There is little fault to be found with the Goa government’s desire to preserve and promote the state’s cuisine. Goa, whose beautiful beaches, built heritage and relaxed pace of life draw visitors from all over India and the world, also has a rich and varied cuisine that deserves greater attention.
Yet, the announcement by Goa’s tourism minister Rohan Khaunte, that it is now mandatory for beach shacks to display and serve the state’s staple meal of fish curry and rice, brings up a question: Are the menus of these shacks really the government’s business?
The mish-mash of sizzler-pasta-fries-dal fry that most shacks serve caters to this crowd. But there is little guarantee that a mandatory fish curry-rice meal on the menus of these shacks — patronised not so much for any scintillating dining experience but for their proximity to the sea — will increase the visibility of the state’s cuisine.
Examples from around the world show how this can be done without resorting to fiats — Copenhagen was successfully promoted as the centre of a “new Nordic cuisine” by encouraging restaurants to focus on local ingredients and contemporary renditions of traditional dishes. Peru, with its tourism campaign “Peru Mucho Gusto” (Peru, full of flavour), funded cookbooks and festivals that drew attention to its culinary heritage. Goan food is delicious, but making it mandatory for businesses to serve it will only leave a bad taste in the mouth.
