Backdrop & Objective

Buoyed by the success of the previous year, the ‘Ahare Bangla - A Unique Food Festival celebrating Bengal’ showcasing the popular and gourmet cuisine of the state shall be inaugurated on 21st October, 2016 at 6 P.M. at Milan Mela Ground (Opposite Science City) Kolkata. Going by the response of the last year’s festival, this year it shall be held in a larger area having a one time sitting capacity of about 2500 people. The entry of the festival is free and it will remain open from 12 Noon to 9 P.M. for further four days starting from 22nd October, 2016 to 25th October, 2016.

This five days long food carnival is going to be organized by the Animal Resources Development Department of Government of West Bengal in association with other concerned departments of the Government, namely, Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises & Textiles, Information and Cultural Affairs, Food Processing Industries & Horticulture, Fisheries and Agricultural Marketing.

Stakeholder entities of various Departments namely, Sufal Bangla (a venture under Agricultural Marketing Department), West Bengal State Export Promotion Society, West Bengal Livestock Development Corporation Limited, West Bengal State Fisheries Development Corporation Ltd, Benfish, West Bengal State Food Processing & Horticulture Development Corporation Limited and Mother Dairy Calcutta have partnered to showcase their conventional as well as innovative products in the festival.

The principal objective of this unique Food Carnival is to promote the Food and Food Processing Industries in the State. This Fair shall provide a platform where the producers and the consumers can interact under one roof and which in turn shall directly benefit the larger farming community of the State.

West Bengal has many unique varieties of rice namely, black aromatic rice popularly known as Kalabhat, short grained aromatic rice Kalonunia, Gobindabhog, Tulaipanji, Kataribhog etc. similarly, pulses such as Sonamug, Bhajakalai dal etc. and some exotic vegetables are found only in this part of the country which will be displayed in the fair.

The Animal Recourses Development Department shall promote various non-conventional meat and meat products of Quail, Turkey, Rabbit, Emu, Pork (including special Ghunghroo variety), Black Bengal goat, Bonopala lamb, Garole lamb. The Fisheries Department will exhibit new varieties of fish with high productivity and taste such as Vennami, Pungus, Vietnam Koi etc. All the items mentioned here, be it a aromatic rice varieties or precious pulses or various conventional or non-conventional meat and meat products or the latest products or Mother Diary Calcutta or the delicacies of rare and exotic fish, shall be available for both exhibition and retail sale at the fair.

Further, renowned restaurants and caterers of the city will partner with the Government to bring their diversified cuisine in a unique interactive setting where anyone can see, eat and buy.

Reputed Chefs will prepare regular as well as exotic fusion items using all local traditional and new ingredients of the state. This innovative festival will present its visitors with the opportunity of not only tasting the gourmet cuisine of Bengal but also of buying the ingredients, that go into the making of these dishes.

All four permanent hangers of the Milan Mela shall be utilized as the Food Court with a separate and dedicated Court catering to veggie delicacies. Apart from the food counters, there will be retail outlets of various cooking products, appliances and vegetable and non vegetable raw ingredients.

A special zone in the form of “Theme Food” will feature innovative and separate themes each day and a kid zone will be set up which would be an added attraction of this year’s carnival.

To add flavor, the festival will host ethnic and cultural programmes with folk songs, modern bangla song to be rendered by eminent artists of state on a three side open stage which will enable the visitors to enjoy the cultural programme while savoring gourmet food.

For the first time, an open to all Cookery Competition will be held along with daily talk show, Cookery sessions with renowned chefs, eminent writers, poets and other distinguished personalities will also be an important part of this year’s festival.

All are welcome to participate in this carnival for experiencing a whole new world of food and food products made exclusively in Bengal.

Members of the press and the electronic media are requested to render wide publicity to the event, “Ahare Bangla-2016, for making it a grand success.

