Tourists savour traditional dishes in food fest

Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, December 28

Tourists got a taste of regional delicacies on the first day of a three-day Uttarakhandi food festival which was inaugurated by Additional Secretary (Tourism) Sailaish Baagoli at Garhwal terrace today.

A competition of cooking Uttarakhandi cuisines in a stipulated time was held in which around 15 women participated with enthusiasm. Foreign tourists also savoured kheer prepared using gahath dal cereal, grown widely in hilly areas.

The competition was judged by Sarthak, a winner of television cooking reality show ‘Master Chef’, Ganesh Shaili and Pradeep Khanna from Institute of Hotel Management (IHM), Dehradun.

Sailaish Bagoli commended the efforts of the Carnival Committee for organising such a food festival. The innovative techniques used by some hotels in preparing the food was of the highest standards and more people should take to eating regional cuisines which were rich in fiber and protein, he added.

Jim Canadian, a tourist, savoured the Garhwali thali prepared by Happur Wala and Brentwood Hotel and said his favourite was kandali ka saag. He was extremely happy to see the food festival. It was extremely important to preserve the traditional, rich and indigenous culture of Uttarakhand and food was one medium which depicted the culture of any community, Jim said.

Former Mussoorie MLA Jot Singh Gunsola and MC president Manmohan Singh Mall also commended the efforts of GMVN and Winterline Carnival Committee for hosting the food festival as it would help in popularising the local food among tourists.