Embracing the nutritional value of Millets

New Delhi, August, 2023||FSSAI, Northern Region along with Radisson Blu, Kaushambi organized a first of the kindmillet awareness event based on the theme “Millets: From Farm to Plate” on 31st July, 2023 specially for the chefs of numerous acclaimed hotel chains and students from several hospitality as well as culinary institutes. In this event more than 50 hotels took part and there were more than 200 chefs from the northern states. Apart from Lt Col L J John, Regional Director, FSSAI Northern region, Mr. Praveen Kumar Singh, the Agriculture Commissioner, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India, attended the event and he shared information regarding the policies and subsidies to promote millets in the country. Dr Hamid Latif, Principal, Regional Institute of Rural Development, Ghaziabad spoke on the importance of millets in combating challenges related to food security and the synergistic relation between balanced diet, millets and healthy lifestyle. Chef Davinder Kumar, President, Indian Culinary Forum sensitized and exhorted chefs as well as students from hospitality and culinary institutes to reinvent their menu by including millets.

Shri Navneet Jain, Group CEO of Radisson Blu Kaushambi Delhi NCR and Radisson Blu Towers, Kaushambi Delhi NCR and Shri Sanjay Kaushik, Regional Director were also present and promised to promote and increase share of millets in their offerings and recipes.

Dr,.Manisha Narayan, Deputy Director, FSSAI Northern Regional Office, suggested the ways and highlighted the role of chefs in promoting the consumption and improving palate acceptability of millets.

Chef Rakesh Sethi, corporate chef of Radisson blu group of hotels demonstrated a video on preparing millet shami kebab and he also informed about the hotel group’s initiative “Farmer Millet Brunch” that was started in 2022. Chef DheerajMathur, Executive Chef of Radisson Blu, Kaushambi, made a live demonstration of ragi based khandvi.

Renowned celebrity chefs Ranveer Brar and Kunal Kapoor also gave video messages and motivated Chefs to include millets in their recipes. Many chefs from renowned hotels also demonstrated and showcased their cuisines prepared from various millets.

Ms. AnujaAgarwala, former senior dietician and consultant from AIIMS shared insight about the optimisation of portion size of millets to be included in our daily diets. The event also had participation from Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), which was represented by a senior scientist, Dr.Vinutha T. who emphasized on the current research trends and different processing technologies associated with millets. A large number of manufacturers and vendors participated in the programme by sharing their experiences in manufacturing millet based food products. The vendors also showcased the various ready to cook and ready to eat value-added millet based products, like idli mix, khichdi, laddu, savouries, cookies, etc. The experiences and insights shared amongst FSSAI, chefs, vendors and entrepreneurs during the event have laid a concrete foundation for the utilization of millets as part of the healthy and diverse diet.

In his thank-you speech at the FSSAI function, Mr. Navneet Jain expressed heartfelt gratitude to the FSSAI team for taking this wonderful initiative. He emphasized that chefs are the driving force in hospitality institutions, whether they are stand-alone restaurants or 5-star deluxe hotels. Mr. Jain passionately advocated for the incorporation of millets into everyone’s daily diet, not just as a practice, but as a culture. He believes that promoting millets in various culinary settings will lead to a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle for all.

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