Interview
Two time national award winner and Guinness world record holder celebrity chef Varun Inamdar partnered with Godrej Vikhroli Cucina land launched ‘Vibe with Varun’, a first-of-its-kind chat show web-series featuring conversations beyond food
Hosted by Chef Varun himself, the first season will have seven episodes bringing forth enriching stories of people belonging to the food and culinary world.
Excerpts from an interview with Chef Varun Inamdar in which he talks about his association with Godrej Vikhroli Cucina,chat show and much more
* Tell us a little about the new chat show ‘Vibe with Varun’.
Vibe with Varun is a first-of-its-kind chat show web series featuring conversations beyond food. Many chat shows are out there, but only a few are dedicated to food and culinary space. For the first time in the food ecosystem, Godrej Vikhroli Cucina is getting the food community together, through ‘Vibe with Varun’. Godrej Vikhroli Cucina, a platform for food lovers by Godrej Industries aims to nudge these personalities to share something about themselves starting with their childhood to interesting incidents and experiences. The series includes eminent personalities such as Master of Wine Sonal Holland, Chef Rakhee Vaswani and many others from the food space.
* Could you tell us what’s interesting about your collaboration with Godrej Vikhroli Cucina?
Godrej Vikhroli Cucina, which has a presence on social media and a website www.vikhrolicucina.com, has pioneered initiatives bringing the food and culinary communities together. The platform is a thought leader in the industry and is followed by everyone in the food industry. There are many synergies between Godrej Vikhroli Cucina and me, and we have always wanted to pioneer initiatives that bind the industry and bring each stakeholder on a single platform. I have spent more than 20 years in the food industry space and have seen the journey of my colleagues from the industry becoming my closest friends. I’m keen to celebrate food and the people behind it through this collaboration with Godrej Vikhroli Cucina. We both believe there is a lot more that people can learn from the conversations, be it food professionals or just food lovers. I’m confident viewers will enjoy the chat show as they will find it fresh and interesting.
* What are your thoughts on digital food content and how it’s increasing in popularity?
The Indian audience has always loved binge-watching food-related videos, the TV shows we produced even 10-15 years ago worked so well! But now, content creation has become so democratized that anyone interested in food can be a broadcaster. Over the past 2 years, the food media has seen an unbelievable evolution. Food content is being consumed like never before via food blogs, vlogs, and Instagram profiles.
According to Godrej Food Trends Report of 2022 – compiled from qualitative and quantitative inputs of over 250+ food experts, chefs, restauranteurs etc. 69.8% of food & culinary experts feel Instagram and Instagram Live will continue to be the most popular platform for sharing food-related content. The same report says the impact of visual mediums means that food videos will also continue to be devoured well into 2022. The following statement is supported by over 60% of food experts. We will also seek interactive content through digital food websites and cooking apps.
* Could you tell us about the food experts invited to ‘Vibe with Varun’ and your experience having them on the show?
The series features eminent personalities including Master of Wine Sonal Holland; Chef Rakhee Vaswani; Archaeologist and Culinary Anthropologist Kurush Dalal; Prateeksh Mehra, Founder of Spotted Cow Fromagerie; Food Stylist Saba Gaziyani; Nitin Nabar, Executive Director & President, Godrej Industries Limited (Godrej Veg Oils) and Abhay Parnerkar, CEO, Godrej Tyson Foods Ltd (offer brands like Godrej Yummiez & Real Good Chicken).
Food content is most consumed across formats and digital platforms. Inviting these food enthusiasts on ‘Vibe with Varun’ in collaboration with Godrej Vikhroli Cucina was a unique experience. This initiative gives scope to the platform with real-life experiences and anecdotes of people shaping up the culinary world through fun conversations. ‘Vibe with Varun’ will be an interesting watch for people who love food as well as work in the food space as they get to see a completely different side of the personalities otherwise known for their craft.
* What intrigued you about bringing the archaeologist and culinary anthropologist Kurush Dalal on your show?
