Lucknow has won a place on the global culinary map after being named a Creative City of Gastronomy by UNESCO during the 43rd General Conference in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The award recognises the city’s timeless Awadhi cuisine, which is renowned for its complex tastes, slow-cooking techniques, and royal hospitality.
Lucknow’s food culture, which includes trademark kebabs, biryanis, kormas, and sheermal, reflects the city’s artistic finesse and cultural warmth. Lucknow becomes the second Indian city to acquire this distinction, following Hyderabad, which did so in 2019.
To be qualified as a Creative City of Gastronomy, a city must demonstrate a vibrant culinary heritage, preserve traditional cooking skills, promote food education, and support sustainability through community engagement and cultural exchange.
The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN), established in 2004, connects 408 cities from more than 100 countries that employ creativity to support sustainable urban growth. India today boasts nine cities in this network, including Jaipur, Varanasi, Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Srinagar, Gwalior, Kozhikode, and Lucknow.
This global acknowledgement not only shows Lucknow’s culinary mastery but also validates India’s unique and developing food culture on a global scale.
