Nepal aims to promote heritage cuisine in global kitchens

KATHMANDU, May 8: In a bid to promote Nepali signature heritage cuisine in global market, Nepal launched cook book and videos under the campaign “Globalizing Nepal Heritage Cuisine” on Monday.

Amid a special program including cuisine display and tasting in Kathmandu, Nepali Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Rabindra Adhikari launched the book and videos that feature Nepali food recipe including information on all ingredients and cooking methods.

The move is a joint initiation of Nepal Tourism Board, Hotel Association Nepal, Chefs Association of Nepal and Restaurant and Bar Association of Nepal.

With the help of the booklet and videos, Nepal also aims to position itself in the international market as a global food and gastronomy destination.

“We need to promote Nepali food within the country first so that the foreign tourists visiting Nepal will taste it and later promote in their respective countries. It’s all about mixing food and tourism together,” Rabindra Adhikari said in the event.

Adhikari noted that the campaign will be helpful to attract more foreign tourists to Nepal considering the “Visit Nepal Year 2020.”

In the first phase, the campaign has highlighted 30 heritage dishes representing region, culture, festivals and ethnic diversity of the country.

These dishes were selected out of around 200 dishes found in the local households and restaurants across the country. The cuisines were selected on the basis of suggestions by food experts considering used raw materials like spices or seasonings, ethnic flavors, colors and ingredients, among others.

The signature dishes also went through calorie and nutrition mapping as per international food practices.

The heritage cuisines being promoted are categorized into different sections like soup, appetizer, main dish, dessert, sauce and spices. The foods have been given typical local names while the recipe includes authenticity and richness of heritage.

According to tourism experts, it is the high time that the world knows about how important Nepali food is, which is never boring and tasteless.

Deepak Joshi, head of Nepal Tourism Board, said, “There are many aspects through which the world knows us like braveness, friendliness and happiness of Nepali people. But they need to know that this all is because of our healthy and hygienic food.”

Stating that food is all about emotions and sentiments, convener of the campaign Karna Shakya said that since Nepal is rich in food varieties, “we need to tap this opportunity to introduce our food and link it with tourism.”

Meanwhile, Nepal started promoting the recipes online via official websites and social media to popularize the taste worldwide on Monday. XINHUA