The more things change, the more they remain the same. The age old ceremony of cake mixing prior to Christmas may have attained five star proportions, but there is no discounting the joy and cheer associated with the ritual. Monday afternoon saw the joie de vivre associated with the family affair spill over at a cake mixing workshop at ITC Sonar Bangla.

In a prelude to the festive feast, the resident chefs took a select audience through the paces of selecting the right fruits and nuts and the art of mixing them.

An interesting array of fruits (raisins, glazed red cherries, orange peel, tutti-frutti, black currants, dates, dried apricots, figs and prunes), nuts (walnuts, cashew, almond flakes and pistachio) and spices (ground cardamom, cinnamon and cloves) went into a huge cauldron. Endless bottles of spirits and syrups like dark rum, brandy, golden syrup, molasses, honey and vanilla essence were poured into the mix while a number of gloved hands kneaded the concoction tirelessly.

Television actress Arunima Ghosh dropped by to pick up a few tips and lend a hand along with the usual dose of glamour.

“The ceremony of cake mixing starts at least six months prior to the festival, but we had to delay the ritual by four months keeping the climatic conditions of the city in mind,” said head chef Bali. The less humid the weather during the drying period the better, he informed.

The mix will be stored and stirred occasionally for the next one month before it is sent to the bakery.

(Top): Chefs at a cake-mixing workshop with actress Arunima at ITC Sonar Bangla on Monday; (above) Amrita sports a crushed skirt designed by Rita Khurana. Pictures by Rashbehari Das

Skirt swirl

The skirt rage has wrapped most city designers worth their labels into its voluminous folds. Skirts in every possible shade and silhouette under the sun have made an appearance in their collections in recent months.

Taking the “better late than never” adage to heart, designer Rita Khurana has been the latest in the lot to latch on to the skirt.

Retailing from her boutique Akriti for the past 12 years, Rita has done a special collection of skirts for the first time. The new line will be showcased at an exhibition at the Genesis Art Gallery on September 7 and 8 along with the rest of her repertoire.

Long crushed skirts and wrap-arounds in hand-woven fabrics have been coordinated with kurtis. Vibrant shades of pink, indigo, orange, lime and yellow with striking contrasts mark the garments. Embellishments pack in everything from sequins and khari print to mirror-work and embroidery.

“Hand-woven fabrics have been my forte and I have used a lot of khadi, handlooms and vegetable dyes this time around as well. You do get an edge working with these fabrics as most other designers prefer to work in georgette and crepe these days,” said Rita who sources her fabrics from various parts of the country.

The exhibition will also display salwar-kurta sets, both in the formal and semi-formal category.

“The speciality of my collections have always been the use of herring bone stitch and mirrors. I have done a new line of salwar suits which has a lot of embroidery combined with zari, dabka work and stones,” informed the designer.

While Rita has taken care to ensure that her clothes are “ethnic yet trendy with a particular identity”, her 20-year-old daughter Amrita has accessorised the collection with stylish bags. A range of jholas, pouches and bags in a variety of sizes complement Rita’s stuff.

What one won’t get to see at the Genesis gallery, however, is a range of pure silver jewellery with stones that Rita has designed to go with the outfits. These will only be available at her Elgin Road boutique. “My clothes portray a very rustic look and silver gels well with them,” stressed Rita.

The price tags read upwards of Rs 750 for skirts and Rs 1,700 for sets.

The salwar suits are priced from Rs 1,850 onwards.