What happened inside the Kongu wedding food festival

Experience the first-ever Kongu Wedding Food Festival in Coimbatore with over 450 dishes and live performances.

On a weekend when Coimbatore’s restaurants are usually bustling, the city’s busiest streets presented an unusual sight — empty eateries. This was because of the Kongu Wedding Food Festival at Codissia Grounds, which attracted over 40,000 attendees across two days, November 30, and December 1. 

Organised by the Tamil Nadu Caterers Association (TNCA), the event was unique. “We have served at countless weddings and exhibitions in the past, but this is the first festival organised by caterers. This is our way of offering the Kongu people a grand feast,” said Nagaraj R, popularly known as Madhampatty Nagaraj, president of TNCA.

The festival featured a grand inaugural event and live performances by musicians, dancers, comedians, and traditional folk artists. Across the grounds, three ticketed zones offered a massive spread of over 450 dishes, served by catering college students from institutions like Sri Ramakrishna College of Arts and Science, Dr. N.G.P Arts and Science College, Hindusthan College of Arts and Science, and Amrita Institute. Over 1,000 caterers were involved in organising the event, and over 250 prepared the spread.

The menu highlights included global dishes like Pad Thai and Bao buns, alongside Kongu staples such as Arisi Paruppu Sadham, millet-based dishes, and heritage rice-based items. The always-busy biryani counter had a wave of guests eagerly thrusting their Siali or Mantharai leaf plates towards the service crew for at least a small serving; many women opted for the less-crowded stalls. There were live counters for dosa; the masala-filled Bahubali dosa was a big hit as was a pizza counter with freshly baked pies. These counters soon became chaotic as the service crew could not cater to the raging crowd with fresh-off-the-stove dishes.

While the festival showcased many important initiatives such as a pledge against food waste, composting efforts, and a successful World Records Union entry by serving 323 dishes on a single plate, crowd management issues led to frustration among attendees and trolling on social media. “We did not expect such a large turnout,” admitted Nagaraj. “The box office opened on Saturday morning, and tags were issued to guests. However, we suspect that some attendees photocopied the tags, leading to a larger crowd than we had anticipated.”

Despite the challenges, the organisers are looking forward to more editions of this event. “This is just the beginning,” said Nagaraj. “We plan to host similar wedding food festivals across Tamil Nadu, and next time, we will be better prepared for crowd control.”

The event also included a wedding exhibition as a part of Coimbatore Vizha - a nine-day festival celebrating Coimbatore and its people. The exhibition had around 40 stalls showcasing brands focused on wedding decorations, photography, jewellery and textiles. The festival, usually held in January, was advanced to November 23 — to coincide with Coimbatore Day on November 24 — and went on till December 1.