SHOWCASE OF INDIA’S CULINARY DIVERSITY
World Food India, a three-day event that kicks off at India Gate today, will set your taste buds tingling with delicacies from across the world
Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Union Minister of Food Processing Industries, truly believes in the adage: Food brings everyone together. And an amazing gastronomic experience organised by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Government of India, echoes that expression.
In an attempt to place Indian delicacies on the global food map, a first-ever threeday event, World Food India 2017 (WFI), is being held at Delhi’s Vigyan Bhawan and the C-Hexagon lawns of India Gate. From today till November 5, the event will showcase huge investment, sourcing, trading and retail opportunities in India. India being one of the largest food producing markets is the origin of the idea, shares Badal, “After taking over the ministry, I got the opportunity to travel across India and abroad. I went to different food shows, where I found out about countries that were almost the size of one of our Indian cities but growing what their nation needed as well as feeding up to two-three other countries,” she adds.
The Food Street, curated by chef Sanjeev Kapoor, will see an amalgamation of culture and heritage. “Whenever I go to any new state, I ask them ‘what is the most popular street food’ and head to eat that,” says Badal, who herself loves gorging on Delhi street food.
Besides, chef Kapoor will attempt to set a world record by making the largest quantity of khichdi in a single vessel, which would be later fed to the needy.
WFI will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and President Ram Nath Kovind will be the chief guest at the closing ceremony.
The event will see Hackathons, startup competitions, digital theme pavilions, and the coming together of 60 top global CEOs. Denmark, Germany, and Japan are participating as partner countries. While Italy and Netherlands are the focus countries. Food from all Indian states will be on offer.
Will it be an annual event? “I had envisioned it to be [organised] once every two years. And [I am] going to measure its success with the positive impact it creates.”