Taste of Lucknow Goes Global: CM Yogi Calls for Each District’s Dish to Become a Global Identity

In a declaration that casts the gastronomic spotlight back on Lucknow, Yogi Adityanath — Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh — has urged citizens to promote the unique local cuisine of every district as a global identity. He highlighted Lucknow’s recent designation by UNESCO as a “Creative City of Gastronomy” as a key milestone.

He explained that this distinction reflects not just Lucknow’s culinary heritage but the broader culinary diversity across the state — each district offering its own flavours, culture and history.

Examples given by the CM included Lucknow’s chaat, Varanasi’s malaiyo, Meerut’s gajak, Banda’s sohan halwa, Itawah’s matte-aloo, Baghpat’s balushahi, Agra’s petha, Mathura’s peda, and Khurja’s khurchan.

The Chief Minister called on people to capture their local dishes — whether at home or out — via photographs or videos and share them on social media under the “one-district one‐dish” campaign. He said that this culinary pride could become a bridge to new tourism waves and take the state’s food heritage to every corner of the world.

He also noted that UNESCO announced Lucknow’s inclusion in its Creative Cities Network on October 31, during its 43rd General Conference in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Lucknow becomes only the second city in India, after Hyderabad in 2019, to join in the gastronomy category.