Tag: Bloggers Meet

Changing Scenarios of the Publishing Industry-Thank God for Half Baked Beans!

Started with a mindset to be different right from the very beginning, Half Baked Beans is not just a regular publishing house. Yes they surely publish books, but they have their own uniqueness in every thing that they do, just the way their name is. Their philosophy lies in the fact that their company is not a mere publishing house, but a company that dwells on developing talent, giving them a platform to showcase their work and also bring like minded people together through different workshops and forums.

They very regularly organise creative writing workshops, book launches, book reading sessions, open discussions related to the subject and even run a very successful group on Facebook which again encourages writing, like minded discussions etc on the online platform.

I am a regular participant in the group activities and love exploring my writing skills and who knows one day I am actually able to write a full fledged novel. Seeing so much talent around definitely gives a sense of encouragement.

Recently Half Baked Beans organised a bloggers meet, where in we met not just as bloggers but as book lovers in general and shared our views on the latest trends of the industry, writing skills, marketing needs of the hour and a detailed brief of services offered by HBB. Chetan Soni the man behind Half Baked Beans and Richa Saxena, his subordinate, both shared their passion for books and we got engulfed in a long conversation over some lip smacking snacks at the Pot Belly, Shahpur Jat.

It indeed was a very insightful session, and these open discussions have enlightened me more than before on the publishing industry. We discussed how scandals, political dramas and mythology sells and creates more buzz than other genres. We also discussed the role of book reviews and book bloggers and other marketing needs that are imperative to the success of a book in todays time.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself learning the nuances of the industry.

 

Half Baked Beans also offers many other services like:

  • Editorial Services
  • Beta Reading
  • Book Cover Services
  • Book Design Services
  • Book Marketing Services
  • E-Book Services

You can check out more details at the Half Baked Beans website. You can also follow their page on Facebook for regular updates. They have already published more than 40 books and are growing steadily giving chance to quality authors. Their criteria for publishing books are also fool proof and they don’t publish each and every book that comes their way. They choose quality over quantity.

As a take back I got this wonderful book to read, which I am looking forward to.

Le Creuset-The Leading French Cookware Brand Hosted A Gastronomical Affair With Chef Ranveer Brar

Celebrity Chef Ranveer Brar was recently spotted at Select City Walk, cooking delectable dishes live at an event organized by Le Creuset. Le Creuset is world’s leading cookware brand famous for its cast iron products. Foodies and Bloggers were invited as a part of the meet and greet event. Each table had a few products from the Le Creuset range, showcased for product touch and feel.

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Chef Ranveer Brar created mouth-watering dishes that were prepared in beautiful Le Creuset cookware featuring the Hawaiian Chicken Drumsticks, Lemony Chicken Stir Fry, One Pan Mexican Quinoa, Pakistani Balti Gosht and the Spanish Stir Fried Rice. These tantalizing and scrumptious dishes were cooked live in the Central Atrium of Select City Walk Mall where guests were able to interact with the chef throughout the session and learn these amazing recipes to recreate the magic at home.

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Speaking on the event, Chef Ranveer Brar said, “Le Creuset is an international leader in luxury cookware and I am absolutely pleased to be associated with this reputed brand. Cooking with Le Creuset cookware is an experience in its own and it’s a great opportunity to be able to share that with people who share the same interest”.

Chef Ranveer Brar in conversation with the audience

Chef Ranveer Brar with Le Creuset

Established in 1925, Le Creuset, the iconic French cookware brand, is among the top three-cookware brands of the world. The brand that has glamourized and redefined the contemporary kitchen all over the world for almost 100 years is now changing the way India cooks with its 5 stores nationwide.

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On the occasion Ankur Damani, Country Head – India and SAARC, Le Creuset said “We are thrilled to have associated with Chef Ranveer Brar. Le Creuset is most particular about quality and innovation that is why we feel that the talented Chef Ranveer Brar is perfect to demonstrate the difference that comes in cooking with Le Creuset cookware and to help the audience make it a part of their lifestyle”. 

Ankur Damani India and Saarc Country head at le Creuset with Chef Ranveer Brar

While Le Creuset produces world’s best cookware and accessories for a quintessential kitchen, it stands out in its design, vibrant and distinct colors as well as versatility, meant for preparing, cooking and serving, in Le Creuset style. Le Creuset aims at not just being a cookware brand but a lifestyle.

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About Le Creuset:

Le Creuset is recognized the world over for market-leading, premium quality ranges of enameled cast iron cookware, multi-ply stainless steel, toughened non-stick, stoneware and ceramics, along with its outstanding range of wine accessories. Established in 1925, Le Creuset has been making world-class cookware for almost 100 years, innovation remains at the forefront of Le Creuset’s success. Used by leading chefs and keen cooks around the globe, Le Creuset cookware offers outstanding performance time after time.


About Chef Ranveer Brar:

Ranveer Brar is one of the most sought after chefs of the country. He is popularly known for his television shows which include Breakfast Xpress, Snack Attack, Homemade, The Great Indian Rasoi, Health Bhi Taste Bhi, Ranveer’s Cafe, Food Tripping and Thank God It’s Fryday. He also recently appeared on Masterchef India as a judge.


