The Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival (AKLF) 2025 concluded with an evening session on food, cookbooks and community building, on January 12 at Allen Park. Veteran singer Usha Uthup, celebrity chef Shaun Kenworthy, and interior designer and cookbook author Sunita Surya Kohli participated in the panel discussion titled ‘Table Talk: Food with Friends and Family’, which was moderated by well-known art and events curator Oindrila Dutt.
The panellists launch Nikita Kohli's book 'The India Cookbook—From the Tables of My Friends', which she co-authored with her mother
The session began with the launch of Sunita Kohli’s book The India Cookbook—From the Tables of My Friends. A Padma Shri-winning interior designer, Kohli has been associated with heritage venues such as Rashtrapati Bhavan and the Oberoi Hotels in Egypt. When asked what made her write a book on food and recipes, she said, “My mother is a cookbook author and the first book she wrote was Continental Cuisine for the Indian Palate. For her second book, she was working with Bloomsbury but something happened and the book went into cold storage. So, I approached David Davidar (publisher at Aleph Book Company) and he said that they don’t do cookbooks but they would do this on the condition that I co-author it with her and write a 10,000-word essay on my parents’ story. So that’s how it happened.”
Kohli's book, which she co-authored with her mother, also features the story of her parents
The conversation flowed into various avenues related to food. The panellists also discussed how UNESCO recognises food as a vital part of intangible cultural heritage and how food catalyses community building — whether it’s by eating together or cooking loved ones.
Speaking of cooking, it isn’t a widely known fact that singer Usha Uthup is a talented cook. Talking about her lesser known, she highlighted how her multicultural background is a good example of what food in India is all about. “I’m married into a Keralite family and now living in Bengal. That makes me what India is all about as far as food is concerned,” she said, adding that her family “never thought” she would be able to cook non-vegetarian food. “But I’m really brilliant. I have a black book in which I have about 18 good non-vegetarian recipes, which my aunt gave me when we got married. And I follow it. I do not innovate, because I don’t know how to innovate.”
It is a lesser-known fact that singer Usha Uthup is also a talented cook
In cosmopolitan India, when communities come together, multiculturalism also is reflected in the food. Talking about fusion food and innovations in flavours, chef Shaun Kenworthy mentioned how the concept of ‘fusion food’ is nothing more than an innovative use of ingredients. “Fusion food doesn’t exist in the world, never has existed. It’s just a natural progression of ingredients. If we go back in history, what would Bengalis do without the potato? It’s not a fusion ingredient in any sense of the word. It’s just an ingredient that came here many years ago from Portugal and got absorbed into the culture. So fusion in my mind doesn't really exist. If the ingredients work together, then it’s a new dish,” said the UK-born Kolkata-based chef.
There needs to be more attention on and conversation about Bengali vegetarian food, feels chef Shaun Kenworthy feels that Bengali vegetarian food is not talked about enough
The Bengali jamai also highlighted the importance of vegetarian food in Bengali cuisine and how underrated it was. “Bengalis need to talk more about Bengali vegetarian food,” said Shaun, urging people to talk more about shukto and chorchori. “They only talk about non-vegetarian food, which pales in context to the vast variety of vegetarian dishes within this incredible state. It’s almost dismissed. But realistically, if you ask me personally, I think it is possibly the best vegetarian cuisine if we talk about cuisines in the country,” he added.
After a hearty conversation around food, recipes and community, the panel came to a close with a melodious rendition of Frank Sinatra’s My Way by Usha Uthup.
