After nearly two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, restaurants are opening up and festivities and celebrations are happening again. Post-Diwali season, the next most-awaited festivities are during Christmas. Just like with any other festival, there are a number of activities that bind people together during the Christmas season as well - one of them being cake-mixing. The Ashok Hotel, New Delhi recently organised a celebratory cake-mixing event that not just involved the chefs, but also children from the Kailash Satyarthi Foundation.
For the unversed, cake-mixing is a preparatory ritual for the upcoming festival of Christmas. It involves soaking dry fruits, nuts, berries, and spices in a mix of liquor in order to blend everything well. This mixture is then used to prepare cakes, muffins, and other delicious baked goodies for Christmas.
The cake-mixing event at The Ashok, New Delhi was a fun-filled evening with tiny tots from the Kailash Satyarthi Foundation. Children donned gloves and prepared a mixture of dry fruits like nuts, raisins, apples, apricots, dried ginger along with glazed red cherries, orange peel, tutti frutti, black currants, spices, and liquors. The children and chefs worked hand-in-hand at the one-of-a-kind event. The mixture has now been left to mature and will later be mixed with cake batter to make scrumptious cakes for Christmas.
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Speaking on the occasion, Chef Arvind Rai, Executive Chef, The Ashok, said, "The pandemic has been a dampener to festivities and celebrations. The times have been stressful for young and old alike. The strong vaccination drive and declining COVID numbers have given people enough confidence to cautiously open up the economy. Also, while festivals like Christmas bring much-needed cheer and celebrations, Christmas rituals like cake mixing give everyone much hope and optimism for a new beginning and joyous times ahead."
A special Christmas menu will also be curated at The Ashok, featuring traditional Christmas delights including mains, drinks, and desserts.