The food we consume involves questions of diversity, heritage, gastronomy, and politics. It also raises the all-important questions of equity, sustainability, and security. Behind the food we consume lies our food production systems and the people involved in it. How can our food production systems be more sustainable? How to find the right balance between sustainability and security? How can we, as consumers of food, make the food chain more robust and fairer? Do we need to produce more or better? We believe these questions should not be restricted to experts but involve every citizen.
France and India share the same culture of vibrant debate. We also share the same commitment of finding creative solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges. During the event titled 'A Night of Chefs & Ideas', happening at Sunder Nursery in Delhi at 6pm today, thinkers and chefs will discuss these aspects of food. The event will focus on the fundamental world of food in all its dimensions. Food production and consumption are fundamental to human life. From food is derived pleasure but also nutritive qualities that are essential for our bodies to function properly.
Debate and dialogue are the mainstays of open, democratic, robust societies. Sharing ideas and diverse viewpoints can invigorate, transform, build bridges and help find solutions to the most intractable problems. This is the ideal we are committed to bringing forward with India to build together a more just, green, and peaceful world.
True to its culture, France started the Night of Ideas initiative worldwide in 2016, the inaugural edition being held in Paris. From a landmark evening that invited foremost French and international thinkers to come together to discuss the major issues of our time, the Night of Ideas has grown to become a prestigious fixture on the international calendar. Last year, France organised it in 200 cities across five continents, stretching from Paris to New York, Fiji Islands to New Zealand, Seoul to Shanghai, New Mexico to Tokyo.
The 2022 India edition was held at the iconic Open Hand Monument in Chandigarh, where panelists from all walks of life discussed themes related to living together and building new solidarities. In 2023, seven Indian cities are coming on board to organise their own Night of Ideas under the banner “More?”, which is this edition’s worldwide theme. In Delhi, Jaipur, Chennai, Varanasi, Chandigarh, Pune, and Ahmedabad, the events will talk about issues as diverse as our relationship to images in today’s world, the obsession with the self, and the rise of social media, and how the personal has become central in literature in a panel in Jaipur featuring French writer Annie Ernaux, the 2022 Nobel Laureate in Literature.
Today’s Delhi event will be unique in the sense that the guests would be served Indian countryside food, curated by a French chef. What better way to know the story of food than to savour it, while discussing it in all seriousness.