De Cascade Bar and Restaurant Opens With Pump And Pageantry In Abuja

It was a gathering of crèmé dela crémé of the society in Abuja when hospitality company, The Cilantro Group in collaboration with the Balvenie brand launched her much anticipated De Cascade Restaurants and Bar on September 21, 2022, located along Ahmadu Bello Way, Kado, Abuja.

The event which saw the High Commissioners of India, Bangladesh, Jamaica and others was electric as the live band serenade guests with classics from yesteryears.

The Balvenie, which is a range of single malts crafted by Malt Master David C. Stewart MBE was created for the discerning whisky connoisseur and enjoyed around the world at high status occasions like the De Cascade Grand Opening.

At the event were diplomats, businessmen and women, entrepreneurs, foreigners with their Nigerian host thrilling and enjoying the exquisite atmosphere.

Speaking with the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, G. Balasubramanian, he explained that the long bilateral relations with Nigeria will continue to improve and bring in more investment by indians in Nigeria, while strengthening peaceful coexistence amongst both nations.

He also believes that tourism, hospitality and cultural exchange programmes which is one of the issue his High Commission is committed to by improving the cultural understanding of both nations.

” This is one of the strings of restaurants Cilantro are opening. It clearly shows the kind of attraction Indian Cuisine has. Of cause it’s a multi-cuisine restaurant, I’m very happy we have many Nigerian friends over here who have been enjoying these cuisines. I hope the addition of this restaurant will further add to the social scene of Abuja.

“India and Nigeria relations started 2years before her independence. Since the opening of our High Commission, our primary focus is to have shared goals and shared prosperities. In that direction, we are involving intensive capacity building for Nigerians.

“Thousands have studied in India whether it was for long term courses or short term courses. The other thing is that we have more than 130 Indian companies with their home based in Nigeria, and more than 50,000 indians are here working in those companies, and most importantly, these Indian companies have invested over $19.3billion dollars in Nigeria. Lots of Nigerians are working in these companies which is a very good way to develop people to people contact.

“So these multicultural aspect is what our political leadership have cherished and would want to continue strengthening. We are working towards having Bollywood and Nollywood coming together through cultural exchange programmes. We are working on many Nigerians sending their troops to Indian while ours come over here. We hope these would fullfil the aspiration of both sides,” he stated.

Also, in an interview with the very warm and hospitable Bangladeshi High Commissioner to Nigeria, Masudur Rahman , he hopes that his country would do more to improve her community in Nigeria while adding to the cross-cultural tours and growth of both nations.

“It was a wonderful experience and feelings. As the Bangladeshi High Commissioner to Nigeria, I feel honoured to be here with the Indian community who are wonderful and awesome. They have been generating a fusion of cross- cultural collaboration,as well as fusion of food tours and expressions, values and E-Tours that commonly binds Africa with South Asia.

“And I, as the Bangladeshi High Commissioner, having Bilateral relations with India which has been cemented by frequent bilateral visits, the heads of the government and heads of the states that has created a wonderful platform. You can see that indians are wonderful community here. There are lots of take out from this communality, they are united with innovative ideas in terms of business and trade, not only with Nigeria but also opening up Nigeria with South Asia as well.

“We opened our high commission in 2016, our community is not well developed my hope is that the diaspora community would build up the cross-cultural tours and fusion and the magic that would improve the chemistry of the bilateral relations. My hope also is that we work towards public diplomatic collaborations as well as other fields that attracts Nigeria and Bangladesh as well,” he explained.

Speaking with the Meta Luxury brand Manager for William Grant and Sons Nigeria, Eddie Madaki, who was on hand to take guests through a curated tasting experience of the Balvenie’s luxury and core range of single malts, he said each expression of the brand is unique, but all are rich, luxuriously smooth and underpinned by a distinctive honeyed character.

He added that for his brand to be associated with the De Cascade Bar and Restaurant, it shows how premium placed it puts the company. He hopes that the collaboration would strengthen the relationship and open up other channels for topnotch businesses and High Commissions who intend to collaborate with The Balvenie brand.