Organizer & Partners

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PROGRAMME & SCHEDULE

From 6:00pm to 6:15pm

Cultural Programme : Khol by HAREKRISHNA

From 6:15pm to 7:00pm

Inaugural Programme:

To be inaugurated by:
Shri SubrataMukherjee, Honourable MIC, Panchayat & Rural Development and PHE Departments

In presence of :

  1. Shri Sovan Chatterjee, Honourable MIC, Housing, Fire & Emergency Services, Environment Departments and Honourable Mayor, Kolkata Municipal Corporation
  2. Shri Aroop Biswas, Honourable MIC, Public Works, Sports & Youth Services Departments
  3. Sri Firhad Hakim, Honourable MIC, Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Departments
  4. Shri Javed Ahmed Khan, Honourable MIC, Disaster Management and Civil Defence Departments
  5. Shri Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, Honourable MIC, Power & NES Department.

Presided over by:
Shri Swapan Debnath, Honourable MoS, Animal Resource Development Department (Independent Charge), MSME & T and L & LR Departments

From 12:30pm to 1:30pm

Cookery show : Chef Jayanta Banerjee

From 2:00pm to 3:00pm

Cultural Programme: Baul by Hiralal Baul & others ;
Bihu by Hiren Kumar Sarma & others(Assam)

From 3:30pm to 4:30pm

Cookery Competition: Recipe of Saag and Food Quiz

From 5:00pm to 6:00pm

Panel Discussion: 'Banglar Sanatani Niramish Ahar' Baijayanta Chakraborty, Sushanta Sengupta, Rakhipurnima Dasgupta, Peenaki Bhattacharya

From 6:00pm to 8:30pm

Cultural Programme: Sehnai by Jaki Abbas & others;
Baul by Hiralal Baul & others;
Natua by Gunadhar Sahis & others.;
Bihu by Hiren Kumar Sharma & others(Assam)

From 12:30pm to 1:30pm

Cookery show : Chef Sunayan Pramanik

From 2:00pm to 3:00pm

Cultural Programme: Fakiri by Imran Khan & others;
Jhumur by Panmoni Besra & others

From 3:30pm to 4:30pm

Cookery Competition: Recipe of Meat and Food Quiz

From 5:00pm to 6:00pm

Panel Discussion: 'Collonial Effect on Bengali Cuisine' Joymalya Banerjee, Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, Sourav Banerjee, Vijay Malhotra, Sanjoy Kak

From 6:00pm to 8:30pm

Cultural Programme: Fakiri by Imran Khan & others;
Jhumur by Panmoni Besra & others;
Raibeshe by Dukkha Haran Pandit & others;
Dong-Santali Ntitya by Raghunath Hembram & others.

From 12:30pm to 1:30pm

Cookery show : Chef Pranay Kumar Singh

From 2:00pm to 3:00pm

Cookery show: Chef Indranil Bhattacharya

From 3:00pm to 4:00pm

Cultural Programme: Baul by Shuklal Mistri & others;
Banglar Dhak by Lalu Das & others.

From 4:30pm to 5:30pm

Cookery Competition: Recipe of fish and Food Quiz

From 6:00pm to 8:30pm

Cultural Programme: Baul by Shuklal Mistri & others;
Banglar Dhak by Lalu Das & others;
Rava Nritya by Ganath Rava & others;
Chhau Nritya by Giyasuddin Ansari & others.

From 12:30pm to 1:30pm

Cookery show : Chef Subir Kumar Deb

From 2:00pm to 3:30pm

Cookery Competition: Final and Food Quiz

From 3:30pm to 4:00pm

Prize Distribution of Cookery Competition

From 4:30pm to 5:30pm

Government to Business Summit:
ICC Presentation by- WB Livestock Development Corporation, Mother Dairy Calcutta, Sufal Bangla, Paschim Banga Agri Marketing Corporation, State Fisheries Development Corporation, BENFISH, WB Food Processing Industries and Horticulture Development Corporation Participants : Hoteliers, Restaurateurs, Retailers
Participants : Hoteliers, Restaurateurs, Retailers

From 6:00pm to 8:30pm

Cultural Programme: Bhawaiya by Sangita Roy & others;
Santali Nritya by Lajbonti Mardi & others;
Lok Nritya by Sarabhuj by Tarun Pradhan & others.

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Location

Schedule

Inauguration:  21st October, 2016 at 6pm.
 6:00pm - 9:00pm


 12:00pm - 3:00pm
 3:00pm - 6:00pm
 6:00pm - 9:00pm