The great global culinary experiment

Four upcoming food festivals to offer Delhiites the best in world cuisines; wine and music to pep up the mood

Spoilt for choice: At the festivals, visitors can look forward to signature dishes, demo classes by masterchefs, music performances, and open-air art galleries. Photos: Special Arrangement

For the past few years, February, with its pleasant weather and plenty of sunshine, has become synonymous with open-air food festivals that are carefully curated by organisers to offer a slice of the best food in the city and a peek into upcoming food trends. These festivals are often accompanied by live music and dance performances, cooking classes and games so that visitors can lounge around the venue trying the food on offer at a leisure. While it was the farm-to-fork concept of eating organic food or the trending food trucks some years ago, each season brings with it a new experience.

This year, the season began with the Spring Food Festival organised at Lajpat Bhawan on Sunday. It was a treat for those looking forward to savouring home-made delicacies. Proceeds from the festival will go towards helping poor women, slum dwellers and the aged.

Asian-themed flea market

The coming week, the Asian Hawkers Market promises to provide a multi-sensory experience outside Select Citywalk in Saket. The fest will have an Asian-themed flea market, daily performances by a b-boy dance crew; and a competition that will get Delhi-NCR’s most talented bartenders shaking and stirring. The festival will have a Singaporean menu by Social, The Farm Food Company selling preservative-free dips and sauces, and Korean food from Hahn’s Kitchen, among others. The festival will be held from February 10 to February 13.

On the same weekend, the Palate Fest will be organised at Nehru Park, where visitors can look forward to digging into signature dishes. The other attractions at the event will include demo classes by masterchefs, music performances and open-air art galleries.

Gurugram will also host a food festival of its own at DLF Cyber Hub on the same weekend. The three-day Gourmet High Street promises to take visitors on a global culinary tour with its wine-tasting events, gourmet product exhibits, sampling of innovative recipes, and culinary classes conducted by celebrities, mixologists and sommeliers.

Poetry and food

Between February 17 and February 19, the Rekhta Food Festival will be organised at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts on the sidelines of the Jashn-e-Rekhta Festival that is being held to celebrate Urdu poetry. On offer will be Awadhi, Hyderabadi, Parsi, Pashtun, Kashmiri, Afghani, Mughlai, Sindhi, Punjabi and nomadic cuisines. The festival will also feature the finest selection of popular street food.