Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin inaugurated the four-day Traditional Food Festival at Besant Nagar Beach in Chennai on December 21.Organized by Tamil Nadu Women Self-Help Groups and the Women Development Corporation, the event runs until December 24, featuring over 235 regional dishes from 38 districts across 50 special stalls.
Highlights include Ambur and Dindigul biryanis, Virudhunagar parotta, Cuddalore fish puttu, Ariyalur dosa, and Thoothukudi’s Yazh cuisine, plus millet-based items, seafood, sweets, and snacks.
Twelve specialty stalls offer smokeless cooking, palm products, 90s-era snacks, and Chettinad sweets, drawing crowds with cultural performances in evenings.
The festival empowers SHG women through sales training and showcases Tamil Nadu’s culinary heritage.