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The Elite Table is a brand new concept in fine dining introduced for the first time in Nagpur by chef Malvika.
So what is a ‘Pop up Dinner?’
It is a seven course sit down dinner you can have with select company – maximum 20 – at different venues with gastronomic delights which include Indo – International fusion foods you wouldn’t get anywhere else!
For instance at their latest outing on 5th August, this is going to be some the menu:
First course – Amuse Bouche or The Silver Egg
Second course – Poached Pear and Feta Mousse Salad with Dhokla Crisp and Olive Oil snow
Further courses include gourmet stuff like -Raan E Subwich, which is slow cooked Raan (Rajasthani style) with curry leaf mayonnaise, Girkins, Capers, Cheesy papad chudi served with Thai Paw – paw salad
For desserts there will be Gajar Halwa & White chocolate tart, toasted nut crumb & Salted Caramel ice cream.
We are not disclosing the entire menu for the seven course dinner – available in both veg and non veg options. This sample is just to pique your curiosity and whet your appetite!
But who is this chef Malvika?
Believe it or not, she is the only daughter of a renowned Doctor couple. Dr. And Mrs. Abhay Dharmidhikari. They are both very health conscious persons and frugal eaters. As Malvika quips ” my mother just eats to live!” But this girl knew from her childhood that cooking excited her, and she wanted to go in for a profession that involved food.
She was hardly ten and studying in 4th standard when she came home from school one day and declared to her busy mother that she wanted to eat Malpua ( a Rajasthani sweet dish). Her mother looked at her like she had lost her mind and replied ” we don’t make such things in our kitchen.” Malvika proved her mother wrong by going ahead and preparing it herself – from scratch! ‘How did she know how Malpua was made?’ We asked. “By instinct” she replied.
Yet her journey to becoming a chef was not a smooth one. Her dad, Abhay was aghast. He knew the hard working conditions in the kitchen of a five star hotel. Besides, no one in their family had gone into this line: their family consists of professionals like Doctors, Lawyers ( Advocate Subodh Dharmidhari is her uncle), CAs and such.
While Malvika wanted to go in for Food and Catering right after her 12th, he persuaded her to do B.Com instead hoping her plans may change. When they didn’t he relented and let her enroll for the 4 years degree course of Hotel Management at Nagpur. In her 4th year her Research and thesis was on ‘taking Maharashtrian food to international standards’ which was adjudged the best and she was invited to the National Gastronomical conference at Bhopal to present her paper! (One of her successful experiments was presenting puran poli in a new form as ‘puran poli cigars standing on a bed of shrikhand embellished with orange crumbs’… because she is from Nagpur and so are oranges!!)
The idea of holding Pop up restaurants in Nagpur also originated in her student days only. This concept is a rave abroad and in many Indian metros like Bangalore. No one had thought to introduce it in Nagpur before.
“When you have pop up dinners instead of running a regular restaurant, you can experiment with new foods, seasonal offerings and provide something fun and fancy at each dinner” explains Malvika. “You also get to meet new but like minded people and spend quality time with them over food and wine!”
So armed with her degree along with work experience in Taj Mumbai and at Hotel Syrakko in Pune with star chef Nagraj, Malvika took the plunge finally in Nagpur.
Helping her is her hubby Arjun Mane who is also from the same line; in fact his whole family is! His father is Ranjeet Mane who looked after Gondwana club catering for many years and is now caterer to many renowned IT companies.
The latest edition of ‘Pop up Dinner’ is on 5th August, coming Sunday at their premises ‘The Elite Table’. The theme is ‘Modern Indian cuisine’.
Price for this gourmet 7 course dinner served with wine is only Rs. 1200/ per head including GST.
To book your place at the Elite Table call at –
Contact:
9096615283
