At a time when the capital has just seen two gastronomic food festivals recently end, Semora Entertainment works has created a first of its kind, The Diabetic food trail. Flagged off on World Diabetes day - 14 Nov and scheduled to go on till 30 November 2015, the initiative is all set to offer a culinary experience at over 120 restaurants across Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore with special ‘Diabetic friendly’ menus that are complete, with nutritious and delicious choices, thus allowing patrons to indulge without worry.
In a candid conversation with Seema Pinto, Director, Semora Entertainment Works we found out the challenges of creating The Diabetic Food Trail and the response it has garnered so far.
How was the concept of The Diabetic Food Trail born?
I have had diabetes for 10 years and being in the events industry travelling excessively is a part of my job. So whenever i was out in a different city the only option to have a decent meal was to check into a restaurant. But being diabetic i also had to constantly be aware of what i am eating in terms of its nutritional value and that's when it hit me that the very option of having a healthy food for a diabetic is not available at any restaurant. Even the basic Hot and Sour soup that we get at the most elite Chinese diner is not diabetic friendly. So with my background in food and events industry i decided to create something for people suffering from diabetes and that's how the concept of The Diabetic Food Trail was born.
How much time did it take you to curate the initiative?
It took us 2 months to put the entire initiative together. It was slightly difficult convincing people about our vision. Our initial approach was to keep the caloric value for each food item within a set. Also we had already asked the chefs of restaurant participating to not compromise at all with the taste of the food. The third yet the most important thing was to make sure that the price restaurants were charging for nutritious food was not more than the price of the original dish.
How did Britannia came on board as the sponsor of the event?
We spoke to them and they were more than interested to join our journey as they also have Nutrichoice biscuits that offer healthy solutions to hunger pangs. In terms of monetary investment yes they have invested some amount into the initiative as there was a large branding process such as table mats. menus, social media amplification that had to be done as a part of it.
Do you plan to make The Diabetic Food Trail an annual property?
Yes, we are in fact in the process of registering it already. We currently have 60 million diabetics in the country, the number is expected to become 110 million by 2030 and hence we are doing so many other things in on the same lines to increase awareness around the initiative.
What is the kind of investment you have made to create The Diabetic Food Trail?
Well we have out in everything single thing we had into this. Not just in economic terms but in terms of hard work, blood and sweat as well. This is a very personal initiative from me and hence we are not making any money out of it as well as our primary intent is to support the cause and enable healthy food options across restaurants.
The initiative is on-going as we speak. What is the response you have received so far?
It's been fantastic. I was just at Barbecue Nation a few days back and saw the place was full and people were enjoying the healthy food as well. It goes without saying people would want to make healthy choices for themselves if they had the option to and with this initiative receiving such a positive response we plan to take it ahead.
