Vanilla County

There is a certain pressure in hospitality that never quite goes away. To add more rooms.To grow faster.To become something bigger than what you started as. Over the years, we’ve heard it many times—“Why don’t you expand?”“Why not add a few more cottages?”“There’s so much potential here.” And they’re not wrong. But somewhere along the way, we realised something simple: Not everything that can grow, should. Vanilla County has remained an eight-room home—not because we lacked opportunity, but...

Some ideas don’t arrive with fireworks.They arrive quietly — like a conversation that lingers, or a place that stays with you long after you’ve left. Estate Pantry began that way. A few months ago, the three of us — myself, Tharun, and Lakshmi — found ourselves crossing paths in Pullikanam, without any grand plan or fixed agenda. What we did share, though, was a common feeling: that this landscape deserved something thoughtful. Something rooted. Something done properly. There was no dramatic...

At the old Mavady Estate Bungalow, near Vagamon, Christmas carries the scent of caramel, spice, and old planter traditions. This Dutch-style heritage home, now known as Vanilla County, belongs to fifth-generation planter Mathew Vallikappen, whose kitchen comes alive each season with the making of the Planter’s Fruit Cake. The recipe traces its roots to Mathew’s maternal grandmother, Chinnamma Dominic, a gifted cook who perfected her version of the English-style fruit cake in another part of...