BHUBANESWAR : The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) has awarded heritage tag to 20 of the oldest and iconic eateries in Cuttack.
Located in the bylanes of the Millennium City, these establishments have been enriching its culinary history and serving their patrons for many decades now.
It is the second such initiative by INTACH after it had recognised 14 food establishments in Kolkata as heritage eateries. The survey to identify the heritage eateries in Cuttack was carried out by one of the youngest life members of INTACH, 22-year-old Suman Prakash Swain who cycled through the length and breadth of the city to identify 45 historic eateries that play a significant role in its rich culinary heritage.
From this list, 20 food establishments were selected to be accorded the prestigious ‘Heritage Eateries of Cuttack’ award by INTACH’s Cuttack chapter. “Our Cuttack chapter convenor Gopal Krishna Behera inspired me to take up this responsibility for Cuttack being a very old city and having a rich and vibrant food culture,” said Suman.
INTACH member Ritu Patnaik said the eateries were chosen on the basis of their age, quality of food and behaviour towards customers. All the eateries are over six-decade-old and operating under the same ownership, said convenor Anil Dhir.
The oldest among the 20 eateries is Peta Sahoo sweets stall, located in Bandha Baseli Sahi at Chandni Chowk, which was set up in 1875. “The eatery was set up when there was a bus stand in the area. It has been selling the same snacks which include bara, tarkari, idli, guguni and is now being run by the sixth generation of Sahoo family,” said Suman.
The others include Trilochan Sahoo mixture shop (1930), Cuttack sweets stall (1940), Swaraj hotel (1945), Malia Nani special 3-in-1 bara stall (1949), Gourang Sahoo sweets stall at Buxi Bazaar (1949), USV South Indian restaurant (1960), New Hong Kong restaurant (1963) and Jagabandhu Hindu hotel (1968).
The state convenor of INTACH Amiya Bhushan Tripathy presented the heritage eatery plaques to the owners of the 20 eateries recently and appreciated their efforts in preserving the authenticity and quality of food since ages.