Speaking at the fifth annual Chef Summit organised by Indian Culinary Forum (ICF) in Delhi, Chef Sanjeev Kapoor, most decorated chef in the country, has said that the Chefs are an under-leveraged and under-paid community in India and the benefits of growth and prosperity of the hospitality and the food industry in the country haven’t reached the community proportionately.
He said that there was no proper attention on the part of the Tourism promoters of the country to promote the culinary heritage and richness of the country in overseas markets. Food, as per research, is the second important reason for people to visit a destination, he said, and countries like Australia, Singapore have been able to leverage the culinary aspects to attract tourists. He cited the most successful Restaurant Australia campaign by Australian Tourism as an example of marketing destination through food.
While governments have their responsibility, he urged upon the chefs to own up the responsibility themselves rather than remaining mute spectators. Tourism numbers actually matters for chefs as well, he said.
Earlier, in her inaugural address, Rashmi Verma, Secretary Tourism, Government of India, said that travellers today are looking for “experiential tourism” and cuisines play a key role in it. Intangible heritage of the country like food, art, culture, etc. are as important as tangible heritage, she said. She said that the government will certainly think of having food festivals as part of overseas roadshows. He asked the chef community to come out with a road map on how the government and chefs can work together to promote the culinary aspect of India in the overall promotional strategy.