Indian Cuisine's Global Challenge: From 'Cheap Eats' to Culinary Powerhouse

• India's culinary heritage, despite its diversity, struggles for global prestige due to a lack of institutional systems for standardization, education, and intellectual property protection.
• The vast regional diversity of Indian food has been flattened into a single 'Indian food' category globally, often limited to Punjabi or Mughlai dishes, hindering its true representation.
• Indian culinary education prioritizes Western techniques, leading to chefs less equipped to articulate indigenous practices, and traditional apprenticeships are often unrecognized internationally.
• Reliance on external validation like the Michelin Guide, which uses criteria not aligned with Indian food philosophies, further undervalues India's unique culinary excellence.
• The absence of a national culinary diplomacy strategy, weak intellectual property enforcement, and inadequate supply chain infrastructure prevent Indian cuisine from achieving its full global potential.

Why It Matters: India must build robust institutional systems to elevate its diverse culinary heritage to global prestige and power.