Twisted Decadence – A blindfolded experience!

The name itself was tempting – Twisted Decadence, which promised “a unique dining experience guaranteed to make you discover a spectrum of aromas and flavours.” And unique it was – a blindfolded three-course dinner at one of Mumbai’s premier restaurants, paired with wines from India, Italy and South Africa. The event was organised by All Things Nice, at Olive Bar & Kitchen. My friend S won a lucky draw that entitled her to a couple pass for this event and guess who was invited along?!
All Things Nice is the brainchild of sommelier Nikhil Agarwal and it aims to promote the culture of food and drink in India, through a variety of gastronomic experiences. The company also provides consultancy services to the food & beverage industry. Take a look at their Facebook page and stay posted about upcoming events.

The dinner of course started fashionably late, though only by 30 minutes! Our dinner companions were a varied lot – couple of wine importers, a wine taster, a writer and a radio personality – so conversation flowed as easily as the wine! We began with the Sula Brut Rose, which helped break the ice, so to speak. Before the meal was served, we were requested to blindfold ourselves. However, it was quite difficult ‘fishing’ for food on the plate and I gave up before long! Though couple of people at our table and several other guests sportingly ate almost the entire meal blindfolded!!

For the first course, I chose the Spiced Seafood Escabeche, which was very fresh, nicely dressed and the rocket was the freshest I have had at an Indian restaurant. I was looking forward to the wine accompanying this course, since Pinot Grigio is one of my favoured white wine grape varieties. The Zonin Pinot Grigio from Italy that was served was however just alright; I’ve had better!  



For the second course, I went with the Confit of Duck with a Late Harvest Kokum and Orange Reduction, which was easily the dish of the day! The other non-vegetarian choice of Slow Braised Lamb Shoulder was also quite good according to one of my dinner companions. This course was accompanied by two reds; Sette by Fratelli Vineyards (Indian), which was a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon & Sangiovese and the other one was Le Riche Cabernet Sauvignon from South Africa. I’m not much of a red wine drinker, but I found the South African wine a bit better than the Indian.



The third and final course was the dessert and I chose the Pinot Noir and Star Anise Poached Pear, but later swapped with my friend and settled for the Belgian Dark Chocolate Pate, and was I glad! The pate had a lovely, creamy texture and was made of good quality dark chocolate. The accompanying red currant compote had just the right acidity to cut the sweetness of the pate. This course was accompanied by a beautiful dessert wine – Vin de Passerillage from the Indian vineyard Vallonne.  A delicious end to a delicious meal!





Chef Mayank of Olive Bar & Kitchen deserves a special mention for creating a lovely meal, especially the well-cooked duck, which I couldn’t stop raving about! 

And, of course, a big thanks to Nikhil Agarwal for organising this event, chatting with us about his ideas and for sharing all the images you see on this post!! Can’t wait for the next event...


P.S. Take a look at fellow foodie writer Romi's post about this event here!

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