Diwali Edit, part 1: Irresistible Diwali food hampers for the gourmand
- Featured Food & Beverage
Kannav Chaudhary- 17 minutes read
Aliya Ladhabhoy
This year in the festivities the focus is on food. In the pandemic, it has become a source of comfort, pleasure and is a great mood lifter.
Food has always been a bonding factor, but the lockdown gave family bonding over meals a new meaning.
As this festive season is all about intimate gatherings, celebrating life’s smallest pleasures with friends and family, here are some gourmet ideas for sharing happiness this Diwali.
GRAIZ INDIA
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While grazing generally refers to cattle feeding on lush green grass, the brand uses the term graiz for nibbling on a platter full of gourmet delicacies.
Graiz curates boxes of fresh artisanal bread, exotic fruits, crackers, dried fruits, crudites, sweet bakery treats, wholesome dips and spreads and gourmet cheese. For Diwali, they have tied up with The Spotted Cow Fromagerie to include their artisanal cheese in their gifting boxes. Choose from four options – Mini Nosh Box, Gather & Graze, High Tea Soiree and Fromage Feast. These boxes range from servings for 3-15 people. It is a perfect gift to take with you to your friend’s house or you can order it while entertaining guests at your own home.
Graiz also undertakes catering for larger events.
HURREM’S
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Travelling to Turkey might not be possible, but you can still get your hands on Turkish sweets and delights at Hurrem’s. The Turkish baklava brand has introduced a range of gift hampers to make the festive celebrations even sweeter.
You can choose from seven curated hampers that start from Rs.5,250. You can also customise one to your liking. These contain a variety of authentic sweets and confectioneries, including 100% vegetarian, handcrafted baklava, flavoured Turkish delights as well as exquisite dates, premium nuts and dried fruits.
The Krall Luxury Hamper is a bumper one filled with their most premium offerings and comes in a hand-painted, hand carved wooden box with a Rs20,000 price tag. They also have smaller gift boxes that start from Rs500.
THE GIFT STUDIO
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Shashwat and Shivika Goenka, of the RP Sanjiv Goenka Group, recently launched The Gift Studio to cater to the underserved bespoke gifting market. They have cakes, flowers, balloons and gift hampers for everything from a baby shower to birthday and festivities. They have a series of limited-edition food hampers – a vegan option curated by actor Sonam Kapoor, a lavish curation by designer Anamika Khanna as well as boxes curated and designed by artists Paresh Maity and Bose Krishnamachari. You can also choose from thematic hampers such as Everyday we’re Trufflin’, Netflix & Chill Trunk, La Dolce Vita, On Cloud Wine and more.
These hampers range in between Rs6,000 to Rs10,000. They are currently delivering in Mumbai and Kolkata.
ITC HOTELS
You can order Diwali Hampers from your favourite ITC Hotels. The hampers and mithai boxes are filled with scrumptious selections from their signature kitchens. They are vegetarian and are available only on pre-order. Alternatively, you can opt for ITC Hotel’s newly introduced e-gift card, which can be redeemed for luxury stays, dining, spa experiences and more.
Chivas Circa 2020 Limited Edition with Shivan & Narresh
Add a designer touch to your drinks with the 12-year-old Chivas limited edition pack, which has been designed by Shivan & Narresh. The Blend of Paradise box with its exotic flora and fauna and intensity of colours mixes the designer duo’s love for patterns with the mosaic of flavours that are at the heart of Chivas. “The design of the limited edition 2020 is an artful blend of the sensory and the sensed. A visual world drawn from the palate of floral and fruity, creamy and citrus aromas,” say Shivan and Narresh.
FOODHALL
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The gourmet food store has a range of curated gift hampers, mithai boxes, cheese platters, chocolates, teas, honey and treats from around the world. These are available on their website and at their stores.
Pick from gourmet cheese boxes (Rs2800 onward), flavours of the Middle East (Rs2,800) healthy snack boxes (Rs2,300) and DIY cocktail and salad kits. You can consult their gift concierge to help you pick memorable gifts for your near and dear ones. You could also opt for Foodhall gift cards. These are also available on Amazon and Swiggy.
SEQUEL
The farm-to-fork vegan restaurant that promotes organic, clean eating has a healthy Diwali gift hamper. It includes cacao and pistachio truffles, seed and chocolate Florentines, smoked apple chutney, their signature granola, earthen diyas with essential oils and natural hand sanitizers to celebrate a safe and happy Diwali.
Price: Rs3,500. Delivering across Mumbai.
If you are looking for something with a contemporary twist to Indian mithais, Arq is your best bet. The Delhi-based sweet shop by Chefs Ashay Dhopatkar and Neha Lakhani add a French twist to the country’s saccharine traditions. Think dulce de leche meets Mathura peda, raspberry coulis in a Goan cashew and khoya barfi and the works. Read more about the brand here.
They come in a box of 4, 12, 18 and 30. While some of their specialties are reserved for folks in New Delhi, they have started Arq Compacts, which can be delivered pan-India. These come in space-saving, environment friendly, boxes which are packed in sealed pods to ensure that the mithais last for up to two weeks from the date of shipping.
BATEEL
Bateel’s wide selection of dates as gifts are a no-brainer. They are tasty, succulent and apt for the health and weight conscious. They have a range of attractive gifting boxes. The floral pearl patterned Sylvia gift set is the latest addition. Apart from dates, you can also opt for its shortbread, date mustard, date biscuits, Qahwa, Acacia honey and Arabica coffee as gifts for your friends and family.
BAKED BOUQUET
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Shreenal Badiani crafts edible bouquets that look as good as they taste. The Mumbai-based brand combines premium fresh flowers with floral cupcakes, chocolate coated strawberries and other assortments to present visually stunning arrangements. These are priced between Rs2,800 and Rs10,000, depending on the size and design.
TOSHIN
Toshin Shetty was one of GQ’s 50 Most Influential Young Indians in 2019. A Le Cordon Bleu graduate, Shetty launched his eponymous chocolate patisserie in Mumbai in 2015. His sinfully good chocolates were once a part of the coveted Koffee with Karan hamper. Their cookies, macaroons, modaks and are equally indulgent. They have also launched a range of ice creams to take to your next Diwali party – double chocolate chip cookie ice cream, dark milk chocolate ice cream, raspberry sorbet, blueberry sorbet and Sicilian Pistachio ice cream.
EPIPHANY
This Diwali, replace your traditional dry fruit offerings with innovative and flavoursome dry fruit clusters from Epiphany Snacks. Packaged with all natural ingredients, Epiphany Snacks – a healthy, vegan snacking brand has a range of hampers.
The Epiphany Exclusive Festive Hamper (Rs1199) and the Epiphany Festive Gift Set (Rs1099) are assortments of all four product variants namely, Blueberry Almond Crisps, Cranberry Almond Crisps, California Pistachio Crunch and Almond Vanilla Crunch. The hamper of health comes in eco-friendly packaging in wooden and cardboard boxes. The Epiphany Festive Duo Gift Set 1 and Epiphany Festive Duo Gift Set 2 has two variants each of the health snack (Rs649 and Rs699). The Epiphany Festive Mini Gift Set priced at Rs449 consists of mini packs of all four variants delightfully put together in a wooden box.
Read: Diwali Edit part 2: Gift gourmet goodies for joyous festivities
Read: Elevate your festive celebrations with these luxurious dinnerware sets
