I had the chance to taste some exceptional soy this week. At a 7-course dining experience at the Oberoi, Mumbai, each course was paired with shoyu (or soy) that was fermented and aged in handcrafted Japanese cedar wood barrels. Early on in the meal, I abandoned all pretense of good manners and slurped it by the spoonful. My dinner date politely averted her eyes. It was salty and umami in a deep, intense way.
The master brewer, Mr Yasuo Yamamoto, positively lit up as he explained the ins and outs of this 150-year-old tradition. Less than one percent of soy is made this way. Mr Yamamoto is a 5th generation brewer, but fewer and fewer people are choosing to follow this path because of the high cost in time and effort. But the value of what has been created is undeniable, not just in what you taste on the plate, but in how you feel when the meal is over.
You can follow Kioke Dojo here, if you’d like to pick up a bottle or two. They have elegant gift boxes, if you’re planning ahead for the festive season, like we are. These are the kinds of stories that make us excited about SALT: the people, traditions and remarkable products that you might otherwise never come across, and the chance to bring them together in one place.
The response to our early bird tickets has been wonderful! Thank you for the support if you’ve bought tickets, told your friends about it, included us in your weekly newsletter, and in some cases — are flying into the city for it!
What is SALT? SALT is a food & culture festival, bringing together 50 of the country’s best producers of artisanal and handcrafted products. Expect to taste incredible food, and meet the people shaping the future of f&b, design, furniture, art, lighting, ingredients and more.
Our theme for the festival is Hosting, and we’re bringing you everything you need to make hosting beautiful and fun, so you can do it often and easily.
Early Bird tickets are live. For this month only, we’re offering 2-day access for the price of 1.
Dedos de dama (lady’s fingers) is a dish that adds old-world charm to the festive dessert table — toffees made with coconut and cashewnut paste (marzipan) and rolled into cylindrical balls coated with caramelized sugar and pierced onto skewers. Almonds in the original recipes were substituted by cashew nuts given their ready availability in Goa.
The coconut is an important part of Goa’s cuisine, especially it’s tea-time and dessert tradition. Judith Maria Braganca digs into the wide range of coconut-flecked dishes that make up Goa’s weddings, feasts, and festivals. Read more here.
When I became an aunt, I wasn’t surprised that my parents planned my sister-in-law’s postpartum care with great seriousness. If my nephew took nine months to arrive in our now-blended Mangalorean–Malayali home, his mother’s recovery would have been on the family calendar for just as long.
The post-partum care of babies in the Mangalorean community is serious business. It involves a balnti posteli or a post-natal caregiver, who guides the new mother through recovery through a regime of rest, recipes, massages, warmth, and rules. Niviya Vas takes us into this practice that has healed Mangalorean mothers for generations. Read more here.
#GoodThings Some of our favourite brands from around India are going to be at SALT!
Käse Cheese is a women-led cheese brand on a mission to produce high-quality natural cheeses in India using ethically sourced milk. Founder Namrata Sundaresan has worked with us on several exciting projects at Goya, and has a wonderful way of making you look at things differently, from the invisible world of lactobacillus to the under-appreciated qualities raw milk. Meet her at SALT, Mumbai, Oct 10 & 11.
Maverick & Farmer is a home-grown coffee brand from Coorg, where Ashish and his team craft single-estate Arabica and Robusta coffees from beans grown in Pollibetta, then freshly roasted in Bangalore. Their iconic coffee shop in Bangalore is one of my favourite spots to sip on an icy brew, and take in the view of young footballers train on the field out front. Maverick & Farmer will be at SALT 2026, come taste their signature brews.
Paul & Mike is a home-grown Kerala chocolate brand known for their award-winning bean-to-bar chocolates, made with locally-sourced cacao and unexpected ingredient pairings. Shop their bars at SALT, Bandra, Mumbai 2026.
Early bird tickets to SALT are priced at INR 699/- and get you full two-day festival access for the price of 1. We go full-price by Sept 1, so book them here.
Until next week,
bon appétit.
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