Experience the magic of North East at The Ashok

To showcase the unique and vibrant culture of the North East, perhaps one of the least explored regions of India, especially its culinary heritage, India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) is organising a three-day food festival (December 3-5) at The Ashok’s restaurant, The Oudh. The food fest is a part of the cultural extravaganza organised in sync with ITDC’s objective to promote tourism and will also present handicraft items and organic spices the North Eastern states of India.

“We are delighted to offer the experience of magical North East from the corridors of The Ashok, New Delhi. We have been continuously working towards highlighting the rich culture and tradition of our country through its art, food and culture. This is yet another occasion when ITDC and the officials of the respective states have come together to organise a festival to celebrate India’s rich cultural heritage. We will continue promoting such cultural exchanges in future too,” shares GKV Rao, Director General - Tourism, GOI and Managing Director, ITDC.

Coinciding with the International Tourism Mart taking place in Kohima to boost tourism and business in North East India, the food festival will showcase famous cuisines from the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim. 

The Ashok’s Resident Manager Asad Fayyaz shares that the hotel has involved all the eight states for the creation and development of the theme and ambience in and around The Oudh. “To get authentic flavours, we have introduced our chefs with the ones from the states so that they can get that perfect taste,” he says, adding the hotel team has tied up with State Bhawans in New Delhi to procure the ingredients and prepare the dishes. 

Chef Sanjay B Dasari, Executive Chef, The Ashok, shares that the first thing which struck his mind when the mention of a North East Food Festival came up was the authenticity of the cuisines. “We do not have much expertise and our first challenge was to find help which we received from the North East State Bhawans and after a hectic week of preparations, we are ready to welcome guests,” he says. 

The Ashok also plans to celebrate a Kashmiri Food Festival in January next year and follow it up with a Punjabi Food Festival in April 2022.