Yup! Last night I stepped into the kitchen of the West View Bar & Grill at the ITC Grand Maratha. I was followed by an enthusiastic bunch of fellow food bloggers who took many fun photos of me along with the chefs in the kitchen grilling up some lamb and pork chops and some Indian Pomfret. I carried with me Papa's Magic Masala and sprinkled it generously on the various assortments of meats and fish and vegetables and one by one placed them on the grill to cook them to slightly charred perfection. It was fun. In the kitchen with chefs- in a white skirt and yellow heals and the funny chefs hat. Not the most practical thing to wear in a professional kitchen but none the less fun.

This was our almost bi- monthly Mumbai Food Bloggers meet. Now a very boisterous and raucous bunch of folks who diligently bring forth beautiful food stories, restaurant reviews, recipes, travel adventures. Each one has his or her take on the food but constantly pushing pixels, little superstars in their own rights with a global fan following. These meets are organized by food blogger and consultant Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal who calls herself the mother hen of the peck. Rushina writes the blog A Perfect Bite and now has column in the Hindustan Times called the Spice Route. This group by far is the most enthusiastic, well organized, most interested in all things food that I have been a part of.

So what was the West View Bar & Grill like? Well as a concept you pick your raw vegetables and meats and fish on a plate and hand it over to the kitchen and they will prepare it for you either in a lemon butter sauce or a red wine reduction on the flame. Chef  Padmaja experiments with spices and sauces and innovates each night. She was one of the most delightful, cheerful chefs I have ever met. Enthusiastically letting me into her kitchen with my own spice mix- Papa's Magic masala, and then setting up a hot stone grill showdown for the rest of the bloggers.

It was a fun and spirited evening. Here is to many more such wonderful evenings with my Merry Band of Mumbai Food Blogger friends. Cheers!

Vegetarians beware- raw meat pictures follow:

Big Thanks to Rushina and the folks at ITC for the lovely evening.

It all started out with this song and a couple of pictures of her heart shaped macaroons...
"I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes.
Well love is all around me, and so the feeling grows..."

I am a big fan of Le15 Patisserie's macaroons. I have blogged about them before. I know she does not like to share the recipe of the macaroons. But she did not say no either when I asked her if I could photograph her making the heart shaped treats. Pooja Dhingra kindly let me into her kitchen and click her making her beautiful macaroon. So without the recipe a simple visual treat. Enjoy!

Pooja made me a lovely strawberry and pastry cream tart, while we waited for the macaroon shells to be ready. It was delicious. Fresh sweet strawberries, slightly tangy mixed in with creamy not too sweet pastry cream filled in heart shaped tart shells. It was perfect dessert for a hot afternoon.