Ranveer Brar explains why vegetarian food was served at BRICS
What's the story
Celebrity chef Ranveer Brar has defended the decision to serve only vegetarian food at the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi. Speaking to IANS, he said that a vegetarian menu avoids global controversy as some countries eat beef and others pork. "We make that thing a mandate. Sometimes, you want to stay away from the global controversy," he said.
Menu selection
'You want to serve food that stays away from controversy'
Brar added, "You want to serve food that stays away from controversy. Vegetarian food stays away from controversy, internationally."
The summit was held on September 12 and 13 with the theme "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability." It saw participation from leaders of all 11 BRICS members, Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, UAE, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia, and representatives of 10 partner countries.
Culinary focus
It also helped highlight India's vegetarian food
Brar emphasized that the decision to serve vegetarian food was also an opportunity to highlight India's vegetarian food.
He said, "The world is talking about vegetarianism, veganism, so this time we celebrated our vegetarianism and we should see it that way."
"We have to put a united front in front of the whole world," he added.
Criticism addressed
Left-leaning sections criticized vegetarian menu
Brar's comments come after the left-leaning sections of society criticized the vegetarian menu at the summit. They argued that a diverse menu could have been served.
However, Brar defended the decision, saying it was made to avoid any global controversy and to highlight India's vegetarian cuisine.
The summit concluded with the adoption of the New Delhi Declaration, a 140-point document covering various global issues.
Meanwhile, Brar is currently promoting his new show Yess Chef.