A New Food Wave: Pop-Up Restaurants are the Coolest Way to Eat!

A pop-up could be a better way to dine than a normal old restaurant.

‘Pop’ is the latest word in the culinary world.

The ‘pop-up restaurant’ culture is a huge hit abroad – but it’s fast catching on in India with cities like Mumbai and Pune cottoning on.

So, what is a pop-up? It comprises a make shift restaurant that allows guests to experience a cuisine completely of their choice – from the hands of a home chef. These pop-ups involve a lot of culinary experimentation and can last as short as a weekend or as long as a week.

Pop-Ups Introduce Delightful, Lesser Known Cuisines

Pop-up restaurants take themselves and their nomenclature seriously – so much so that they may surface pretty much anywhere. They often take place within an existing restaurant or in a space that has been rented out by the chef – so don’t be surprised if the next one you go to is housed in a garden, a warehouse or a rooftop!

Says Richa Choudhary, the organiser of a pop-up called the ‘Secret Chulha’ in Pune:

“I started this pop-up last year and saw a phenomenal response. More and more people started showing up, vouching for the food served.”

Choudhary, banking on the freshness of the culture, decided to make each pop-up a more unique affair – introducing a different cuisine every time.

“We realised that there are so many cuisines that you don’t find everywhere – we wanted to revive them. We have done Bohri, Assamese, CKP (Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu), Sri Lankan pop-ups and have tried to lend an authentic feel to each one. For instance, at the Bohri pop-up, food was served in a Bohri thaal where 10 people ate from a common thaal – just as the Bohris do it.”

Another restauranteur, Khodu Irani, who organised a Japanese pop-up at his restaurant, Olive Bistro, says, “The Japanese pop-up was a great hit! People really enjoyed the cuisine and kept coming back for more. Eventually we had to extend the pop-up to over 3 months.”

Showcases a Home Chef’s Talent

The pop-up culture allows home chefs to curate a particular menu for a select audience of 40 to 80 people. These are people who are either invited by the restaurant or pay a small fee to attend. Naturally, these pop-ups are excellent opportunities for the home cooks to display their skills.

Additionally, many home cooks who’re looking to open their own restaurants, can treat the pop-ups as a sort of ‘test run’.

Home chef Parikshit – who runs a CKP cuisine pop-up – agrees:

“Pop-ups are great exposure for the home chefs as we get to interact with people and get instant feedback on the dishes prepared. I believe pop-ups are a good medium to expose unknown cuisines – ones that aren’t easily available to the masses”.

‘Foodies’ Play an Integral Part

The limited choice of dishes and the experimentation with food that is an integral part of the pop-up, makes it a great hit with foodies. Most pop-ups advertise through Facebook pages and word of mouth – and this is where the foodies step in.

Brave new food authorities emerge everyday (think: food bloggers and writers) who look to sample new cuisines. This community then writes/blogs about their experience – thus, spreading the word amongst friends and in the food community.

I make sure I attend as many as pop-up events as I can in the city. One is always looking for new forms of dining – and pop-ups are a great way to experiment with food.

Divyanshu Mishra, Food Blogger and Member of Food Blogging Network ‘The Bteam’, Pune

So why go to a pop-up? Perhaps because:

• 1. A limited audience guarantees you better attention and service.
  
• 2. The food may be expected to pass muster as the chef’s reputation is at stake.
  
• 3. There’s space to interact with people with common food interests.
  

(A freelance food and fashion blogger, Pranjali Bhonde Pethe aims at getting people and their favourite food and style closer through her blog moipalate. Email her at [e-mail] and follow her on @moipalate.)