Godrej Vikhroli Cucina and Chef Anahita Dhondy Turn a Bowl of Food Into a Bedtime Story for the Dinner Table
Ask any young parent in India what dinner with a small child looks like these days, and the answer is rarely a conversation. It is a plate of food in one hand and a phone or remote in the other, the television already on before the first bite is taken. A 2025 AIIMS study on screen use among toddlers in Haryana found that letting a child use a device during meals was one of the two strongest predictors of excessive screen time in early childhood, and that one in ten parents admitted to using a screen simply to get their child to eat at all. The struggle isn't getting children to eat. It's getting them to look up while they do.
It also happens to be the season when this matters
most. Children across the city are settling back into school, trading stories
about new classmates, new teachers, new friends made over the break, all the
small collisions that come with starting a year afresh. It's exactly the
stretch when they come home with the questions that are harder to answer on the
fly: why someone looks different, why a friend's house has different rules, why
the world doesn't always sort itself the way they expected it to. Those are big
things to leave a small child to puzzle out alone.
The one moment in a child's day that doesn't have to
compete with a screen is the moment food lands in front of them: a new colour,
a strange shape, a question waiting to be asked. So, Godrej Vikhroli Cucina
released Kitchen Adventures, in collaboration with Chef Anahita Dhondy, a young
mother herself, who built an entire bowl designed to hold that moment a little
longer.
She calls her creation Bubs, the Balanced Bunny
Bowl, a playful nod to Bugs Bunny brought to life on a plate. The first lesson
arrives with Bubs' face, a soft pink sandwich made with Godrej Jersey curd,
tinted gently with beetroot juice and filled with a Godrej Jersey paneer mix.
On open-mindedness and accepting different perspectives: "Bubs isn't your
usual cartoon bunny. He is pink, brown, black, or even spotted! Every bunny is
unique…"
Then come the ears, one leaf of purple cabbage and
one of green. On diversity and harmony, gently pushing back on colour
prejudice: "Some bunnis have different coloured ears. We don’t need to
look or feel the same to be loved. Every bunny is special and deserves a play buddy
like you”; Children will meet people who look, move, communicate, or experience
the world differently from them. Those differences shouldn't be a reason to
exclude, avoid, or treat someone differently.
A cherry tomato half becomes the nose, black olive
slices the eyes, and the whiskers are drawn out in spring onion, left green. On
agency, freedom of choice and individuality: "Moustache of spring onions.
Bubs chose that colour herself! because we all get to choose what we like and
who we are; that's what makes each of us special."
Bubs comes to rest on a bed of spinach rice standing in for a lawn, and last comes her bowtie of oranges at its centre. On balance and embracing the different seasons of life: " A little sour, a little sweet; just like life. The ups and downs make each day special”
Commenting on this, Chef Anahita Dhondy said,
"A meal is the one moment in the day that already belongs to you and your
child. All Bubs does is give you something to talk about while it lasts."
Commenting on this, Mr. Shantanu Raj, Head of
Marketing, Godrej Jersey, said, "In Indian households, values are often
passed on through everyday rituals and shared experiences, with the dining
table remaining one of the most meaningful spaces for connection. As lifestyles
become increasingly fast-paced and screen-led, these moments matter even more.
Food has the unique ability to bring together nourishment, imagination and
conversations that help children understand kindness, individuality, acceptance
and balance in ways that feel natural. At Godrej Jersey, we believe nutrition
supports not just physical growth, but also the small everyday moments through
which families shape values, perspectives and memories that stay with children
for life."
Four small ideas, about openness, harmony,
individuality and balance, land before the plate is even finished, carried in
by curiosity rather than instruction. Godrej Vikhroli Cucina isn't asking
parents to fight the screen for their child's attention. It's handing them a
plate that already has it built with the goodness of Godrej Jersey.

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