Written by Heena KhandelwalMumbai | January 15, 2026 12:18 PM IST 5 min readThe gathering kicked off from Delhi last year. This year it to Mumbaiat 150 year old Mukesh Mills. (Express photo)This weekend, Mumbai’s crumbling yet charismatic Mukesh Mills will be transformed into something it has never quite been before: a living, breathing canvas for food, art, and storytelling. The 150-year-old mill by the sea will host The Gathering, an ambitious three-day food festival that brings together chefs, artists, and cultural thinkers to create what its organisers call a new vocabulary for modern India, spoken through flavour, form, and feeling.Running from January 16 to 18, The Gathering positions food not merely as a meal, but as an immersive, multilayered experience. At its heart are five pop-up restaurants led by chefs Niyati Rao, Ralph Prazeres, Doma Wang, Sachiko Seth, Bawmra Jap, Priyam Chatterjee, and Rishabh Seal. Each chef will serve a five-course tasting menu for just 20 guests per seating, making every table feel intimate and intentional. But what elevates these dinners beyond fine dining is the way each menu is entwined with art, memory, and place.Also Read | Mumbai’s Americano, The Table, and The Bombay Canteen among 7 Indian restaurants on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants’ extended list for 2025Rao’s experience, for instance, is a sensorial journey through India’s textile traditions. Each course interprets the warp and weft of regional fabrics, from opulent Kanjeevaram silks to intricate Rabari embroidery, all set within a space designed by Abraham & Thakore. Elsewhere, artist duo Sachiko Seth and Udit Mittal present ‘The Noodle Factory’, a living installation that reimagines Wang’s childhood home in Kalimpong. At its heart of The Gathering are five pop-up restaurants led by chefs (L-R) Bawmra Jap, Doma Wang and Sachiko Seth, Ralph Prazeres, Niyati Rao, and Priyam Chatterjee and Rishabh Seal. (Express photo)Stories of identity continue to unfold across the festival. Photographer Pablo Bartholomew maps the lives of the Kachin people across Northern Burma, Northeast India, and Yunnan, forming the visual backdrop to chef Bawmra Jap’s food. On the plate, herbaceous pickled tea leaf salad and the rich comfort of tamarind pork mirror the layered histories being projected around the diner.Behind The Gathering is founder and festival director Sushmita Sarmah of CAB Experiences, for whom food has always been a point of convergence.“We have put together so many experiences over the years, and the common denominator was food,” she said. Growing up in North India, Sarmah recalls having limited exposure to regional cuisines. “Today, the way we think about food has completely changed. Regional food has found new space and confidence.”A philosophy of shared tables, shared storiesThe idea for the festival came from a deeply personal moment — an informal dinner where friends arrived with dishes from their homes, coming together to create an impromptu 10-course meal. “Food became a place for sharing,” she said. That philosophy now shapes The Gathering: shared tables, shared stories, and creative collaboration across disciplines.Story continues below this ad“As much as it is about food, it is also about bringing creative people together and telling stories that feel larger than life,” she added. A snapshot of food from the Gathering (Express photo)Beyond the pop-ups, the festival unfolds across multiple spaces. The Salon hosts conversations on culture, politics, history, and spirituality through the lens of food.The Workshop offers around 15 hands-on sessions, from sake tasting to zero-waste cooking. The Arena sets the soundtrack, while The Interlude, a seaside lounge overlooking the Arabian Sea, invites guests to slow down with sangria. There’s also Movable Feast, featuring food stations and a speciality cocktail bar by The Bombay Canteen.The first edition was hosted in Delhi a year ago, and Sarmah said several learnings from the inaugural festival shaped how the Mumbai edition was conceived. For instance, it was originally designed as an adults-only experience, but the Delhi edition saw many attendees bringing their children for lunch sessions, using the festival as a learning space. “We’ve now opened it up to children as well, because Indian sensibilities are changing,” Sarmah shared.Story continues below this adWhat next for The GatheringThe Gathering is already looking ahead. Bengaluru is next, followed by pop-ups at global art and design festivals like the Kochi-Muziris Biennale and Design Week, and eventually to cities like London, Dubai, and Singapore.“We want to share India’s food story and how we are interacting with, consuming, and building it with the world,” she concluded. This weekend at Mukesh Mills, that story unfolds, layer by layer, course by course.Heena Khandelwal is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express, Mumbai. She covers a wide range of subjects from relationship and gender to theatre and food. To get in touch, write to heena.khandelwal@expressindia.com ... Read MoreStay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd