Massive demand for quality Indian food in Belgium

9 years ago

Mention India to someone and the first things that will probably spring to mind are its vibrant colors and great cuisine. We at Indian Confluence (InCo) recently organized our first-ever large-scale event in Brussels, the Indian Food Festival.

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While the event is done and dusted, its memories are fresh in our minds.

We initially expected a few thousand people to attend. But within hours of the event being created and shared on Facebook, the response was truly overwhelming; beyond our wildest imagination.

In the end, some 15,000 people RSVP’d, as was seen on Facebook.

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The idea behind the event was to give ‘home chefs’ a platform to showcase their culinary skills and bring to Brussels a variety of Indian food not normally found in restaurants here. And we were not let down — the home chefs did a great job, on par with the restaurants!

The Ambassador of India to Belgium, Luxembourg and the EU, Manjeev Singh Puri, attended the festival along with his spouse.

He commented he was very pleased to see a “Mini India” being created in Brussels.

The icing on the cake was famous vah-reh-vah chef a.k.a. Mr. and Mrs. Sanjay Thumma, attending the event to conduct live Indian cuisine workshops.

During the food festival, yoga and ayurveda nutrition workshops were conducted by Shubrit Walia and Mrs. Sanziana Voichita.

On the preparation front, the planning and conception began half a year before the event. As the D-day approached, we worked 24/7 to ensure logistics were in place.

On the opening day of the festival, i.e. Saturday, the rains came pouring down in Brussels. While some delay was caused as a result, it did not dampen our spirits and morale remained high as crowds enjoyed the event despite the weather.

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On Sunday, we were blessed with good weather and, consequently, a massive turnout of approximately 8,000 people.

This resulted in long queues at the counters.Many still enjoyed the food, performances and workshops through the day.

I deeply appreciate the entire team of InCo, volunteers and thank them for their hard work that made the event a success.

Special thanks to Art Lounge 9, Dance Nirvana, Jhalik di Punjab, Nesam Studios and InCo in-house band

Confluence All stars for adding to the joyous atmosphere at the festival with their performances.

As for lessons learnt, we realized the need to scale up logistics and gain necessary permits from local authorities even further in advance to better cater to the hungry masses.

One thing’s for sure – there is a massive demand for quality Indian food in the city.

Thanks to all for making the entire journey a truly memorable one. We plan to make this event an annual one, bigger and better each time.

1. What is InCo?
InCo is a Belgium-based non-profit organization dedicated to showcasing Indian culture. We also raise funds to help improve the quality of life in rural India. Funds raised from these activities are used towards the betterment of life in rural India.

2. Who are its members?

We are a bunch of Indian IT professionals who want to contribute to society in India and Belgium.
We welcome like-minded people, so that together we can make a positive difference. We use this platform to encourage and welcome everyone who wants to do more than their day jobs.
3. What is the Smart Villages Initiative?
InCo founder Sreeman has partnered with the Government of Andhra Pradesh in its “Smart Villages” initiative and adopted a village named Pondur in Prakasam district, Andhra Pradesh.
More info on the Smart Villages Initiative: www.smart.ap.gov.in
4. What happens with money raised from InCo events?
All proceeds from our events go to the Smart Villages Initiative by the Government of Andhra Pradesh.