Arushi Sakhuja
If you have recently vowed to make healthier food and lifestyle choices recently, you must be aware it involves opting for sustainable products along with eating right. This is where the culinary movement farm-to-table comes to play.
With the rising popularity of the locavore movement, also called the farm-to-table concept, farm fresh food has become the new gourmet dining experience. While one is well-versed with the benefits of eating locally-grown produce (without any chemicals or pesticides), the idea of farm-to-table is essentially using fresh produce that is self-grown and harvested either at self-owned organic farms or for tie-ups with local farms. This not only boosts the local economy but also reduces the carbon footprint.
City chefs have sped up their efforts to popularise farm-to-table gourmet bringing diners fresh produce infused with local flavours. Below we take you through all the restaurants and farms that have embraced this concept.
New Delhi
Caara Cafe
Caara Café was one of the first few restaurants in Delhi to introduce the concept of farm-to-table dining. Their vegetables are sourced from their own chemical-free farms. From the Superfood Salads that has rocket leaves, beetroot, pumpkin, pumkin seeds, raisins, pomegranate, broccoli and feta to the Tomato, Mozzarella and Pesto Panini with Watermelon, Feta, Basil Salad with Balsamic Vignette, Zucchini Linguine with Pesto and Crushed Peanuts; they try to keep reinventing their menu to use their local produce. The cafe uses seasonal chemical-free ingredients harvested from the farms, that reach the kitchen only 24 hours before so that the food you eat is as fresh as it can be!
Krishi Cress
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When it comes to a traditional farm-to-table experience, Krishi Cress Farms offers you a holistic experience. Having their own farm, they grow and deliver the freshest produce across NCR. You can even book a lunch or dinner where you can also experience a tour of the farm, or host a private soiree with up to 60 people.
Farmer’s Basket at Pluck, Pullman Aerocity
If you’re in a mood for good organic food, Pluck at Pullman Aerocity has an experience you will love. Everything you eat at the restaurant is from its fresh produce grown in their 3,000 sq ft kitchen garden. Offering a wide array of cuisines like European, Continental and Modern Indian, the use of these fresh ingredients satisfies your palate. They even have a Farmer’s Basket at Pluck, where you handpick your produce for the chefs to cook with.
Prodigal farms
Prodigal Farms in Noida offers a perfect farm-to-table Sunday brunch. Feast on a 7-course meal and freshly brewed organic beverages. At this farm, age is no bar, offering experiences for all age categories, adults can learn about the farm’s history and natural farming techniques, while kids enjoy being farmers for the day. And even your furry friends are allowed to enjoy a day out! With an aim to bring people closer to the source of real food, they even teach farming as a life skill and curate sustainable zero-waste farm experiences, workshops and training programs.
Tijara Organic Farms
Tijara Organic Farm is hidden a little away from Delhi. When you’re looking for a quick getaway this makes for the perfect pick. The beautiful farm promotes organic farming and also lets visitors get a taste of the simplicity of life here. Going beyond just vegetable the farms makes their own hand-crafted cheese, ghee, flours, preserves and sauces. Choose to tour the farm for three and a half hours, while tasting artisanal cheese, fresh fruits and vegetables or try your hand at farm activities. Once you’re done tasting the produce, make your way to the dairy section where you can meet farm animals and even feed a cow or two.
Mumbai
The Table
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Located in Mumbai’s favourite corner—Colaba, The Table is one of the most celebrated restaurants in the city. It was one of Mumbai’s first restaurants to conceptualise and execute the farm-to-table concept. It serves enthusiasts with food prepared from ingredients of its own farm—The Table Farm—for an enriching organic dining experience. Organizing a host of activities at the farm on sunny days, it’s the perfect way to spend time with the family while eating healthy.
The farm specialises in urban farming and harvests various vegetables and herbs, including tomatoes, spinach, beetroot, radish, microgreens, coriander, lettuces, edible flowers, kale, white onions, green papaya, chikoo, kohlrabi and other leafy greens.
Masque
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An ingredient-driven restaurant, it borrows from the past to build modern Indian cuisine. Mumbai-based restaurant Masque explores the abundance to form an ingredient-based menu, a 10-course chef’s tasting menu. The produce used to create each dish comes from foraging trips, their farm, and from local farmers providing a boost to their work.
Yogisattva
If you enjoy the pleasure of knowing where your food comes from, plant-based restaurant Yogisattva is where you need to be. Making your dining experience wholesome, this farm-to-table café sources ingredients from local farmers in Maharashtra boosting community-supported agriculture practices.
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