MAM
Australian Macadamia Festival returns to Delhi with an expanded edition
Mumbai: The Australian Macadamia Society (AMS) hosts the second annual Australian Macadamia Festival (AMF) in Delhi from 1-9 September 2024. Supported by the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade), this festival will highlight the Australian Macadamia nut through a series of events, workshops, and collaborations with 11 of Delhi’s top culinary establishments.
This year’s festival aims to bring Australian macadamias to a wider audience, featuring them across diverse food and beverage institutions in Delhi. From vegan restaurants and cafes to upscale patisseries, global cuisine eateries, and bars, Australian macadamias will be showcased in a variety of settings. The festival connects local favourites with global excellence, making these nuts accessible across Delhi’s culinary scene.
Australian Macadamia Society’s marketing manager, Jacqui Price stated, “The Australian Macadamia Festival is not just a celebration of a unique ingredient but a fusion of cultures and culinary traditions. Our goal is to introduce the rich, buttery flavour of Australian macadamias to Delhi’s vibrant food scene, making them a staple in the city’s cherished local spots. This festival embodies the perfect harmony between local and global, encouraging everyone to appreciate their local favourites while enjoying a taste of Australia. With the support of the Australian Trade and Investment Commission, we aim to make this edition of the festival bigger and better than ever.”
Senior trade and investment commissioner, John Southwell added, “We are delighted to support the Australian Macadamia Society with the Australian Macadamia Festival this year and look forward to promoting our native nut in India, which also is now subject to a progressive reduction in tariffs thanks to the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement. This means macadamias are more accessible to consumers and food processors – a great outcome for everyone!”
This festival offers not just food but a cultural experience. Participants will discover the history, culture, and unique flavours that make Australian macadamias special. Chefs and experts will guide attendees through an enlightening journey—informative and delicious. From workshops on baking with Australian macadamias to innovative cocktail-making sessions, participants will gain a newfound appreciation for these nuts and their benefits.
What to Expect:
– Baking Demo Workshop: On 2-3 September, a Baking Demo Workshop at Miam Pâtisserie will feature Chef Bani Nanda, focusing on creating an Australian Macadamia Bundt Cake. Attendees will explore the versatility of Australian macadamias, witness the cake-making process, and decorate their own cakes.
– Cocktail Making Demo Workshop: On 4 September, the festival will host a Macadamia-Cocktail Making Demo Workshop at Sidecar, led by co-founder Minakshi Singh. The session will highlight innovative cocktails infused with Australian macadamias, showcasing how this premium nut combines with craft mixology.
– Trade Meet: On 5 September, a Trade Meet at The Holiday Inn, Aerocity, will feature keynote speaker Mahendra M Barve, Vice President, Product Development for Chocolates and Confectionery, ITC. This event, tailored for industry stakeholders, will explore the commercial potential of Australian macadamias in India’s food industry.
Throughout the festival, top-tier restaurants like Miam, Lavonne, Whisky Samba, Wine Company, Camillo’s Pizzeria, Colocal, CARRA, People of Tomorrow, and Karma Lakelands will offer a special Australian macadamia-inspired menu. Guests will have the opportunity to savour exclusive dishes, promoting the rich flavours and culinary versatility of Australian macadamias.
AD Agencies
Fevicol releases its last ad campaign by the late Piyush Pandey
The adhesive brand’s last campaign by the late advertising legend Piyush Pandey turns an everyday Indian obsession into a quietly powerful metaphor
MUMBAI: Fevicol has never needed much of a plot. A sticky bond, a wry observation, a truth that every Indian instantly recognises — that has always been enough. “Kursi Pe Nazar,” the brand’s latest television commercial, is no different. And yet it carries a weight that no previous Fevicol film has had to bear: it is the last one its creator, the advertising legend Piyush Pandey, will ever make.
The film, released on Tuesday by Pidilite Industries, fixes its gaze on the kursi — the chair — and what it means in Indian life. Not just as a piece of furniture, but as a currency of ambition, a vessel of authority, and a source of quiet social drama that plays out in every home, office and institution across the country. Who sits in the chair, who waits for it, and who eyes it hungrily from across the room: the film transforms this sharply observed cultural truth into a narrative that is, in the best Fevicol tradition, funny, warm and instantly familiar.
The campaign was Pandey’s idea. He discussed it in detail with the team before his death, but did not live to see it shot. Prasoon Pandey, director at Corcoise Films who helmed the commercial, said the team needed five months to find its footing before they felt ready to shoot. “This was the toughest film ever for all of us,” he said. “It was Piyush’s idea, magical as always.”
The emotional weight of that responsibility was not lost on the team at Ogilvy India, which created the campaign. Kainaz Karmakar and Harshad Rajadhyaksha, group chief creative officers at Ogilvy India, described the process as “a pilgrimage of sorts, on the path that Piyush created not just for Ogilvy, but for our entire profession.”
Sudhanshu Vats, managing director of Pidilite Industries, said the film was rooted in a distinctly Indian insight. “The ‘kursi’ symbolises aspiration, transition, and ambition,” he said. “Piyush Pandey had an extraordinary ability to elevate such everyday observations into iconic storytelling for Fevicol. This film carries that legacy forward.”
That legacy is considerable. Over several decades, Pandey’s partnership with Fevicol produced some of the most beloved advertising in Indian history, building the brand into something rare: a household name that people actively enjoy watching sell to them.
“Kursi Pe Nazar” does not try to be a tribute. It simply tries to be a great Fevicol film. By most measures, it succeeds — which is, in the end, the most fitting send-off of all.
