Gurugram, March 30, 2019: Hotel Crowne Plaza Today Gurugram – a sought-after city hotel in Gurugram, part of the InterContinental Hotels Group, hosted the inaugural evening for a 10-day North Eastern food festival ‘The North East Fiesta’ (March 22- March 31, 2019) on Friday, March 22, 2019 in association with Northeast Odyssey (NEO), a digital platform that showcases the splendor of Northeast through its culture and resorts. Founder of NEO, Ms. Hoihnu Hauzel, a noted journalist who has been working towards spreading awareness about the North East, along with Head Chef Nilesh Dey and his team tirelessly put together an authentic array of North Eastern dishes with the help of Home Chef Roui.
Guests were ushered into the venue through a specially designed traditional wooden gate — a replica of a tribal gate — in the Northeast. To recreate the mood and spirit, a photo exhibition showcasing a kaleidoscope of Northeast at the entrance of the venue by photographers Sarfaraz Borah, Saurav Bothra and Ashokananda Das’ works stood on the easel. Inside, every table is adorned with blooming anthurium to represent its abundance in Mizoram; specially designed table mats reflecting different images of the eight states; coasters with images of people and a map of each state; iconic music from local artistes like the late Bhupen Hazarika, Nagaland’s favourite Teseo Sisters, Alobo Naga, among others, played melodiously in the backdrop.
Reveling in the lively soiree were some guests that included eminent personalities like Ms. Temsutula Imsong, a social activist from Nagaland who shot into prominence for her voluntary initiative of cleaning up the ghats of Varanasi and earned applaud from the honorary Prime Minister Modi, contemporary artist and sculptor Mr. Satish Gupta; Linda Newmai, National Executive Member, BJP ST Morcha, Rita Singh, body builder; culinary experts and bloggers like Rupali Dean, Pawan Soni, Arati Thapa, to name a few. The inauguration was followed by a sit down dinner serving the authentic four course menu to all the guests. A make-shift North Eastern merchandise outlet within the restaurant Café G, where designer Manjuri Hazarika got guests glued to her range of products like beer mugs, cheese knives made of water, buffalo horn, which attracted eyeballs.
“To satisfy our valued guests we have to keep innovating and exploring new flavours. I am particularly happy to introduce our North Eastern Food Festival ‘The North East Fiesta’ which I am sure is the first time in this Millennium City. It has been an incredible journey in bringing this culinary carnival to life as it has not been done before by many. It was immensely intriguing for us when we chose North Eastern cuisine as it has been relatively unexplored.
During this journey, it was a privilege to join hands with Ms. Hoihnu Hauzel who helped us in ensuring the authenticity and getting the essence of North East just right which was a tough task having 8 states aboard.
With this food festival, our endeavor is to deliver our guests unparalleled culinary delights. The idea is to offer something new, innovative and unique to make the guest experience exceptional.” said Mr. Suraj Kumar Jha, General Manager, Hotel Crowne Plaza Today Gurugram.
“Northeast Cuisine has come a long way. Indeed, to be able to showcase this range of unexplored but very unique flavour in a five-star property marks the arrival of this new wave of regional cuisine from a lesser-known part of India. I have no doubt that it will be appreciated especially since the hallmark of our cuisine is simplicity and it is full of nutrients. I hope this is the beginning of a new journey for this cuisine from Northeast. The hotel has been very forthcoming in its attempt to introduce this to its guests and doing so, it is setting a trend.” said Ms. Hoihnu Hauzel, who helped in curation of The North East Food Fiesta.
North Eastern Cuisine is one of the most exquisite cuisines of India. It represents an exotic blend of mouth watering dishes with regional differences and foreign influence. The rest of India knows little about the people and cuisine of northeast India: Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim. Just like their topographical beauty, the gastronomic fare of the states remains by and large hidden from the rest of the country.
Corporate Comm India(CCI NewsWire)
