I love how food connects us. You could be a banker, a doctor, or a stay at home mom but still pursue cooking and be a masterchef of your own kitchen. And then there are those few who take their hobbies forward and become home chefs and bakers. And honestly, it is these home chefs who whip up the tastiest, heartiest food. 

I have so many of my favorites who I always turn to when I want my share of home made desserts, dips and more. Most of which I have met at Small Fry Co.’s curated events. They manage to source the most talented home grown, foodie talent and present them to us via pop-ups and exhibitions. More about them on their Facebook page here.

This Sunday I popped into another pop-up exhibition named ‘Bombay Local’ at The Easel in Juhu. This quaint art hub metamorphosed into this buzzing space packed with stalls exhibiting wares from restaurants, home chefs, bakers, artists, and designers. I skipped all the apparel and beauty products stalls – purely for fear of being tempted, and stuck to what I enjoy the most- Food! I fluttered from one stall to the next, tasting and sampling what was put out, and chatting up some lovely home entrepreneurs. I came home with some interesting stuff, and hence this blog post about my experience- something that I should have done earlier. Read on for my top three picks at this edition of Bombay Local.

Bacon Pickle by The Pickle Bar

My nose leads me to this stall, manned by the smiling Joel Cardoza. 
I had read about the Cardoza’s home grown, pickle venture and was dying to taste their pickles. The venture was started by Joel and his sister, from their home in Andheri, and all the pickles are made by Joel’s mom. I sampled all the non vegetarian options- prawn, bacon, bombay duck, beef and pork. 

I loved the beef pickle with chunky, well done pieces of meat, and the prawn pickle. The prawn pickle was so different than the usual prawn pickle we Parsis make, which is slightly on the sweeter side. My favorite of the lot, and the one that got to come home with me was the Bacon pickle.

It had fine pieces of bacon which were submerged in this tangy, vinegary sauce. The bacon is not too chunky but definitely leaves a meaty after taste. My dad polished half the jar off, and said it reminded him a bit of his favorite Goan Vindaloo. Slightly oily, but then again what is a pickle without oil running off your plate?!

The Pickle Bar- recommended for its homely, meaty pickles made with love. After all it is ‘maa ke haath ka achaar’.
(Rs. 200 for a 200 gms. bottle of Bacon Pickle)
Contact them on their Facebook Page here

Herb Butter and Chocolate Peanut Butter by POP!

Were they a mirage or an illusion, because I cannot seem to find trace of them on social media platform. Sigh! POP makes the most delectable chocolate peanut butter. Imagine this really chunky, delicious peanut butter. Now imagine this gooey, thick chocolate sauce. Now mix the two. Yes, that’s it!

They also do this yummilicious, fragrant, herb butter, that when spread on bread magically turns it into garlic bread. I came home with one jar and cannot stop spreading it on things- toast, crackers, left over roti. Slightly on the saltier side, so I ate it sparingly.

One of my greatest regrets in life would be not getting that Chocolate Peanut Butter. (I was trying to be healthy…as if!) But I’m going to be content with stuffing my mouth with the butter till then.
(Rs. 250/- for a jar of Herb Butter)

Jus Divine Cold Pressed Juice

Cold Pressed juices are the new cupcakes. Everyone seems to be doing them. They use cold-press technology that gently grinds and squeezes the fruit to extract the juice. These juices have a higher nutritive value compared to other conventional juicing techniques.

Now since I’m an existing fan of these cold pressed juices, I decided to give these a shot. (Read about my Raw Pressery juicy experience here) After doing the hard work (lol) of tasting a few of them, I narrowed down on the Apple-Pineapple-Wheatgrass. It has this sweet apple + pineapple taste initially with an after taste of wheatgrass. I liked that it was slightly pulpy too. Made me feel good about taking in fiber, and all that.

They also do plain juices made out of a single fruit- orange or pineapple in case you don’t want to opt for the mixed ones. The Almond-Chocolate-Coconut and Almond-Mango-Coconut, may be higher on the calories but make for an interesting dessert drink. Many thank yous to them for having a user-friendly website and an online payment portal. I wish they did a one day cleanse though. (Rs. 150/- for 250 ml. of Apple-Pineapple-Wheatgrass juice).

Check out their website here and Facebook page here

P.S. Everyone’s favorite cold stone ice cream brand Hokey Pokey were there too. And they were serving these dessert sandwiches: Xcess Chocolate-Nutella and White Chocolate-Strawberry apart from the usual ice creams. These calorie laden fillings were served inside hot, buttery toast and were so good! I’m going back for them to their Carter Road outlet where they now retail.
(HoPo Melts for Rs. 99/- each)