Tatsat Chronicle Magazine

Chefs From Seven Countries Serve Gourmet Cuisine Made From Millets

April 17, 2023
Millets_NITI Aayog

The public can savour a variety of cuisines made of different millets prepared by chefs from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan, Russia and India for lunch and dinner at Shamiana Restaurant at the hotel till April 19 as part of events to commomorate the International Year of Millets, declared by the UN.

The food festival features various organic meals made with millets that have been hand-selected by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member chefs.

The festival is being organised by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, at Hotel Taj Mahal Palace.

Speaking at the inauguration, minister Shripad Naik said that the SCO countries had an exceptional mix of cultures and traditions, which are aptly reflected in their cuisines.

“The cuisines of the SCO countries will offer unique delights to the food lovers. The United Nations declared the year 2023 as the International Year of Millets with a motto of increasing the production and consumption of millets worldwide. The idea behind it is to promote millets as they are climate resilient,” he said.

According to the UN, higher consumption of millets will have an impact on at least half a dozen of Sustainable Development Goals. The declaration has been instrumental for India to be at the forefront in celebrating the IYM.

The minister also congratulated Kazakhstan for the next SCO Presidency and assured that India would continue its efforts to make tourism a successful sector in the SCO region.

While India is hosting Presidency of the SCO for the year 2023, the Millet Food Festival is the fourth and last event being organised by the Ministry of Tourism to celebrate the Presidency. Earlier, the ministry had organised an SCO Tourism Mart from 9th to 11th February, an SCO Expert Level Tourism Working Group Meeting and an SCO Tourism Ministers’ Meeting in Kashi, Varanasi, from 13th to 18th March.

The SCO is an intergovernmental organisation comprising eight member states – China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, four Observer States and 14 Dialogue Partners.