Project Otenga collaborated with Chef Dilda White for a visual gustatory nine-course dining experience. With a sensorial attempt to bring the winters of Kumaon closer to our patrons, we raised an appetite for form and taste by putting together a hearty, nine course participatory experience. With the olfactory and tasteful appeal of food to the visual appeal of the art works by Chef Dilda White. The art works were representations of indigenous vegetables, fruits and ingredients native to the Kumaon, rendered beautifully on handmade hemp paper. There was also an opportunity for release of expression for the participants who would doodle or write as they experienced the cosy evening.

We began with a short read about the Sah community of Kumaon and shared cultural anecdotes, along with savouring the indigenous Jambu tea. A performative dining experience, there was a mindful pause and rhythm with gastronomical vibes of Badeel, Aloo Gutka, Palak Badi or the Seh Cake.

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Dilda white is a concept of art, the masked alter ego is an artist, a performer and a chef who creates experiences by overlapping various mediums and always talks of the stark reality.