Amritsar, Oct 11 (IANS): Slated to take place at one of Punjabs richest historical repositories, Fort Gobindgarh in Amritsar, a heritage food festival -- starting Friday -- will bring together cuisine from over 30 countries and blend cultural with culinary at the city's nucleus, the Golden Temple.

The World Heritage Cuisine Summit and Food Festival is helmed by Indian Federation of Culinary Associations (IFCA) president Chef Manjit Gill.

The three-day festival will see live demonstrations, food tastings, presentations, panel discussions and master classes.

It will focus on inculcating appreciation for food culture and sustainable food practices, a statement by the organisers said, adding that a Chefs' Manifesto outlining hunger removal initiatives will be launched at the event.

The festival's opening will be marked by a chefs' procession to the Harmandir Sahib, or the Golden Temple, whose ‘langar' (community kitchen) underlines the festival's theme -- traditional, slowly-cooked cuisine.

A "World Kitchen", where heritage food from multiple regions will be plated and tasted; masterclasses in preparation of different food; and a food pavillion for regional Indian specialties and Amritsari street food, are some of the highlights of the food festival.

"To have Punjabi cuisine acknowledged as and listed under the food edition of Unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage remains my ongoing endeavour," Manjit Singh Gill said about the cuisine in a statement.

The participating countries are: Armenia, Cambodia, Canada, Croatia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Germany, Ghana, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Syria, Thailand, Turkey, USA, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam and Wales, among others.

The summit and festival will run from October 12-14.