‘One District, One Cuisine’: Govt plans to promote culinary tourism in UP

A UNESCO team had recently visited Lucknow after the nomination, it is learnt.

“So far, only Hyderabad was on the list. So we thought that Lucknow with a rich history of culinary delights — vegetarian and non-vegetarian —is a perfect candidate for the project. Lucknow’s nomination has been accepted from applications from across the world. It is a feat in itself and we are confident that soon the city will officially find a place in the final list as well,” said Principal Secretary, Tourism, Mukesh Meshram.

Tourism Department officials said once Lucknow finds a place in the list, the city would automatically start getting inquisitive tourists just for “culinary visits”.

Under the “One District, One Cuisine” initiative, at least one cuisine to look out for in each district will be shared on social media besides organising food festivals exhibiting these local dishes by roping in hotels.

“Uttar Pradesh has the potential of becoming a culinary tourism destination as many of its delicacies such as ‘Agra ka petha’, ‘Mathura ka peda’, ‘Banaras ki chaat’, ‘Sandila ke ladoo’ or Lucknow’s Awadhi cuisine etc are already quite popular across the world. It is for this reason that we are thinking of coming out with the “One District, One Cuisine” initiative. For this, we will promote the local delicacies and their traditional makers and it will help them generate more business,” Meshram added.

As to how they plan to promote these local delicacies, the officer said, “Since social media is very effective, we are making good use of it. At the same time, we will plan food festivals, rope in traditional eateries, ask local restaurants and hotels to promote local delicacies so that tourists can plan their visits for authentic flavour.”

Officials said they have already started promoting prominent delicacies on social media platforms, where dishes, specialties, uniqueness and the districts to which they belong are shared with photographs.

For example, recently on World Biryani Day, the slow-cooked traditional ‘dum pukht’ technique of ‘Lucknawi biryani’ was highlighted, with the tagline “Its not just a food, it’s a heritage sealed in Handi”. Every layer has saffron, spice and centuries of craft. Every bite is a comfort, culture and celebration,” they added.