'Two-day Food festival response more than expected,' says NDMC official

The food festival at Talkatora Stadium was a "success" and stalls that offered food made with millet and 'Purani Delhi' delicacies were instant hits among the city residents, an NDMC official

The two-day food festival in the national capital's Talkatora Stadium was a "success" and stalls that offered food made with millet and 'Purani Delhi' delicacies were instant hits among the city residents, an NDMC official said on Sunday.

The food festival, organised by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), concluded on Sunday with a Sufi music night.

A civic body official said that the response was "more than expected" with people coming from Delhi and NCR in large numbers.

The crowd on the second day was more than the first day because it was Sunday and people came to the stadium with their families to relish good food.

"The response we have received is more than expected. The food festival has been a success. All the traditional and international delicacies have received phenomenal responses from the people. Mainly, millet stalls and the Old Delhi food were amongst the people's favourites," said NDMC member Kuljeet Singh Chahal.

The two-day G20 International Food Festival, themed 'Taste the World,' was inaugurated by Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri on Saturday.

China, Turkey, Japan, and Mexico, all G20 countries, participated in the festival.

Cuisines from 14 Indian states and Union territories -- Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Delhi, Bihar, Punjab, Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Manipur, and Meghalaya were on offer during the two-day festival.

29-year-old Sanstuti Nath, who visited it with her family, said: "It was a great day. There was a variety of continental food but what I liked the most was our Indian delicacies. Here I tasted some of the products made up of millets and I am quite surprised with how well they tasted."

More than 11 hotels, including Taj Palace, Taj Mahal, The Connaught, Taj Ambassador, Le Meridien, ITC Maurya, and The Park, offered their signature food items.

A large crowd was seen at the Tihar jail bakery stall where a range of products from biscuits to savoury snacks and jalebis kept the visitors coming.