With 48 hours to go for the calendar to turn, it?s not just the time to disco; it?s also the time to experiment with culinary and sartorial truths. Burying the old-is-gold trend briefly, Calcutta is out to dig into and slip into all things new before the New Year.

First, the food spread. Stuffed Chicken Breast in Orange Rosemary Sauce, Murgh Mohini and Malacca Noodles with Prawn; Kala Gajar Ka Halwa and Plum Pudding? the exotic Grain of Salt food fare on New Year?s Eve focuses on the Calcuttan?s taste for international dishes modified to suit his palate.

The mix and match menu has reached the Kewpies kitchen, too. The Bengali cuisine stop?s Sheeter Bahar menu is offset by Firinghee Flavours, with retro recipes like Dal Motorshuti Dhoka, Doi Begun and Palong Chhanar Kofta sharing the table with novelties like Norom Chhanar Dalna, Phoolkopir Komola, Bhuna Quail, Duck Vindaloo and Railway Chicken Cutlet.

At popular Chinese stop Mainland China, too, new palate picks, like Turkey Taipei Style and Pineapple Chicken Sichuan Style, are being added to the buffet for year-end variety.

Amidst the lavish spread, Rajesh Gupta of Jharokha spies a low-calorie trend. So, the speciality vegetarian restaurant on Free School Street is putting together an eclectic platter of traditional Rajasthani dishes, like Dal Bati Churma, smattered with Punjabi delicacies like Makai ki Roti, Sarson da Saag, Corn Amritsari, Paneer Lababdar and a special Pudina Lachha Paratha.

A rush for eggless pastries, fresh fruit puddings and baked rasogollas also dictates year-end sales.

But the sweet treats at confectioneries ? of the high-calorie kind ? have been flying off the shelves this fortnight. And how.

?Sales have definitely risen for us this year,? says Lovey Burman of Kookie Jar. ?And this time, people are experimenting with new things much more. They would rather try strawberry gateaux than plum cake.?

At the new-look Flury?s, 12,000 cakes and pastries were sold on December 23, 24 and 25, says Shaun Kenworthy, supervising chef, at the Park Street cafe. And variety is definitely the priority for the Calcutta customer during these few days.

?People are asking for three or four dozen pastries, and mixing and matching,? adds Kenworthy.

Behind the bar, too, there is new competition for old favourites, with wine the winter winner. Adrian Pinto of Sula Vineyards says city sales have doubled in the past year. ?Our target was 64,000 cases for the year, but it looks like we will close at 72,000. Last year, it was 46,000.?

And the festive fortnight can take a large slice of the credit. ?We sell at least a couple of hundred cases more in the festive season, from October to December, compared with the rest of the year,? says Vikram Soni of distributor Essem Agencies.

Even with the liquor list, mix and match is the spirit of the season. At Shisha, Mojito, a mix of Bacardi lemon, mint and brown sugar, still reigns supreme among cocktails, but new addition Caipiroska (vodka, mint, lemon and brown sugar) is fast catching up.

Mocktails like Shirley Temple and Mint Memories are doing the rapid rounds.

Now, the fashion fare. Individualism is the fashion fad on the final night, coupled with colour change, the biggest style turnaround of the year: white as snow, not black as night.

?White is the new black,? feels designer Anamika Khanna.

Kiran Uttam Ghosh echoes: ?Worldwide, white is usually not associated with winter, except for snow. But this year, there has been a total turnaround. White is hot this season.?

Black takes a backseat, with designers proclaiming it to be ?done and out?, but bold purples, pinks and greens continue to shine.

For the ladies, soft knee-length skirts with ruffles, short fitted jackets or long calf-length ones and drapes like stoles or ponchos are the way to go.

?The basic piece one is wearing moves to the background while individual styles become important. For instance, one can wear a short dress and tie a vibrant scarf around the waist to heighten the drama, or wear an antique brooch as a button. Elements of individualism can be brought about by wearing basics like belts, brooches, scarves, jackets or even a shawl in a different manner,? feels designer Ghosh.

?I don?t want to see people wearing strappy dresses or pant suits. Smart party wear, with jackets and boots, should be the look,? adds designer Khanna.

The lustre of leather is what the stylebhais are expected to don. Leather jackets and trousers with silk shirts in bold colours should be the men?s seasonal style statement.

But in leather, too, black is out and bright hues like red and gold or neutrals like camel and skin tones are in.

?Men have finally come out of the black mode and they will be seen in a lot of bold colours. Flamboyance is what they are most likely to flaunt on New Year?s Eve,? says designer Sayon Mitra.