Saloni Bhatia – Delhi
Tasting India Symposium, a conference for global exchange of ideas between international opinion makers and custodians of India’s food heritage, will be held in Delhi from December 2 to 4, 2016. An initiative by Sanjoo Malhotra, chief executive director, Indian Unlimited and Sourish Bhattacharya, food writer, in association with Delhi Pavilion, Sheraton, New Delhi, the symposium will focus on promoting Indian food products globally and introducing culinary tourism in the country. A curtain raiser of the symposium was held recently over a round table discussion on ‘Unravelling the Secrets of the Kitchens of India’. Sharing his viewpoint, Malhotra, whose Namaste Stockholm initiative has become Sweden’s biggest showcase of India, explained, “People only see Indian food as chicken tikka masala and spiced up curries. Little is known about the heritage and diversity of Indian food. People hesitate to visit our country due to lack of knowledge about our cuisines. The vision for us is to give the heritage and living cuisines of India a global status.” Chef Manjit Singh Gill, corporate chef of ITC Hotels and one of the panelist at the discussion, added, “We are very creative with our food because of the rich ingredients and geographical diversity. We have a very strong base in terms of knowledge of our food culture. We need to further understand the Indian gastronomical science and spread it across the world.”
There is a huge demand for traditional Indian cuisines in the international market and tourists are curious about the taste. Colleen Taylor Sen, food historian, shared, “It is astonishing to see how Indian cuisine has evolved over the past years. From sophisticated to traditional restaurants, there are immense options for one to explore. The cuisines are also interacting with different cultures that is resulting in incredible dishes.” The symposium would focus on themes and subjects like Indian food heritage, secrets of Indian kitchen, vegetarianism, treasury of seeds and spices, food destinations of India and the organic movement.