Pottermania hits new high with magical culinary journey to Hogwarts

The frothy goodness of non-alcoholic 'Butterbeer' and Hermione Granger's recommended seafood soup 'Bouillabaisse' are but some of the delicacies straight out of Harry Potter's magical world at The Great Feast here at Andaz Delhi's Soul Pantry.

Vividly reminiscent of Hogwarts' start-of-the-term Great Feast, the gastronomic extravaganza is bound to transport foodies and 'Potterheads' alike to the magical world of wizardry by serving them recipes inspired from the famous book and film series.

The flags of the four Hogwarts houses -- Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff -- potion bottles and slouchy "sorting hats" adorn the venue hosting one-of-its-kind Harry Potter-themed spread curated by chef Saumya -- a die-hard Potterhead herself.

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From colourful burgers and flatbreads -- depicting different houses of Hogwarts -- to innovative magical concoctions like the wizards' go-to drink 'Fizzy Pumpkin', a fiery ruby red drink 'Goblet of Fire' or shot of the forbidden 'Blood of Unicorn', celebrated author JK Rowling's creation Harry Potter is literally the food for thought of the magical dining experience.

"For fans, Harry Potter is not just any movie or book, it is their entire childhood, their entire life, memories and whatnot. So when my colleague from marketing, who is also a potterhead, came up with this idea of Harry-potter inspired menu, I was totally in for it. And in two days I curated the whole menu from scratch as a tribute to our favourite home wizard series," the chef told PTI.

But recreating these recipes for "muggles" was not as easy as a flick of the wand. A lot of thought, innovation and a few drops of 'Felix Felicis' went behind it.

For instance, the chef used different vegetables and even tea to give colour to a variety of burgers and flatbreads, such as beetroot for red (Gryffindor), pumpkin for yellow (Hufflepuff), spinach for green (Slytherin), blue leaf tea for blue (Ravenclaw), and coconut lemonade with gold dust for 'Felix Felicis', also known as 'liquid luck'.

"So, 'Felix Felicis', if you look at the book it has several parts of the animals and reptiles and other things in this concoction. Now, of course, I can't use the same in my version of the drink for human consumption. So to zero in on the ideal ingredients for the drink and food that not only people enjoy but also tastes good was time-consuming and tough," she explained.

The other highlights of the menu include 'Forbidden Forest Salad' (comprising spinach leaves, bell peppers, arugula leaves, zucchini and barley with honey mustard dressing on top of it), 'Mrs Weasley's Corn Ham Sandwich' (inspired by Mrs Weasley's famous Corned Beef Sandwich).

Of course, for Potterheads, the whole experience was enchanting and drool-worthy.

"Harry Potter is something I have grown up with. I have watched the different movies at least 30 times. So the food here took me back in time and made me rethink about the entire series again," said Omita Unnarkar Jain, who was accompanied by her son -- a budding Harry Potter fan.

The feast would vanish off the table after the grand finale on July 31 -- the birthday of JK Rowling and the boy wizard himself.