony for the World's 50 Best Restaurants 2025 will take place on June 19 in Turin, Italy.
Mint
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
India's bars get creative with zero-proof drinks
How hard is it to find a good mocktail in a city like Mumbai? The answer is a struggle, as I inevitably learned. As someone who has always been a teetotaller, my biggest conundrum while dining out is to find a balanced, non-alcoholic drink. Most restaurants and bars tend to list the usual variety of tried and tested beverages like fresh lime soda, iced teas, virgin mojito or for the sake of nostalgia, pina colada—which get boring. With the introduction of zero-proof drinks and spirits as well as the rise of the 'sober curious", especially amongst Gen Z, one would think that restaurants and bars would be doing more. And while many are, with a significant shift towards organic ingredients and innovative flavour profiles, are they actually good enough to draw customers back? Also read: The most recommended books on spirits and cocktails Recently, I enjoyed a non-alcoholic cocktail at Ode, a European-forward restaurant in Mumbai. The drink, Apro Nuts, was well-balanced with the use of coconut water as the base, along with apricot brine, pickled apricot for a touch of tartness, and rosemary and lime to balance out the sweetness. It got me thinking about what establishments are doing to cater to sober drinkers. At Pandan Club, a Peranakan-inspired restobar in Chennai, restaurateur and partner Manoj Padmanaban shares how they've crafted their zero-proof programme, called 'zero fake", with the intention of flipping the script on mocktails. 'Most mocktail menus read like they've been written by a reluctant intern. Our menu isn't a footnote and we wanted to change that perception," he says, referring to some of their creations like nitro-infused zero-proof stout or a coconut toddy-inspired zero-proof champagne. Their 0% stout features kaya jam and pandan. Jamun and grapes are vinified for the 0% rosé, while ingredients like fennel and yuzu feature in their 0% sake. Padmanaban says there is now an uptick in places embracing fermentation, homemade tinctures, and botanical infusions for mocktails. At Masque, in Mumbai, seasonality is one of the mainstays of the beverage programme, which extends to non-alcoholic pairings. Head mixologist Ankush Gamre says they usually ask guests their flavour preference and then build the drink from there. 'Currently, a summer favourite is mango kombucha, where we use mango peel trimmings," he says. During the monsoon, the restaurant switches to ingredients like roselle and mint, and also makes batches of tepache, a Mexican fermented drink using pineapple skin. 'We get the best variety of pineapples from July to September, and come winter, we try to introduce drinks with ingredients like pomelo," he says. 'Increasingly, people are keen to know about the ingredients going into their drinks. They even tell us how they'd like us to sweeten them with agave nectar, honey, stevia or other sweeteners." Also read: Will zero-proof cocktails outrun the G&T? Bar and beverage consultant Nitin Tewari points out that one broad trend that they're seeing with zero-proof beverages is that restaurants and bars are making the effort to use regional-inspired ingredients, and create in-house sodas. 'To be fair, as a country we have always had a penchant for seasonal drinks like aam panna, shikanji, chaa, and sharbats. People often see value in ordering these, versus just lemonades and iced teas when dining out," he says. 'We're also seeing the use of exotic ingredients, such as Thai flavours like kaffir lime, galangal and lemongrass." Gurugram-based regional Indian restaurant, Bhawan, makes its own sharbat sodas in flavours like cucumber, mint and bela, and litchi and rose. Similarly, at the Thai restaurant Banng in Gurugram, zero-proof cocktails feature vibrant flavour profiles such as pink guava, tom yum broth, kaffir lime and salted plum water, in a conscious effort to cater to the growing number of sober drinkers. According to Tewari, a majority of restaurants don't realise the potential to make more profits off non-alcoholic drinks. 'After spending a significant chunk on acquiring liquor licenses, cocktails and spirits become one of the primary products for them to push out, leaving little scope for non-alcoholic beverages," he explains. On average, five out of 100 such restaurants that are paying close attention to their zero-proof menus, he adds. For all the efforts to appease the 'sober curious" or those who crave the flavour of their favourite spirit—minus the buzz, the numbers are still very minuscule. Not to mention, the flavours don't appeal to all. For a teetotaller like me, who has no reference point for a spirit like gin or tequila, such menus often tend to go unnoticed. Tewari notes that there is still not much demand for non-alcoholic wines and beers across the country, explaining the lack of such products. For one, the percentage of such drinkers is still very small. He also points out how mostly its alcobev brands that are producing such products, as a means for surrogate advertising. Sana Bector Parwanda, co-founder of Delhi-based Zoet Desserts, says she consciously started moving away from alcoholic drinks a few years ago. One of her biggest frustrations was the lack of sugar-free mocktails. 'I'm someone who would rather eat my sugar than drink it, so I end up ordering tonic water as a safe choice." She adds that while travelling to other countries, non-alcoholic aperitifs with evolved flavour profiles are quite enjoyable, and even non-alcoholic wines and beers, which are tougher to find in India. Gamre is optimistic about the future of zero-proof menus. 'The fact that zero-proof beverages are finding a place on bar menus is pointing to a much bigger demand than we acknowledge," he says. 'Creating these drinks is also like writing a new flavour book each time, as guests don't want to settle for a concoction that tastes like a blend of juices they can easily make at home." Tewari adds that even a platform like 30 Best Bars India is acknowledging zero-proof drinks with the addition of an award category titled 'Best non-alcoholic cocktail menu" in 2023. The winners include Pandan Club in Chennai and Bandra Born in Mumbai. Is it a sign that zero-proof drinks will finally see the evolution it deserves? Arzoo Dina is a Mumbai-based food and travel writer. Also read: Why classic cocktails will never go out of style
Tatler Asia
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Tatler Asia
How India's chefs are rewriting the rules with indigenous ingredients
From thangnyer chillies to Bandel cheese, a new wave of Indian chefs is turning hyper-regional ingredients into genre-defying dishes and redefining modern Indian cuisine in the process Picture a delicate masala papad, a classic Indian snack, reimagined with nixtamalized corn. It's a dish that nods to tradition while embracing bold, unexpected technique: a snapshot of how India's chefs are celebrating indigenous ingredients in formats few might anticipate. India's culinary identity is shaped by more than 500 indigenous communities, each with distinct flavours and cooking traditions that speak to heritage, adaptation and regional biodiversity. In the North East, for example, the techniques of stewing, smoking and roasting yield dishes such as Nagaland's smoked pork and bamboo-steamed fish: unfussy, flavourful fare with deep roots. Further south, Kerala's sun-washed coastline brings bolder, layered profiles to the fore. Thal curry, made from yam stems and puzha meen curry, a tangy river fish dish, underscore the state's reverence for seasonal, local ingredients. Tamarind-laced chemmeen curry offers both bright acidity and a sense of culinary continuity. In Odisha and Jharkhand, the simplicity of pithas, steamed or griddled rice cakes, evokes the soul of home cooking. The Warli tribe in Maharashtra blends river fish with forest greens in dishes like tarwadi bhaat, a one-pot celebration of rice, lentils and wild herbs. Above Masque's corn papad, bhakarwadi, kachori, miso chai Across India, chefs are refocusing attention on these indigenous ingredients, reviving ancient grains, hardy millets and hyperlocal produce, and placing them at the centre of modern menus. At Masque in Mumbai, head chef Varun Totlani highlights ingredients like prickly pear, transformed into sorbet with tadgola (ice apple), gondhoraj lime oil and chaat masala salt. 'We nixtamalize corn for our masala papad dough,' he explains. 'The same process is applied to ash gourd in a dessert course. There's no single way to honour these ingredients—we explore every possible avenue.' This thoughtful revival isn't confined to fine dining. At The Bombay Canteen, co-founder Yash Bhanage notes a growing appetite for Indian cuisine that is both modern and rooted in tradition. Black carrot koftas meet Calcutta Mughlai rezala (chicken cooked in a gravy); Gujarati undhiyu (mixed vegetable dish) becomes an okonomiyaki. It's a culinary dialogue between old and new, one that champions ingredients like thangnyer chillies and black garlic without losing sight of regional identity. Above Masque's prickly pear sorbet with tadgola (ice apple) Above Stone fruit chaat by The Bombay Canteen For OMO Café in Gurgaon, the focus is on thoughtful sourcing and plant-forward creativity. Dishes including fried oyster mushrooms from Delhi's Shroomery, black rice tacos with produce from Nagaland and raw banana shawarma wrapped in ragi tortillas speak to a new culinary language, one grounded in terroir. 'We're not just using these ingredients,' says co-founder Deepika Sethi, 'we're reimagining the narrative around them.' Fiddlehead ferns, Malabar spinach and pumpkin flowers all play starring roles in this contemporary reinterpretation of Indian cooking. See also: How Shatbhi Basu blazed a trail in India's bartending scene and has inspired generations of mixologists Above Sirohi goat tortelli at Olive Qutub, New Delhi Above King mushrooms dish at OMO Café in Gurgaon At Olive Qutub in New Delhi, chef Dhruv Oberoi merges local traditions with European techniques. Bandel cheese, smoky and crumbly, takes the place of ricotta in housemade pasta. Fermented amla adds brightness to a burrata starter. A dish of Kadaknath chicken consommé arrives with a mountain cheese biscuit; the Sirohi goat Scotch egg, served with pickled ivy gourd, bridges culinary worlds. 