The big fat biryani fest

Ahead of this year’s event, we speak to the organisers about the gala and why biryani continues to be the city foodies’ first love.

Ask any Chennaiite about biryani and you’ll get the same answer — Biryani is not just food, it’s an emotion. Be it for a party with friends or getting over a breakup, biryani is ‘bae’ for most of us millennials. And rightly so, the city is home to different kinds of biryani and chefs in the city recreate the dish with a new twist every season. To celebrate this undying love for biryani, Chennai Food Guide has been organising an annual ‘Biryani Fest’ in the city. 

“We started the Biryani Fest in 2016 by serving Tamil Muslim wedding style biryani. And this was conceptualised exclusively for the biryani lovers of Chennai.  The concept was to offer foodies an opportunity to eat unlimited biryani. The first year witnessed 1,400 foodies in just two days. Owing to its success, we repeated the event in 2017 and we saw more than 1800 participants,” says Karthikeyan, business head of Chennai Food Guide. In its third year, Biryani Fest 2018 will bring unlimited serving (because there’s no such thing as too much biryani) of mutton biryani from the city’s top 10 brands under one roof. Food connoisseurs can eat and vote for top biryanis at this fest that will be held on February 10 and 11 at Food Consulate, Velachery. 

“One of the main reasons for continuing this fest is Chennaiites’ diehard love for biryani. Though there are various multi-cuisine options available in the city, I don’t think the passion for biryani will die down ever. It is also an opportunity for people to bond and make new friends. Nothing brings together people like the love for food. It’s also a great family activity because gone are the days when a family used to sit together for a meal,” smiles Karthikeyan. Each serving will be of 150gm and an individual can get to taste 10 different types of biryanis. 

“Each person can also vote for their favourite biryani. We have various voting categories that include Chennai’s No 1 Biryani, Chennai’s Best Basmati Biryani, Chennai’s Best Seeraga Samba Biryani, Chennai’s Ultimate Biryani, Namma Chennai Biryani, etc. It is our way of showing gratitude towards the participating brands that are in the business for more than 30 years,” he adds.