International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM) is a prestigious institute in the Garden City of Bangalore ! My first experience with IIHM was with the Young Chef Olympiad (YCO) 2017 at the beginning of this year where talent and culinary skills were in abundance. And we were here again , in the Holiday season month of December for the students to showcase their capabilities and end the year on a high note. Pabulum 2017 held on December 15th 2017 was a Masquerade Party in the Island of Global Food conceptualised and managed by the 3rd year students of IIHM with support from the rest of the house. The idea of Pabulum was centered around the cuisines native to Islands across the globe with the aim to bring that experience closer to home through the Food Festival.

The Invite 

Knowing IIHM to up the ante every time an event is held and the zeal to achieve the best guest experience could be seen right from the way the Invitations were planned. A warm gesture of personally hand delivering the invitation by coming home along with an awesome Christmas cake baked by the students themselves was indeed welcoming and is well appreciated. A Special mention to Elizabeth Moyon, Chinar Chaubal, Joy Sen and Shriyank Agarwal for making that long trip to home from other end of the city for delivering the invitation.The other thing that was different is the Entry Pass itself , any event that we usually go to would have a printed ticket with details but not with Pabulum – the Entry Pass was similar to a Debit/Credit card with a pass number , details of the event and the Terms and Conditions. The event already looked promising.

The Event Day 

Kodava Samaj , the venue of the Food Fest was buzzing with activity.  A well managed entry point with students guiding the guests to the Registration area and then to the event arena. The Fest was not just about Food but IIHM had cultural activities planned as well as a source of entertainment for the visitors. The stage was set ! 

Warmly welcomed at the entrance – Joy, Chinar, Shriyank and Tejpreet were kind enough to walk me through the entire setup and the stalls lined up for per cuisine/region per se.

The Press Meet

Before the event kicked off , we had Chef Sanjay Kak who has been instrumental in mentoring the students for the Food Fest and IIHM Bangalore Director Shalini K Charles providing details about Pabulum 2017 and the upcoming Young Chef Olympiad 2018 

The Culturals

After the enlightenment from Chef Sanjay Kak and some excellent details on how the event took shape, it was time to kick off the evening with the culturals. The Students exhibited the best of Dancing, Singing and the resident band of IIHM Bangalore – Live Wire was at their marvellous best. 

While the culturals were in progress, the appetizers were being served on the fly and they were cooked to perfection. Veg appetizers which included varieties of Paneer, Baby Corn, Potato and Cauliflower as well as Chicken appetizers were being served.

Cocktails and Mocktails option were also available themed on the Bora Bora Islands

The Food 

And now to the Food, Pabulum had the following on offer 

• American and Caribbean Delicacies
• Cuisine from the Island of Sicily and Italy
• African Recipes from Madagascar Island
• Sri Lankan Cuisine
• Food from the new worlds of Australia, New Zealand and Fiji
• Salads, Breads and Soups
• Desserts
• Live Counters for Fajitas, Pasta and Grilled Chicken Sliders

It was a wonderful amalgamation of the best chosen cuisines and the students did justice to the same. It was great food all over . Some of my Favourites of the day were the salads, the Thalappakatti Biryani, the Kadai Paneer, the Chermoula Fish, the Australian Pie, the Pasta, the Pumpkin Soup and the Desserts especially the Rum Balls. A word of appreciation for Supreet Lande for his assist on helping us taste food from the various stations.

The People

Credit goes to each and everyone involved in IIHM to put up a grand show like this one. Here are some snaps of the management and the students though not all who gave their best for the event.

The Decor 

Another standout at the event was the Decor. The IIHM Decor Team did a great job in visualizing the concept and coming up with self made work of art dotting the event, food station decor and catchy lines full of humour yet passing social messages.

Behind the Scenes

While there was fun and frolic at the event, the kitchen and prep area was abuzz with activity a good few hours before the scheduled start. Great to see all the effort and hard work being put in to ensure nothing but the best. Here are some snaps captured while the future culinary experts were busy prepping the food to be served.