NEW DELHI, India – The first of the six culinary conclaves, “Rivaayat – The Indian Culinary Conclave” was held at The Oberoi, Gurgaon. Five conclaves will see The Oberoi Group’s chefs and culinary experts from the industry discuss various topics that include pastry, Oriental, Italian, wines and cocktails.

Commenting on this initiative, Chef Ravitej Nath, Executive Chef, The Oberoi, Gurgaon, said: “Rivaayat – The Indian Culinary Conclave was a unique initiative from The Oberoi Group to highlight the richness of traditional Indian cuisine and cook authentic, consistent and delicious food. The first edition of the conclave has been insightful and we look forward to upcoming conclaves and delve into finer nuances of gastronomy.”

Oberoi Group launched Rivaayat with an objective to revive traditional Indian cuisine in modern times. The conclave witnessed an assemblage of industry experts over a span of five days to discuss the nuances of Indian cuisine.

The initiative was spearheaded by Mr. Kapil Chopra, President, The Oberoi Group and led by Mr. Jay Rathore, Vice President and General Manager, The Oberoi, New Delhi, Mr. David Mathews, General Manager, The Oberoi, Gurgaon and Mr. Nitesh Gandhi, General Manager, Trident, Gurgaon along with Chef Rohit Gambhir, Chef Ravitej Nath and Chef Parvinder Bali from The Oberoi Group.

Chef Rohit Gambhir, Executive Chef, The Oberoi, New Delhi, said, “It is a great privilege to have chefs from across The Oberoi Group come together to celebrate Indian cuisine. It reflects the group’s belief that it’s important to revive the traditional Indian recipes in these modern times and our dedication to uncompromising quality.”

The five-day conclave had The Oberoi Group’s chefs cook for the experts, attend sessions by the guest speakers, and visit the iconic restaurants of Old Delhi during a culinary food walk.

Five culinary experts and 13 cooks along with 35 of The Oberoi Group’s senior chefs conducted interactive training sessions covering four key cuisines – Punjabi, Awadhi, Hyderabadi, and Dehlvi, during the five-day conclave.

In addition, the presence of 17 executive chefs from the group was a testimony to the importance The Oberoi Group is giving to revive Indian food.

The culinary experts included Mr. Osama Jalali, a freelance food critic who has reviewed over more than 2000 restaurants in the past 4 years, along with his mother, and Dr. Izzat Hussain, known for taking Awadhi food across the globe, who shared insights on the Awadhi cuisine. Mrs. Mumtaz Khan, an eminent chef and caterer, who has been teaching how to cook Hyderabadi cuisine since 44 years, and her daughter Mrs. Parveen Khan discussed the intricacies of Hyderabadi cuisine after which The Oberoi Group’s chefs presented a lavish spread of Kacche gosht ki biryani, Dum ka murgh, Lukmi, and Tootak.

For the Punjabi cuisine, chefs prepared Pindi Choley, Sarson Ka Saag, Maachane Ki Dal, and Kadi Pakoda under the guidance of culinary expert Chef Sweety Singh of ‘Kake Di Hatti’.

For the Awadhi cuisine, chefs prepared Galaawat Kebab, Sheermal, TaarQorma, Saaggosht Ke Koftey and Dehlvi Biryani, Haleem, Dilli Ki Nihari and Purani Dilli Ka Fried Chicken from Dehlvi cuisine.

A quarterly event, the second culinary conclave will be held in the summer.