Inspired by the various headgear of the tribal communities of Arunachal Pradesh, a bamboo structure rises towards the sky. Discarded fishing nets have been repurposed into the walls, encapsulating a space that reflects the raw charm of Kerala’s toddy shops. Elsewhere, scenes of Himalayan cuisine come to life on hand-painted tableware. Walking into ‘The Gathering’ is like stepping into a living artwork, where food, architecture and storytelling merge into an immersive experience.
We’re at the Travancore Palace in New Delhi, where nine of India’s most celebrated chefs have come together this weekend for ‘The Gathering’, a dining experience unlike any other. This is not a pop-up about showcasing specific dishes, but about crafting entirely new menus and concept tables, built from the ground up, in collaboration with artists and designers from all disciplines.
“As a chef, you often talk about provenance, seasonality and history, but this is about creating something new,” explains Prasad Ramamurthy, writer and co-curator of ‘The Gathering.’ It’s about giving them a platform where they can express something they’ve never done before”.
(Clockwise from top left) Event design expert Devika Narayan, artist Neha Jain of Ekarth Studio, artist Aradhana Seth, architect Vinu Daniel, artist Elsewhere in India, sculptor Alex Davis, interior designer and event planner Punit Jasuja, artist Archana Hande and production designer Sonal Sawant, who are part of ‘The Gathering’.
culinary experiments
Held in an outdoor environment, the event comprises nine individually designed pop-up ‘restaurants’, each measuring 50×20 square feet, and reimagined by artists. For example, chef Viraf Patel’s menu, titled ‘The Last Harvest’, imagines a future where rising sea levels have swallowed much of the land, forcing humanity to rethink sustenance.
Patel has teamed up with sculptor Alex Davis, whose large-scale water-inspired installations set the stage for a thought-provoking dining space. At this booth, 20 diners per sitting get the chance to taste dishes like Solu Kumbu and White Bean Hummus with Stinging Nettle Crackers, and for the second course, Savory Choux and Ocean Fish Mousse, which features deep-sea mackerel floss and brine-preserved kelp dust.
Chef Auroni Mukherjee celebrates the paddy field in his ‘terra firma’, where all the ingredients for his third course, including shellfish and wild fungi, come from the village pond or its surroundings. Meanwhile, architect Vinu Daniel, renowned for transforming plastic bottles and garbage into award-winning structures, has created chef Reggie Mathew’s Kerala-inspired ‘The Modern Day Toddy Shop’. An immersive setting for Mathew’s popular hyper-local menu, which includes main dishes like Kappa Kodampuli Fish Curry.
Chef Pratik Sadhu, known for his deep connection with the Himalayas, partners with artist Aradhana Seth to recreate the essence of his culinary philosophy. Their pop-up, ‘A Table in the Mountain’, takes inspiration from the rugged terrain and pastoral traditions. Guests are served dishes like Asakalu, a delicate balance of tangerine murabba and smoked cheese, and Himachali trout cooked with turmeric, coconut and radish.
Work continues on ‘A Table in the Mountain’ by chef Prateek Sadhu and artist Aradhana Seth.
For those looking for contrast and excitement, Chef Gresham Fernandes’ ‘Contrasts and Dualities’, in collaboration with Elsewhere in India, known for its game design and AI expertise, presents a menu that plays with perception and unexpected pairings. Among other surprises, there will also be a radish waffle with non-castrated chocolate (porcini and pumpkin), soy-pickled radish and seaweed waffle.
Weddings and event design expert Devika Narayan, known for her stunning tables at designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee’s parties, is partnering with chef Advait Ananthwar for ‘The Darbar of Perception’. Their collaborations include dishes like Silken Textures, a celebration of delicate handmade pasta with edible floral elements, and Feast & Flow, an interactive grazing experience.
‘The Darbar of Perception’ by Chef Advait Ananthwar and Event Design Expert Devika Narayan.
An adventurous, multi-sensory experience, ‘The Gathering’ pushes the boundaries of food by combining culinary artistry with profound storytelling. But beyond its pioneering collaborations, it’s also redefining what diners are willing to pay for the extraordinary. Tickets are priced at ₹8,000 and ₹12,000. “People aren’t just paying for a meal,” says Ramamurthy. “They’re paying for a moment in time that will never be recreated.”
future of shared travel
The rise of chef-centric festivals, and many of them sharing the same kitchen, is testament to the growing sense of community in the culinary world. Once highly competitive, the industry is now seeing collaboration take center stage. Take, for example, Mathew’s ‘India’s Culinary Odyssey’ in Chennai last year, where 10 national chefs came together to prepare a special meal, with tickets priced at ₹1 lakh per person.
Chef Reggie Mathew (centre) and the team behind ‘India’s Culinary Odyssey’ in Chennai last year.
The event saw some of India’s top names like Hussain Shehzad, Avinash Martins, Aronni Mukherjee and Vinesh Johny step into the kitchen with no ego, no competition. “The energy in the kitchen was incredible,” Matthew recalls. “We were happy whenever a course went out, we served each other’s dishes. It was about pure collaboration.” The genial chef’s new restaurant Chatti in New York highlights the menu of a Kerala toddy shop.
Chef Doma Wang, fresh off her experience with ‘The Power Play’, a limited-seating, five-course degustation menu showcased last November, describes the industry today as one where “there is absolutely no competition. We all look after each other”. Held in Pune and Bengaluru, ‘The Power Play’, like Chennai’s ‘Culinary Odyssey’, brought together chefs to prepare complete meals, with each course led by a different chef. Wang credits many others whom she deeply admires, including chef Pooja Dhingra, Sefa Kechaio, Nouresha Kabli and Vanshika Bhatia, all of whom have played a role in fostering this new feeling of openness.
Chef Doma Wang with guests at ‘The Power Play’ dining experience last November.
This sense of camaraderie within the industry is encouraging, says chef Niyati Rao of Mumbai-based Eka and Bombay Dak. She says, “Today’s chefs are highly research-driven, constantly trying to learn new techniques and experiment with them. It’s incredible that we live in an era where these kinds of exchanges can happen so easily. It allows us to grow and develop much faster than previous generations of chefs.”
(L-R) Chef Gresham Fernandes, Pratik Sadhu and Vanika Chaudhary prepare for ‘The Gathering’ on February 21, 2025.
“This is not the case with everyone,” cautions celebrity chef Prateek Sadhu, who collaborates with artist and production designer Aradhana Seth on ‘The Gathering’. ,Real friendships happen, but let’s not pretend the industry is one big happy family. If I admire someone’s work and they’re a good person, that’s all that matters., ,
For Fernandes, the change is obvious: “Back in the day, you might have admired a chef in a magazine and never expected to meet them. Now, I can just call Alex, Pratik or Hussain and ask for help.”
Chef Anumitra Ghosh Dastidar in preparation for his pop-up ‘Forbidden’. stolen. Feral.’, in collaboration with artist Archana Hande, at ‘The Gathering’.
It’s this sense of collective growth that makes ‘The Gathering’ feel so essential as it highlights a community of cooks open to collaboration. As Ramamurthy explains, “Regardless of scale, each chef and artist has fully embraced the collaborative process, trusting each other to create something truly unique. With open dialogue and shared creativity, they have come together to bring an untested concept to life.”
So, what’s next? Some chefs like Sadhu are focusing on their own projects this year, while other chefs like Patel are already thinking about their next big collaborative effort. But one thing is certain – the era of the lone chef is fading, making way for a future that is, at its core, communal.
The author is a Pune-based lifestyle writer and editor.
