Udupi: Arab- Mediterranean Flavours Tickle Taste Buds at Manipal

Divvy Kant Upadhyay
Daijiworld Media Network - Manipal (GA)

Udupi, Oct 9: Known world-wide for its food specialities, the Udupi district had a unique taste of Mediterranean and Arab cuisines at 'Kasbah'- a three-day food festival organized by the students of WGSHA at Manipal. What was perhaps truly unique was that the entire programme was managed by students of all batches of the college, right from the cooking in the kitchen, to doing the dishes, to serving the guests, playing the perfect hosts, taking orders, managing the bar, taking care of accounts and billing- the entire project was done by the students only.

Subrahmaniam, team leader and final year student of hotel management was very excited with the good response they received. A hall in the hotel Valley View was given to the students, who then converted it into a restaurant and called it 'Kasbah', meaning 'fort' in Arabic-Persian. The planning for the project started a couple of weeks in advance and different teams of students are formed. "We even did a survey, especially among younger population in the town to assess the market trends and demand," he informs.

"One would generally consider a student-organized event to have low or mediocre standards, but right at the entry, a five-star like welcome from beautiful and charming girls and a lovely atmosphere made our day" said a group of Malaysian students enjoying the delicacies.

Hussain, the head chef, brimming with happiness described the dishes that were loved by many."Pastel de chocolate, a rich Italian cake, Plakoundes, a nut-stuffed-puff pastry, grilled Polla Libani, a Lebanese dish were few among those well appreciated." Many Gulf-NRI students were amazed tasting local Arab delicacies like shawarmas, khaboos, filafils, hamoos and brinjal paste. "Reminds me of the time I spent at home," said Kartik from Dubai.

The food was as exotic as Mediterranean itself sounds. Dishes from Italy, Greece, Spain, Turkey and North African- Arab countries filled the menu. There was even 'Poseidon'- the bar set up for the occasion, which had beer-cocktails, a rarity in this region.

Marketing head of the team, a final year student at WGSHA, Namrata was happy as she expected the venture to make some profits. "We do it as a learning experience, part of our curriculum, but if we make profits, gift or food vouchers of the amount are equally distributed by the college among the students' team members", she gushed.

The group also got a taste of real time challenges like market competition. A well-known pub in the area was launching a new brand of a beer, thus there was comparatively less crowd on one of the days.

Subrahmaniam feels that the hospitality industry is yet to be understood fully in India. "There is so much more scope to it," he says while adding that "there is no doubt, glamour and passion for food are the two biggest attractions for anyone to pick up hotel management as a career."