Republican Party of India (RPI), a constituent of the BJP-led NDA, has asked the restaurants in the state to include authentic Maharashtrian cuisine in their menus.
RPI(A) Vice President Vivek Pandit has written to the Hotels Association to facilitate compulsory inclusion of authentic Maharashtrian cuisine in the menus of restaurants across the state.
"We have appealed to all the resorts and hotels to start including Maharashtrian dishes like 'poha' in their menu apart from South Indian, Punjabi, Moghlai and Tandoori food," Pandit told reporters here today.
"We will also write a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to make it mandatory to include authentic Maharashtrian cuisines like Poha, Misal, Upma, Thalipeeth, Aalu Vadi, that are typical state cuisines in the menus of restaurants. Every year, lakhs of tourists visit Maharashtra. However, very few restaurants have Maharashtrian cuisine on their menu," Pandit said.
He said that hotel owners cite non-demand of Maharashtrian cuisine to justify their stand.
"Hotel owners say that there is no demand for Maharashtrian food in hotels hence there is no point in keeping it on menu. How will anyone know if the cuisine is good or bad if they never taste it? Maharashtrian food is known for its taste and nutritious value," Pandit said.
He alleged that even state-run subsidised hotels do not offer Maharashtrian cuisine to their customers.
"Even state-run subsidised hotels do not serve authentic Maharashtrian food. Government functions, parties and events should also compulsorily serve traditional food. We will also appeal to hotel owners, but, if nothing works out we will work it out in our style then," Pandit said.