'Working directly with small-scale farmers and producers ensures that we stay true to the ingredient's character,' says Oberoi. In Goa, Hosa is pushing the envelope of South Indian and coastal cuisine. Chef Harish Rao's Jaffna chicken skewers with raw mango chutney and chocolate chilli Basque cheesecake made with Andhra chillies are both grounded and daring. The Kari dosa with bone marrow hollandaise and a poached egg reimagines Madurai street food as a luxe small plate. The aubergine steak, served with peanut-sesame curry and a yoghurt sphere, channels the closing ritual of curd rice through fine-dining form. Above The jaffna chicken at Hosa, Goa Above Hosa's chocolate chilli Basque cheesecake As more chefs across India rework indigenous ingredients into contemporary dishes, they're not simply reviving tradition, they're reshaping it. A tamarind glaze on charred lamb chops, the warmth of cumin in a mango panna cotta, these are flavours that build bridges. This new Indian cuisine asks diners not just to taste, but to connect with the land, the people and the evolving story behind every plate.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Area educators to perform free concert May 12 in Staunton as part of the Valley Wind Ensemble
Celebrating its 10th year, the Valley Wind Ensemble is planning a free concert May 12 at 7 p.m. at Staunton High School's John Lewis Auditorium. Stephen Bolstad, professor emeritus at James Madison University and the school's director of bands from 2007 until 2024, is the conductor of the Valley Wind Ensemble. Formed in 2015, the ensemble provides an outlet for music educators in the Shenandoah Valley as well as other invited musicians. "Our program is a very demanding and challenging program for the players," Bolstad said, "but it is also very audience friendly." More: A week of giving in the Shenandoah Valley: The Digest A list of music for this year's program along with comments from Bolstad: "Masque" (2001) - Kenneth Hesketh (British composer) "Technically very challenging for the players, but lots of fun to listen to." "With Heart and Voice" (2001) - David Gillingham"The piece is based on the familiar hymn tune 'Come, Christians, Join and Sing,' and Gillingham presents the melody in a wide variety of musical settings." "Lux Perpetua" (2020) - Frank Tichel"For anyone familiar with band music, Frank Ticheli is a well known name. The title of this piece translates to perpetual light. The piece was commissioned by the Baylor University Wind Ensemble in memory of two of their students who tragically died in an automobile accident. The piece has three sections with the outer sections being lyrical and reflective, and the middle section being triumphant and celebratory." "Carmina Burana" (1937) - Carl Orff (German composer)"Carmina Burana is Orff's most famous work, and this multi-movement piece is the biggest piece on our concert. Everyone will recognize several of its melodies because they have been borrowed in pop culture and TV commercials." Staunton, Waynesboro and Augusta County educators performing in the ensemble: Jonathan Wilson, Staunton High Charlie Nesmith, Shelburne Middle Matt Baraclaugh, Wilson Memorial High Tim DeSimone, Wilson Middle Austin Gilbert, Wilson Memorial High Sarah Maslock, Waynesboro High Justus Butler, Riverheads High Marshelle Moore, Riverheads Middle Sarah Zotian, Hugh K. Cassell Elementary Micthell Evans, Buffalo Gap Middle Jadelyn Talley, Buffalo Gap High Hunter Alen, Stuarts Draft Middle Alan Shull, Principal, Fort Defiance High Doug Lane, retired Staunton High More: Man headed to prison after striking up online relationship with Waynesboro teen — Patrick Hite is a reporter at The News Leader. Story ideas and tips always welcome. Connect with Patrick (he/him/his) at phite@ and on Instagram @hitepatrick. Subscribe to us at This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Valley Wind Ensemble performing May 12 at Staunton High School
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Yahoo
In India, mahua spirit is making a comeback
