A tasting menu in Kochi explores Kerala's gastronomic past
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. There is a unique multi-course, immersive dining experience in Kochi featuring a series of meals shaped by the chefs’ food memories and traditional dishes of Kerala. They are conceptualised by a local food experience curating agency, Bites & Banter.
It was founded by three gourmands and friends—artist Anna Pynadath along with chefs George JP Mayne and Georgy Vinod—in April. The trio don’t have a restaurant space and they pick different venues to complement their menus. It gives them the flexibility to play with decor and create a different mood each time.
Their first menu titled, Burn’t Butter and Bad Jokes, was unveiled in May. It has influences from Mayne’s Luso-Indian lineage rooted in Kerala’s Indo-Portuguese heritage. It is a prominent community residing in Kochi and their food is known for smoked meats and roasts.
The menu reflects this in dishes such as smoky chicken tart, roasted beets served on a bed of wild greens, among others. The last itineration of this menu was held at the art studio and lounge Ō That Vibe in Ernakulam in October. Their newest menu named Forgotten Cochin is a seven-course meal and was launched in October.
The seating is limited and they host a sit-down experience once a month. I signed up for the November edition hosted at the Brunton Boatyard, a restored period building currently managed by the Kerala-based hospitality company Casino Group of Hotels. It was the site for one of Kochi’s oldest ship builders, Geo Brunton and Sons (of England), in the nineteenth century.
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