BSM faculty concert

The Bangalore School of Music presented an eclectic concert titled, `Musical Divertimento’ featuring the reputed faculty of the Bangalore School of Music on Saturday (October 20) at the Alliance Francaise.

The flute and Piano duo of Paulette DeMello and Rebecca Thomas played sonatas by Michel Blavet, Maurice Ravel and Emanuel Bach, while virtuoso Violinist Carol George performed soul-elevating pieces such as ‘Meditation’ from ‘Thais’, Ave Maria, Canzonetta by Tchaikovsky and Caprice No 20 by Paganini. Rebecca Thomas, the versatile and popular pianist, was the accompanist. Incidently Carol has now being invited to join the National Symphony Orchestra of India as a violinist.

The BSM String Quartet—Amy Phillips, Noel Gerard, Carol George and Cellist Ashis Biswas—played Mozart’s String Quartet No 13 and the Monti’s ever popular Czardas, to a delighted audience.
 
Cake-mixing ritual

For those who are familiar with Christmas cakes and the celebration that surrounds it, a cake-mixing event is not unheard of. It’s that time of the year again when luxury hotels in the City gear up for the festival with their traditional cake-mixing ceremonies. It is common knowledge that with Christmas cakes, the earlier you mix the dry fruits, the better the flavour.

This is a ceremony that most hotels do not confine to their kitchen tables but celebrate along with their guests wherein people from all walks of life join in to mix the ingredients that goes into the famous cake served during Christmas.

The Taj West End recently organised a cake-mixing ceremony at their Mint Lawn that had guests came forward to help with the ceremony headed by the Executive Chef Sandeep Kachroo and Food and Beverages Manager Rajiv Khanna. According to Sandeep Kachroo, cake mixing is an art by itself and the key to an absolutely delicious cake is in the way it is mixed and the variety of ingredients used.

The ingredients included mounds and mounds of brown dates along with black raisins, red cherries, cashew nuts topped with powdered cloves, cardamom, pepper and other spices. On this was poured several bottles of wine and other liquor and mixed till the dry fruits were completely soaked in the liquor. Finally, a good portion of honey and mixed fruit jam were added to it and taken in for storage till the festive time.