During one of my consultations, I learnt that gluten-free breads are baked and sold in Bangalore.  I spoke to the owner of this bakery, Ms Shweta Muthanna and she said that she has been making gluten-free, lactose-free breads for a couple of years now.  She also prepares cakes, buns and cookies that are gluten-free.  Her products are made-to-order as of now and she plans to open a sales outlet later this year.

With the number of gluten-intolerant persons growing in Bangalore, this would be useful for your friends / family, if not for you.  If you’re interested in gluten-free breads, call Shweta on +91 9845869109.

On a recent trip to Chennai, we had the opportunity to visit the newly opened ITC Grand Chola, a luxury hotel in Guindy.  It stands true to its name in a grand manner and the main entry to the building comes after doing a ‘pradakshin’ (a devotional clockwise circle) around the building.  The foyer is huge and so is the staircase leading to the first floor.  The beautiful carved marble pillars in the corridors give it a temple appearance.  We were delighted to meet the ‘Bangalore people’ in the hotel – Atul Bhalla, the hospitable and friendly General Manager, the energetic Prakash from Marketing and the ever-smiling and helpful Renu from Guest Relations.  Renu very kindly walked us around and showed us the rooms, suites, spa, pool, gym and restaurants.

The lunch at Cafe Mercara was fabulous.  I enjoyed the Moroccan stew and khobz.  Also picked up some multigrain bread from Nutmeg, the hotel’s bakery outlet.

The icing on the cake was meeting the world renowned author, Jeffrey Archer, in the lobby who was on his way out.