Come March 4 and all roads for Mumbai’s foodies will lead to the three-day UpperCrust Food and Wine Show, with mid-day as the media partner. Now in its 18th edition, the event has been one of the highlights of the city’s F&B calendar, and the fact that it returns after a pandemic-induced break doesn’t seem to have dulled its sheen in the least. “The fact that we are back after two years has got everyone excited. The response has been great so far. We’ve had a lot of people tell us that they now know that Mumbai is back to normal. In terms of this year’s line-up, we have several regulars who are back but also fresh new faces. I am particularly excited about the focus on home chefs — during the pandemic, we’ve seen a new breed of good cooks getting into the act. Their impact has been so significant that we’ve dedicated an entire day to them,” explains Farzana Contractor, editor and publisher of UpperCrust.

Mock meat by Blue Tribe