This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK). Spring has arrived in the jungles of Madhya Pradesh and the forest is bursting with every shade of green. Fresh shoots sprout from gnarled tree trunks as life begins anew after the long winter. In the distance, the birdsong is punctuated by a peacock's wails. What's really holding my attention, though, is the smell — a distinctly sweet, heady aroma that hangs in the humid air, impossible to ignore and emanating from the pearly white buds strewn on the ground by a nearby tree. I'm in Kanha National Park, one of India's foremost tiger reserves in the northeast of the country, visiting from my hometown on the vast nation's western coast, Mumbai. In addition to the elusive big cats, around 145 of which inhabit the reserve, this protected region also happens to be one of the places where the Madhuca longifolia, or mahua tree, grows — a towering sentinel of the forest, its branches spreading broadly. Long have people been attracted to its delicate buds — the tree's flowers, when dried and fermented, produce a spirit that has been consumed by Indigenous peoples in the country for centuries. But it's more than just a folk liquor. This ancient alcohol, known for its distinct sweet, nutty flavour and heady aroma, has played a pivotal role in Indian daily life, serving as a source of pride for many Indigenous cultures. 'So deep is the tribal connection with mahua that it's sometimes used to wash the umbilical cords of newborns and bless tombstones and memorials for the departed so they're not deprived in the afterlife,' says grey-haired Aniruddha 'Jhampan' Mookerjee when I meet him later at Salban, a rustic homestay he runs that borders Kanha. Having served as the heritage liquor advisor to the Madhya Pradesh government, Aniruddha has been integral to bringing this ancient spirit back into the limelight. Decades ago, the spirit fell out of favour. Despite being an important part of India's cultural identity, mahua was deemed a 'dangerous intoxicant' and a threat to public health by colonial British officers in the late 19th century, who feared it could disrupt social order and banned its distillation. The ban significantly impacted the livelihoods of Indigenous communities, who'd traditionally collected the flowers. Soon, mahua largely disappeared. But now, thanks to a new law brought about by the efforts of government officials, people like Aniruddha and some enterprising bartenders, mahua has been deemed a heritage liquor and is making a comeback. In 2021, labels such as Mond and Mohulo, the first mahua spirits in India distilled by Indigenous people, came to the market, giving these communities a vital financial lifeline. And slowly, mahua has begun to filter back into Indian life. Fine dining restaurants such as Masque in Mumbai are now incorporating mahua-infused dishes, such as ice cream, into their tasting menus. At The Oberoi Vindhyavilas, a luxury wildlife resort to the north in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, guests are now greeted on arrival with the basant, a welcome drink crafted with mahua, local herbs and soda. Even tent canopies here are embroidered with the flower, which is rapidly becoming a regional emblem. Later, when I return to Mumbai, I arrive after dark and head for Bandra Born, a restaurant with a new dedicated mahua bar, opened in partnership with Six Brothers Small Batch, India's first double-distilled luxury mahua spirit. It's an atmospheric spot, mood-lit with dark wood and speakers playing R&B. On offer here are 10 mahua cocktails, all reinventions of classic drinks — think the mahua mule, tribal negroni and popular mahua colada. I chat to chief barman Raviraj Shetty, as well as Gresham Fernandes, the restaurant's chef-partner, about mahua. 'As an ingredient, mahua has a hint of smokiness and is slightly sweet,' explains Raviraj. I ask them where the idea for the bar came from. 'It came from a single thought,' Gresham interjects. 'What did we drink before we were colonised? Mahua, we found, was the spirit that allowed us to explore that answer in the most creative way.' Some Indians still hold an internalised bias to what they regard as a 'country liquor', thanks in part to years of India's culinary history being devalued during colonial rule. But slowly, the conversation around the need to revive and respect traditional food cultures is growing. Alongside the launch of its Small Batch, the Six Brothers distillery has also released 1922 Resurrection — a commemorative release of just 102 bottles that each retail for close to £100. And they're not alone: alcohol brand Mah is also attempting to popularise the drink and its story globally, aiming to change the perception of the spirit in India; already, it's being consumed in bars like Little Red Door in Paris and Symbiose in Bordeaux. As I sip my nimbu sharbat, a spicy mahua-spiked lemonade, and wait for my friends to arrive, a conversation I had back in Madhya Pradesh comes to mind. There, at the female-run Mohulo distillery, I'd met Anarkali Bai, an Indigenous woman who's part of the production team. After taking me on a tour, we'd sat down to talk over chai and biscuits, and she told me how mahua had made her financially independent, and able to pay for family weddings and ceremonies — just as the liquor had in her community before colonial rule. 'It has been our guiding spirit,' she'd said. 'Very often, our husbands can't support us. But mahua can.' To subscribe to National Geographic Traveller (UK) magazine click here. (Available in select countries only).