Availability:


Address: Select CITYWALK Mall, S 30, B 1, 2nd Floor, District Centre, Saket, Delhi – 110017


Email: [email protected]


Website: www.le-creuset.in

Terrific 25-New Menu Launch at Aanch

Aanch, a chic and urban restaurant in Rajouri Garden has been successfully running since 5 years. Bringing innovation to menu and food presentation ideas is the need of any restaurant today to constantly keep surprising their customers and retain their interest. Aanch is also all set to do the same, as they planning to launch 25 new dishes in their menu. We were recently invited for a preview table of this Terrific 25 menu and honoured with this privilege of tasting everything before it opens for general public from August onwards.

The place is located at the top floor of shoppers stop mall, and is an extensive spread with a huge terrace and outside expanse where in private parties and weddings are held.

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Drinks:

Coming to the menu, we were first served the new mocktails on the menu, the regular mocktails done with an India twist to them. The first one was Tulsi and Melon Fantasy. It was refreshing but the flavour of basil was a little overpowering, and if that is taken control of, it definitely a perfect summer drink.

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Next was the Veggie Virgin Marry, which was a desi twist to the popular Virgin Mary, but here there was no use of tobasco to make it spicy, it was instead made spicy by using red chillies, also there were cut pieces of capsicum in the drink which made it spicy and crunchy at the same time. I am a virgin mary lover and thus I preferred this Veggie Virgin Mary and loved it. It was slightly on the spicier end, but yet it was amazing. I also loved the presentation of the drink very much.

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I also tried the Virgin Orange Caprioska and Very Berry Slush, both of them were good too, but the berry slush was mind blowing, it was best of the lot and I highly recommend the same.

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Starters: To clear the palette, water melon cubes with cheese was the first thing to be served and it was refreshing.

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Soups- Mushroom Cappuccino and Chicken Tom Yum, both of them were amazing, though I preferred the creamy mushroom soup over the chicken one. Mushroom soup was served with a mushroom toast which was good and the fried chicken roll that came with tom yum soup was just amazing.

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Mahabali Paneer Tikka- a spicy version of the regular paneer tikka, this one was truly awesome. I also loved the presentation of the same.

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Roti pe Boti-This was an out of the menu dish, that the chef created especially for us bloggers to taste and I fell in love with it instantly. It was a soft and tender galauti kebab placed on a very khasta mathi with a dollop of green chutney. The combination was amazing, the galauti kebabs just melted in the mouth and I can go back for this dish anytime. In fact I would really urge them to include this as a part of their regular menu.

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Shahi Be Mahi- This was a very tender Fish Malai Tikka, and it was one of the best starters of the entire evening. The fish just melted in the mouth, was mildly spiced and too delicious. This one is a must try.

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Gabbar Ke Sholey- It was an innovative and interesting way to present bread rolls stuffed with cottage cheese, they seemed like small hand grenades that looked amazing and tasted good too.

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Lemon Grass Mushrooms- Oh these went on to become my personal favourites. The spices were perfect and the most amazing part was a mild cottage cheese filling between two mushrooms. I haven’t eaten anything like this before. It was really awesome. Also the presentation on a small rolling cart was very very cute.

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Galouti Golgappe- These were the golgappas filled with a small piece of galouti topped with some green chutney, onions and pomegranate seeds. The concept was good but the golgappas need to be a little more juicy, they were dry.

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Tawa Ka Burrah and Chooza Murg were next, both the dishes were regular, the mutton burrah was tasty, juicy and tender and I loved the way it was presented. Chooza Murg was like Tandoori Chicken, and was perfect.

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Banana Chik and Mango Chicken were presented next, they both came in sweet looking hand carts. The Banana Chick tasted more like a Thai steamed chicken which I didn’t like much. The Mango Chicken had a tangy fruity taste with a hint of Chinese flavour and it was good.

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It seemed like a marathon of starters, as they were just not ending, and trust me it takes a lot to taste and try 25 items on the menu, but they were all so exciting that even though the tummy space was reducing, we just could not give up.

Chilly Chicken Pao and Veg Cheese Quesadilla were next in line. The chilly chicken pao was spicy and nice and so were the quesadillas.

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After trying so many delectable starters, there was hardly any space left for the main course, but being a blogger one has to try and write about it, sometimes its not easy you see. But yes I did. The first thing on the menu was Haleem, followed by Balti Murg, Murg Makhanwala, Creamy Gosht, Dal Makhani and Paneer Pasanda. All the dishes were perfectly done, minus the murg makhanwala, as I found it a little too sweet. The creamy gosht could have been a little better too and I am sure the management will take our feedback constructively.

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There was Cheesy Baked Pasta and Chicken Spatchcock too, but they seemed a little out of place with the more emphasised Indian menu. They were good no doubts, but certainly didn’t gel with the entire palate.

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Finally the meal came to an end and the dessert was served, It was Coconut Cigars with Vanilla Ice-Cream. The Coconut Cigars were crisp and tasted excellent dipped in Vanilla Ice-Cream. The presentation was great and it looked like a few birds sitting in a pool of ice cream.

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Overall, it was a fantastic experience. We also met the owner Mr Bhuvnesh Bhalla and his wife who paid attention to every feedback we had to offer and they came across as very warm and hospitable people. Also met Chef Ashish Massey who is the man behind this amazing culinary experience and is a great person. Last but not the least this privileged of experiencing a new menu before it gets launched for general public was bestowed upon due to my friend and an excellent PR person Neha Bahl from Qube Communication and had a pleasant experience meeting other blogger friends too. The menu gets launched for public August onwards, please do give it a try and you will be pleasantly surprised with the small twists and innovations.

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Aanch Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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