Notes from a Founder

You know that feeling when you’re planning a party? The electric excitement that thrums through your body, knowing all your favourite people will soon be together under one roof. The house itself vibrating in anticipation: candles lit, surfaces clean, music on, lights low.

I’ve been feeling that for the last eight months.

We’re planning the biggest house party you’ve ever been to. In October this year, Goya is hosting a food and culture festival called SALT. (Okay, it’s a bit bigger than a house party.)

Our inaugural theme is The Year of Analogue, and we’re putting the spotlight on what it means to host well. You can expect to discover over 50 of our favourite brands from around the country, showing you their take on thoughtful hosting. Whether it's a cold-pressed coconut oil you'll finish to the last drop, a hand-thrown serving platter, a lamp that changes the mood of a room, or the coffee grinder you'll reach for every morning, we've invited the people who make everyday rituals a little more beautiful.

We’ll be releasing our programme and early-bird tickets soon. (You can sign up here to be the first to know, and we’ll drop all the details straight into your inbox.)

The most rewarding part has been calling brands and founders we've admired for years and hearing them say YES! before we've even finished explaining. It felt great to know that this thing we've been dreaming up doesn't make sense just to us, it fires up other people too.

I’ve always been the kind of person for whom anticipation exceeds the experience itself. I’m happiest when I’m looking forward to the thing: planning it, imagining it. Perversely, when the actual party begins, I’m always a little sad, because I know it’ll be over in a heartbeat.

Well, we still have three months to go, and I plan to savour every moment of getting there.

PS. If you're a brand that wants to join the party, we'd love to hear from you. Everyone else, save the date! And we’ll see you in Mumbai this October.

Four years after moving to Singapore, Shruti Balaji finally discovers a taste of home, and a sense of familiarity, in the humble roti canai. Shared across communities and enjoyed by people of all backgrounds, it is a dish that effortlessly transcends religious and cultural boundaries. Read more.

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The Future of Indian Coffee: Pranoy Thipaiah, Marc Tormo, Arshiya Bose

What happens between picking a coffee cherry and the brew in your cup? How much of coffee’s flavour can we control? What does landscape-level biodiversity conservation for coffee look like in practice? Pranoy Thipaiah, Marc Tormo, and Arshiya Bose discuss the future of Indian coffee through the role of microbes, fermentation, and conservation in this module. Register here.

Words by Anisha Oommen.