Samudra Saha

How did you first come to be involved with the Local Food Club?

A friend mentioned attending one of the LFC Bengaluru meetups, sending me straight to The Locavore’s website to check for a Kolkata chapter. What I found went beyond meetups and food—a community built around sustainability and awareness. The focus on substance, over spectacle, is what drew me in. I wanted to learn about the ecosystem from the inside, so I decided to get involved and contribute to building a similar depth in Kolkata.

What’s your go-to local food spot in your city, and why does it matter to you?

Among the local food spots I frequent, one that stands out is Girish Ch. Dey & Nakur Ch. Nandy, a legendary sweet shop in north Kolkata. Unlike most shops that churn out dozens of varieties of sweets, they’ve stayed committed to just one—sandesh, made purely from chhana. 

It is the process of making sandesh that is enticing: the use of wood-fired ovens, crafting chhana by hand, techniques nearly extinct in an era of automated factory production. Watching that craft survive, unhurried and deliberate, is what makes this place matter to me.

One food trend you’re loving right now, and one you’re ready to see less of.

Loving it: Grocery Store Tourism—wandering in local markets to understand a place through what it actually eats.

See less of: Supper Clubs. Fancy tablecloths and polished dinnerware don’t always make an experience “curated”—that word gets thrown around a lot lately. Real curation is about intention and story, not aesthetics.

What’s something you’ll almost always find in your fridge?

Toddy vinegar, chili oil (lao gan ma), and canned tuna.

What’s an LFC moment or memory that you’ll never forget?  

Honestly, I haven’t attended an in-person meetup yet—ironic, given where I am right now. But I’m looking forward to it, especially the chance to explore food systems beyond the usual cafes and restaurants. It has already been valuable to connect with fellow Super Locavores across different cities. The conversations with them have opened up perspectives I wouldn’t have otherwise gotten, even before attending a meetup.

How do you imagine your Local Food Club growing and flourishing over time? 

When Priyanka from The Locavore reached out to me, I was struck by this community’s impact, built around food sustainability. What stayed with me was the model—a decentralised network of city-based members, each growing Local Food Clubs into spaces for ideas, conversations, and events rooted in local culture. Kolkata’s culinary map is already crowded with cafes and restaurants chasing polish. What excites me is going the other way—spotlighting people behind the food, and building community around seasonal and regional eating, before these traditions disappear entirely.