Bare necessities

Pune-based Karen Anand finds that she has to spend as much time in Mumbai as her home town. What with her gourmet food business really taking off. Over a year ago, she opened a food counter at Contemporary Arts & Crafts in Napean Sea Road. A few months ago, due to growing demand, she set up another stall at Kiki’s, in Bandra. Recently, she organised a Tapas Festival at Copa Cabana. And if that did not keep the pot from overflowing, Karen found the time to write a book — Lean Cuisine Curries, published by Harper Collins. Says Karen, "I am currently travelling all over India to launch the book. I have just returned from Delhi, and later this month, I head for Calcutta."

And as one of the country’s best known foodies, it comes as no surprise to find out that Karen simply cannot do without good food. "I would love to have good food served to me every day. It should be sensitive food, which means, it should be cooked with a lot of care," says she.

Karen is a nibbler, and tends to eat small quantitiesthrough the day. "It would be great to have good European food served to me." Well, until the service around her improves, Karen is happy to serve up a bounty of delectable treasures.