Diplomatic privileges

State dinners across the world aren't known for their food. But ITC's chefs set a new standard at this year's G20 Summit

- VIR SANGHVI

There was a time in my life when I used to have to attend state banquets in various countries. Some of them were fun. But almost every banquet had one thing in common: The quality of the food. It was usually unmemorable and sometimes just disgusting. At a state dinner thrown by the Prime Minister of Japan, I sat next to the chairman of one of the country's best-known electronics giants, who wondered aloud if the PM's office had opted for a cheapo cut-price menu. Even at a grand White House Presidential banquet, the food was pretty terrible.

At our own banquets, the food could be hit and miss, though it was mostly miss. It is not easy cooking for banquets. Rarely is the food very good at any private conference lunch, either. Mass catering is the enemy of quality.

So, I was more than a little surprised to hear foreign delegates raving about the food and service at the G20 meet in Delhi. Given that over 350 people attended the big dinner thrown by the President of India, I asked for details and grew even more incredulous. Not only was the food all vegetarian but the chefs tried to use as many unusual grains as possible (including, of course, every millet known to man) and incorporated such vegetables as jackfruit, which most foreign guests were not familiar with.