Historically all big occasions had been celebrated with Sumptuous food servings. Food variety and quality got a big jump with arrival of Globalisation. Kings and emperors became an epitome of standards in what human can aspire to achieve through ancient and medieval times, but arrival of Modern times and increased prosperity heralded an era of easy accessibility of all that was best available globally. In Bengal one of the earliest centres of British imperialism kings dwellings were rajbaris and community feast was known as bhoj, this is what our name means.
Why Bengali cuisine is special?
Bengal and Bengali identity is defined by its geography. Bengal is a basis of 2 important Indian rivers and its tributaries Ganges and the Brahmaputra. These rivers have been rich source of fish supply to the inhabitants of this place. Wet climate of this place has made it easy grow rice. It is no wonder that Bengal is known for its food choice rice and fish. Kolkata the orient of the east has its own food connoisseurs and caterers like Rajbarir bhoj catering service in Kolkata are in high demand.
With passage of time various foods emerged and held a place of prominence in its social life. Bengali cuisine is defined by,
- Snacks – Puchka, chats of many varieties, etc
- Rice preparations like – Biryani , hirni · Khichuri · Mishti Polao · Bengali Vegetable Fried Rice · Chirer Polao
- Fish preparations – MACHER JHOL, MACHER KALIA, SORSHE MACH, bhapa elish, Bhetki paturi
- Chicken Meat preparations – chicken kosha, chicken chaap
- Mutton Meat preparations – kosha mangsho. Mutton rezala
- Bengali sweets – are unique in ingredients and taste, some important ones are Rossogolla, chana misti, and similar items
Bengals tradition feasting has become obsolete, it used to use a makeshift tent known as pandal to house cooking and feasting activities. The traditional big homes are a past, and new small apartments have given rise to ceremony halls rented for these celebratory events all with its set of Decorators and caterers to make this event look professional.
Why caterers are an important part of Bengali society?
Such a large variety of foods along with big gatherings as is the norm in Indian social gatherings, no one would take a risk and caterers are the preferred option as it saves time and guarantees perfection that the once in a generation events demand.
Most Bengali social gatherings are evening affairs like those for weddings and anniversaries but some family events are lunchtime affairs like baby shower, annaprasan, sradh etc. time duration available is small leading to crammed affair and very good arrangement in small spaces demands expertise and exquisite planning.
Preparation for festivities is divided into sections like,
- ceremony hall – where the ceremony will be held and the guests will arrive and will be received, normally this is nearer to the homes of the host.
- Decoration – is an important part to make the setting look lively
- Lighting – is done considering the requirement of the occasion and the time of the day
- Utensil arrangement – most gatherings would need special utensils to serve food and other requirements.
- Cooking – food is cooked locally, therefore very good space is needed for cooking storing and serving of this scale
- Serving – needs a lot of space.
For most people these are once in a lifetime affairs.