I have always wanted to be a culinary student, today I have been working in the industry for the last 22 years. If you ask me what else you would have done, passion-wise I could have chosen singing but if you ask me professionally, I have no clue. I began out as a dishwasher, and now, 20 – 22 years later, with two national awards and a Guinness World Record, people see your accomplishment but not your journey. Speaking of Kurush, he entered my life at a very young age. Since he has coached so many students over the years, everyone calls him a professor. I was happy to have Kurush.
Kurush Dalal was the first name I came up with when we were discussing names for the chat show, and everyone on my team questioned if we would be able to get him because he has a huge name in the industry. Kurush Dalal is a professor, the owner of a catering business, and a culinary anthropologist. I was confident he would attend because he is a good friend of mine. Kurush is like a walking-talking library, so why not Kurush? He is the perfect fit and it happened so easily and organically. We are lucky that Kurush gave consent to be a part of ‘Vibe with Varun’.
* Something about food that one can find in nothing else in this world — what’s it to you?
People may believe they know a lot about food, but in reality, they don’t. Because the culture of food and music is beyond our imagination. No matter how much you study with passion, perseverance, and patience you can learn about food but you won’t be able to learn and understand enough about food. Nowadays everyone has access to broadcast content. We all have access to food easily because it is served to us four times a day— for breakfast, lunch, evening snacks, and dinner. If you’re an influencer or a micro-blogger, you can get food presented to you and in just one click you can upload food content. That is one aspect of the content.
Secondly, the food is very subjective. One person might find it spicy, while another person might find it bland. You might consider food to be nostalgic. If I say Mishti Doi today, you might immediately think of your grandfather and say, “I miss my grandfather’s Mishti Doi; I’ve never eaten something like that.” It can abruptly transport you from wherever you are just by its size, colour, aroma, and flavour. Food is something which can make you remember something from 20 years back. Food can do a lot of things for you. It can play with you psychologically and emotionally, it can make or break you. Food is not something that is served or presented 4 times a day but it is magical. That’s my rendition of food.
* What’s that one go-to dish you can ditch the world for?
Chicken Biryani or Mutton Biryani for sure. I love all sorts of Biryani be it Hyderabadi Biryani, Lucknowi Biryani or Bengali Biryani. For me, Biryani has to be meat, potatoes and rice. It is a flavourful and satisfying dish that can be enjoyed on its own or with other dishes. Also, Bengali food is my weakness. I love the whole Bengali array of sweets and food like Mishti Doi, sweet khichdi, and Ilish Macher Jhol.
Catch new episodes of ‘Vibe with Varun’ every Friday 7 pm on Godrej Vikhroli Cucina’s social media handles (YouTube, Facebook, Instagram) and www.vikhrolicucina.com
The first-episode featuring Chef Rakhee Vaswani in ‘Vibe with Varun’ is live. See Link Below
https://youtu.be/0RafWZyo10k
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp7vvdcIGN6/
About Godrej Vikhroli Cucina
Godrej Vikhroli Cucina is a platform for food brands, writers, chefs, influencers, bloggers, food lovers and others to engage, network and collaborate. It is a destination to find curated content from stories, recipes, news and other gastronomic delights from food lovers, culinary chroniclers, and experts in the industry. In our new avatar, you can share your unique recipes or food-related experiences, remain updated with what’s happening in the world of food, network and engage with influencers, and read personalised content according to topics that interest you. The genesis of Vikhroli Cucina was the result of the Godrej vision to bring all its brands operating in the food category together.
About Godrej Industries Limited
Godrej Industries Ltd. is part of the Godrej group, one of the leading business groups in India and is in the businesses of Oleochemicals, surfactants, finance & investments and estate management. It has substantial interests in several industries including property development, oil palm plantation, animal feeds and agri-products, poultry, personal care and household care, etc., through its subsidiaries, associate companies and joint ventures.
