Food, Fun n Friends, Whatte party it was...

Finally, the day we had all been waiting for came and now it has gone... Damn, feels like it was only yesterday when we all met and were bouncing off the idea of hosting a celebration of sorts... 

The chaos, the activities, the anxiety, the blog posts, the what not have all come to an end now...  It was one hellova evening at Residency Towers- Town Hall on 29th September. 

People were excited, buzzing about
Balloons being filled and going up on the walls and doors
The banners being rolled out
Projectors and screens being tested
Emcees wondering what their script was.... reading, re-reading
Amidst all this, we managed to taste some yummy treats brought by a few members....
------------>  Tasneem Aunty brought us a dessert made using Colostrum
------------> Yalini with her mom's aloo tikkis and her cute cupcakes
deserve a big round of applause... We all needed these to keep us going till dinner time.

We had all met each other only a few months ago, ok, maybe a year. But it felt different, not like any of the other events i have been a part of.. why? we were family. Yes, that is the word- it felt like a family gathering. We were all pitching in without being asked, we were all contributing without being forced, and we had a whale of a time.

The Quiz
The Stand up show by Aswin
The presentations
and the Launch of Chennai food guide website & mobile app [ grrr that it is not available on iOS or BB yet.. but nonetheless a proud moment indeed]
Oh, how could i forget the food and the after-party!! ;o)

 

It was one evening i shall remember for a long time to come!
This was also one evening, when my camera stayed put inside my bag but for these 3 clicks...
and a smile stayed put on my face through the evening....!!

How could i forget? we got cool goodie bags- A Chennai food guide mug, Cookies from Yalini and a coupon from Gormei Market... *drum roll*... icing on the cake, err goodie bag was the rich chocolate Cup cake from Priya's Feast  :-)

As CFG walks into its 9th year, here's wishing the group an amazing interesting fun filled productive journey ahead! 

The journey... Chennai food guide

My 1st interaction with CFG members was at Tuscana in Chamiers. I met Nishanth, Ali and Wasim, got talking about what they do and well, the rest as they say is History.. I have been to Restaurant reviews, interacted with them offline and made quite a few friends through this lovely forum.

Today, when a bunch of make plans to meet, try out OMG at Sandy's, we are a group of friends, we kid around, pull each others' legs, enquire, offer to help and do just about everything good friends would do for each other. Actually, more than a group, we are a family!! 

When we go for reviews, we spend not half hour or one hour, we spend nearly 4-5hrs at the restaurant talking about everything under the sun. There are whines and grins about how photographers hog the limelight [well, it is the food, but they mill around clicking away while food goes cold] and then there are those times when we are busy passing the plate to get a sample of the various dishes.... The meets are always abuzz with excitement, chattering and oohs, yumm, and the occasional yuck or bleh... 

Chennai Food guide was born in Orkut, there was a thriving community, but as all things go through a metamorphosis. It has now become quite the group on Facebook, with over 7000 members, and a vibrant community where members interact freely with restaurant owners; and where feedback [positive/negative] is welcome.. There are the occasional banters, exchange of words that takes place, but then it is all part of the game.

Over the last few months, CFG has come a long way... Going beyond doing restaurant reviews, there are workshops being organized- cake baking, barbecue in the swimming pool, Tex-Mex, Greek food [the latter 2 are yet to happen] and many many more.... This not only brings the people closer, but also helps us learn the nuances of food... 

And now, it is time to celebrate CFG's 8th Anniversary, an opportunity to bring together all the members to one venue, whip up a storm in terms of the dinner, interact with others from the industry and have one awesome evening.. 

Join us in making this evening a fabulous one.... Come be a part of this lovely community.... And no, don't worry about piling on those pounds, we'll give you pointers on gyms and work outs that you can do ;o)

To know more, visit

CFG Page on Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/groups/chennaifoodguide

CFG on Twitter :  https://twitter.com/ChennaiFoodGuid

The link to purchase ticket for the party evening online- CFG 8th Anniversary party