When we combined our obvious love for food with travel, local experiences, and culture, we stumbled upon our dream idea – Safarnama. This project is the brainchild of our sister company, The Thali Tradition where the focus is regional food, local cuisines, and a keen sense of understanding the culture of communities across India.
Safarnama is The Thali Tradition’s travel account that attempts to find the sweet spot of food, tradition, culture, story, and storytellers. The first edition of Safarnama was held in Goa in October this year. The sunshine state was an obvious choice because we wanted to focus on how the Goa story has evolved, and how versatile it is. The state has a myriad of intersections between food, drink, culture, architecture, and history for a curious soul to explore.
When people say it takes a village to build an IP, they are not wrong. Our team at The Thali Tradition was supported by many people who helped build and bring our dream project to life. The Westin Goa acted as the perfect backdrop for our experience and story, being the perfect blend of luxury and the susegad Goa vibe. Goa, for most, is synonymous with a vacation, fun vibes and sundowners. While we catered to that with our version of events, our celebration partners Umami Brew helped elevate this by providing on-arrival, and in-room bar refreshments that are gut-friendly and also served as fun cocktail mixers during our other events.
But what made Safarnama Edition 1 truly memorable were the people who joined us on this adventure. The Thali Tradition team evaluated and assessed 50 personalities and then picked a cohesive and eclectic set of 10 guests for the launch edition. The team captured the smiles and fun experiences with Google Pixel, our primary partner.
Building an itinerary is never easy. So many experiences, places and of course, food to cover. Team research started with finding out what the locals eat and drink on an ordinary Tuesday afternoon – that was the point of this entire project. To know what locals consume, the ingredients, the culture, traditions, and the sense of community. The Thali Tradition’s core team took a deep dive into the local culture – the textile used as a table runner, the architecture, the culinary landscape, and much more. Local experts also helped us curate an itinerary that struck a balance between showcasing time-honoured traditions and introducing the new and exciting brands we had on board. The result was a trip that featured iconic landmarks, historical sites, lesser-known establishments, and access to yet-to-be-launched spots.
The Safarnama adventure was a three-day experience with exciting events lined up for the guests but in The Thali Tradition’s style!
Safarnama kick-started with an ode to what The Thali Tradition does best – hosting a thali experience where the local cuisine is the hero. The Goan Thali experience at The Westin Goa’s The Market was the ultimate chef’s tasting experience paired with local feni and gut-friendly beverages from Umami Brew. It was the quintessential Goan thali with dishes such as Rawa-fried King Fish, Raw Mango Dal, Goan Fish Curry, Recheado Prawn, Calamari Balchao, Goan Red Rice, and much more for the non-vegetarians. The vegetarian version had Mix Veg Caldine, Cafreal Paneer Tikka, Cashew and Mushroom Xacuti, Dal Varan, Solkadhi, and much more.
Day one ended with bringing back what we started with – The Secret Supper Series. This come-back of our signature Secret Supper experience was held at The Drift where the focus was on the fresh catch of the day, grilled by the chefs at The Westin Goa, with exciting cocktails at an in-water dining experience. Besides the fresh catch, the guests also had many dishes such as Crackers with Kokum Dip, Crispy Yoghurt Wrap, Drift’s Signature Rajapuri Green Vatana, Cajun Spice, Mock Meat Steak, Mushroom Massaman, Raw Papaya Salad, and much more to choose from.
The second day started with #BreakfastOfChampions, a Latin Quarters Food Trail. Everyone loves a food walk and there is no better way than spending a morning, walking the beautiful streets of Goa’s Latin Quarters, soaking up the sun, admiring the Portuguese architecture, stopping by for a quick picture, and of course getting a taste of how Goa eats its breakfast. We stopped by four iconic spots in the area that have been standing tall for generations. At Padaria Prazeres, the guests enjoyed coffee, with their Olive Focaccia, and Pastel De Nata. Next up was Confeitaria 31de Janeiro, where Sausage Rolls, Prawn Empadinhas, and Guava Cheese were ordered followed by Mr. Baker 1922 known for their Chorizo Samosa and Serradura. Finally, the fourth spot, Café Bhonsle is where the guests stopped by for Aloo Bhaji with Banana Bun, and fresh juice.
But if you thought we planned a travel experience to Goa and missed out on the booze, you are mistaken! We ended day two with our IP Cocktails & Chakna where the focus is once again on regional chakna and food, cocktails, and conversations. But unlike our inaugural event of Cocktails & Chakna in Delhi, this time we included three bars – call it a bar-crawl, if you may. We started at Drift, at The Westin, where our guests stayed for three days, then moved to Hosa where the drinks flowed, just as freely as the conversation, and ended our night with a special preview of Boilermaker, Goa’s hottest new bar!
After a night out in Goa, day three was for the guests to enjoy The Westin’s Signature Sunday Brunch at The Market, Westin. The freshly-made ross omelette was the perfect end to this food, culture, drinks, and everything Goa adventure.
Just with our other events at The Thali Tradition, we aim to highlight regional cuisine, and with Safarnama, we plan on doing the same with travel and culture to make the experience more immersive. The team is currently planning the next three editions across Rajasthan, Bengal, and the North East where we aim to explore the crosspoints of food, drink, culture, architecture, design, and people who drive key local stories. With Safarnama, the dream is to show the kind of content we want on our OTT screens that showcases India via an interesting lens.
