The Locavore Meetup, Chennai

Two different sambars in a couple’s kitchen, a great-grandmother's trusty idiyappam maker, an heirloom cookbook, and more.
Photo by Team Locavore.

At the start of February and towards the end of the first year for The Locavore, a warm breezy evening brought with it the second Locavore Meetup, this time in Chennai. For team members Sreyasi Mukherjee (Projects Lead) and Ashish Sharma (Digital Media Lead), this visit to Chennai—and the accompanying goal to foster community in the city—was the first of many exciting projects. Having witnessed the success of the meetup in Bengaluru a few months ago, The Locavore team felt motivated to take the power of open conversation and tasty local foods to a city close to many of our hearts. So, we invited creative professionals and food enthusiasts living in Chennai to partake in this get-together.

 

With the vision to hold space for dialogue on food, food memories, and community-centred food practices, we decided that The Farm, an eating space that grows much of its food, was the place to organise such a meetup.

 

Located on the Old Mahabalipuram Road, the venue boasts a restaurant that turns the vegetables, dairy, and poultry of its land into culinary delights. Run by Shalini and Arul, The Farm is as passionate about bringing locally sourced ingredients to the plate as we at The Locavore are.

 

Guests—on prior request—brought personal food stories, food inspired by family recipes, as well as kitchen heirlooms to the table, which they shared over hot filter coffee served by the staff at The Farm. Rachel from Kochi brought idiyappam made with banana and jackfruit, and stories of her great-grandmother’s trusty idiyappam maker. This was Sreyasi’s first time eating idiyappam and two years later, she still distinctly remembers its taste, “I don’t think I’d eaten anything like it before”.

 

The guests’ prized heirlooms went around during #TheLocavoreShuffle, a staple at our events, where attendees were able to hear from their peers, people who believe in doing good through food, talk about things that matter to them, and experience a sense of community.

In a group chat after the shuffle, Rachel shares stories about her great-grandmother’s idiyappam maker. Photo by Team Locavore.

In the group sharing that followed, guests Ravi and Gowri talked about the two different sambars made in the couple’s kitchen, from two different parts of the same Tamil Nadu. Anisha Menezes, who talked about a cookbook that Mangalore’s Konkan Christian mothers passed on to their daughters, also documented the event for a leisurely read.

 

Priyanka of Spirit of the Earth, one of the speakers we had invited to the meetup, spoke of a range of rice varieties native to India, and the organisation’s efforts to revive heirloom seeds. She also prepared different rice varieties for the attendees to taste, such as kala jeera rice.

Priyanka from Spirit of the Earth, a TLproducer partner, interacted with guests as they sampled native Rice varieties grown and sourced by the organisation. Photos by Team Locavore.

The next speaker, Divya Karnad of InSeason Fish, talked about how to consume seafood sustainably. Divya addressed the importance of eating seasonally, and eating smaller fish and a variety of species, so as not to strain already overwrought marine ecosystems and to make the most of the health benefits that seafood has to offer.

 

Earlier that day, the Locavore team had attended a walk along Marina Beach fish market with Divya, where we were able to speak with local fishermen and fish sellers about their work, and touch and feel the catch of the day. Each member was given a budget to spend at the market, with which they rounded up a bounty of crabs, anchovies, sardines, and much more. ChefTZac and the team at The Farm cooked up the seafood into a variety of gorgeous fried and curry-based dishes for the attendees to eat during dinner. As Divya spoke about the value of eating seasonally and its benefits for the sea climate, team members freshly remembered their walk that morning, and located these larger discussions in the lives of the people they had met throughout the day.

 

As the gathering broke up and went towards the display stalls, food by The Farm—their Farm Walk Salad, dale chilli churpi on toast, vadas, fried seafood, samples of rice from Spirit of the Earth, and raisins and honeys from other TL partners awaited the guests.

Churpi, a type of cheese used in the dale chilli churpi on toast, is made in-house At The Farm. Photo by Team Locavore.

Even after the planned engagements, conversation continued, and the team interacted with people from various spaces who also care about the food system in different, meaningful ways. We couldn’t help but feel that we had found a community, however momentary, of kindred.

 

As the event wound down, and the last of the guests slowly trickled out, you could find many of The Locavore team members making their way to The Farm Shop to buy their loved ones and themselves toffee, ghee, cheese, and other treats. It went without saying, the second meetup had all that we deem signs of a good time—fresh stories, warm conversation, and full bellies.

At The Locavore, we love planning and executing events that highlight India’s diverse local foods, celebrating community, sustainability, and cultural heritage. Our events feature engaging workshops, discussions, immersive experiences and other formats that connect you to India’s rich food culture. Interested in collaborating or having us organise an event? Reach out at connect@thelocavore.in.