Old Madras Baking Company has always had a reputation for doing things properly, and its latest move makes that reputation even harder to argue with. The Chennai-based artisanal bakery recently hosted a special launch event to unveil a brand new global-inspired menu, developed in close collaboration with two highly acclaimed Australian baking consultants.

The new range introduces formats and flavours that Chennai's culinary landscape has largely not experienced before, bringing together loaded croissants, Alsatian-style flammekueche, premium meat and vegetarian pies, wraps, and flatbreads with hummus, pesto, and garlic butter. It's an ambitious and genuinely exciting addition to what Old Madras Baking Company has built so far.

The collaboration was anchored by Graham Martin, an internationally recognised Australian baker with over five decades of artisan bread-making experience behind him. A World Flatbread Competition winner from Las Vegas in 2025 and Director of Rick's on Sixth in Australia, Martin brought deep knowledge of global baking trends to the development process, including the growing popularity of European-style flammekueche from the Alsace region of France and the evolving world of loaded croissants and contemporary flatbreads.

The pie section of the menu was shaped by a second consultant, an award-winning Australian pie specialist who has collected over 200 medals for meat pies, bringing serious craft credentials to the range.

Working alongside both consultants was Chef Pazhanisamy Kaliyaperumal, who has been with Old Madras Baking Company for eight years and brings extensive international experience across Canada, the United States, and India. His role in adapting the recipes for local tastes while preserving their global authenticity was central to making the menu work for Indian consumers.

The full new range includes Mushroom, Spinach, and Bacon and Onion Flammekueche, along with Avocado and Feta, Chicken, Lamb, and Salmon Filled Croissants. The pie selection covers Scrambled Paneer, Pepper Veg, Paneer, Chicken, Lamb, Chicken Masala, and Passion Fruit, alongside a Banoffee Tart. Wraps come in Salad, Chicken, and Lamb, and the Flatbread with Hummus, Pesto, and Garlic Butter rounds off a spread that covers a lot of ground with genuine confidence.

The new products are being introduced across Old Madras Baking Company outlets in phases, with the complete range available across all Chennai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad outlets by June 2026.

The brand was founded by Sweta Garapati, who has been instrumental in building the bakery into the respected name it is today while championing women's empowerment and leadership within the food and hospitality industry. This new menu feels like a natural extension of that ambition: bringing the best of global baking to Indian consumers without cutting corners on craft or technique.

Burger Singh just closed its Series B round and the numbers tell a strong story. The Gurugram-based burger chain has raised INR 82 crore at a valuation of INR 520 crore, with the round led by Artal Asia Pte Ltd and participation from Negen Undiscovered Value Fund, Aurum Rising India Fund, and a mix of new and existing investors.

But what makes this funding round interesting isn't just the size of it. It's what Burger Singh plans to do with it.

The brand is not simply opening more outlets. It's building what Founder and CEO Kabir Jeet Singh describes as India's franchise-first restaurant growth platform, a structured, scalable system that allows local entrepreneurs to open and run successful franchise-owned outlets with the right support behind them. That's a meaningfully different ambition from just expanding a burger chain.

India's quick-service restaurant industry has grown significantly over the past two decades, but most of that growth has come through company-owned stores or master franchise arrangements. What hasn't developed at the same pace is a well-organised platform that genuinely enables individual entrepreneurs to succeed in the restaurant business at scale. Burger Singh sees that as the gap worth solving.

With 200 plus stores already operational across 100 plus cities including Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Jaipur, Chandigarh, and Amritsar, the franchise backbone is already in place. The fresh capital will now go towards deepening that infrastructure across store design, training systems, operating manuals, supply chain integration, technology, and on-ground market support.

The brand's FY 2024-25 revenue of INR 117 crore reflects consistent growth across both metro markets and emerging cities. Products like Nikku Singh, Udta Punjab 2.0, Churmur Pandey, and Bunty Pappeh Da Aloo have built genuine recall in a crowded category, helped along by accessible pricing and a menu that has been built specifically for the Indian palate rather than adapted from somewhere else.

Kabir Jeet Singh was clear about the larger mission behind the raise. "India has no shortage of entrepreneurs. What it lacks is enough high-quality operating platforms that allow those entrepreneurs to succeed in the restaurant business at scale. That is the gap we are solving. We are not just opening outlets; we are building the platform Indian entrepreneurs can plug into to create successful restaurant businesses."

Founded in 2014, Burger Singh was built with a specific premise: not to imitate foreign burger chains but to reinvent the burger for Indian tastes at an affordable price. More than a decade later, that premise is now the foundation of a platform play with real scale ambitions.

There was a time when hosting meant picking up a reliable Scotch or a familiar bourbon and calling it done. That time has quietly passed. Today's hosts are thinking more carefully about what they pour, and India's growing collection of limited-edition single malts is giving them genuinely compelling reasons to do so.

These aren't just well-made whiskies. They come with stories, rare production runs, distinctive flavour profiles, and the kind of visual presence that makes them conversation starters before anyone has taken a sip. Here are five expressions worth knowing this season.

GianChand Adambaraa and Manshaa

From the Himalayan foothills of Jammu, GianChand's twin expressions are a smart pairing for any hosting setup because they cover different ends of the flavour spectrum without requiring two separate bottles from different distilleries.

Adambaraa is the unpeated expression: smooth, inviting, and layered with dried apricot, honey, caramel, and soft spice. It's the kind of whisky that works across a wide range of palates and makes a confident first impression. Manshaa takes things in a bolder direction with medicinal peat, citrus brightness, and warm spice running through it. Put both on the table and you've covered the room. Both expressions have collected multiple international awards, which adds credibility alongside the craft.

Crazy Cock Madhuca: The Heritage Editions

This one stands out even in a crowded field. Crafted at South Seas Distilleries, the Madhuca series uses Mahua cask finishing, a genuinely rare technique that nods directly to indigenous Indian ingredients and tradition. The result is a whisky that unfolds with floral sweetness, vanilla, caramel, gentle spice, and dried fruit, all tied together by something that feels rooted and distinctly Indian. For hosts who want to serve something that sparks a real conversation about Indian craft, this is it.

DOAAB 01: Six Blind Men and the Elephant

DOAAB's debut expression arrives with a strong sense of identity. Matured in ex-bourbon barrels and limited in release, it delivers a balanced, smooth profile with subtle sweetness and the kind of approachability that works well for mixed gatherings. The packaging, inspired by Mandana art, is striking enough to earn its place on any well-curated bar shelf. For hosts who think about aesthetics alongside flavour, this one ticks both boxes without trying too hard.

Indri Triple Wood Limited Expressions

Indri has been gaining recognition steadily, and the triple-wood maturation process is the reason. Ex-bourbon, wine, and PX sherry casks each contribute something different, and the resulting whisky brings together dried fruits, honey, vanilla, spice, and oak in a way that's rich without being overwhelming. It's a crowd-pleaser in the best sense: versatile, well-made, and consistently well-received across different palates.

Amrut Special and Cask-Strength Releases

Amrut's place as a global pioneer in Indian single malts is well established, and its limited editions carry the intensity and depth that reputation is built on. Dark chocolate, bold spice, caramel, and oak define the profile, shaped by India's tropical maturation conditions that accelerate the ageing process in ways that cooler climates simply cannot replicate. These are bottles for seasoned whisky drinkers and late-evening pours when the conversation has deepened and the room has settled.

The larger point is this: India's single malt landscape has arrived at a level of quality and variety where it no longer needs to borrow credibility from anywhere else. These expressions stand on their own, and hosting with them makes a clear statement about how seriously you take both your bar and your guests.