By Desree B. Warjri
SHILLONG, May 5: A quiet revolution is being led by the women who are redefining the way the world sees Northeastern cuisine. From the urban food circuits of Delhi to the remote kitchen of Pingwait village, the chefs and home cooks are blending tradition with food, placing Meghalaya on India’s culinary map. In Meghalaya, food is more than just sustenance; it’s an identity and a memory.
Culinary Cascade 2025 is the beating heart of this movement. Where it’s more than just a food festival, it’s a platform for storytelling, sustainability and celebration. It brings together indigenous ingredients, traditional techniques, and global food trends that are amplified by the women, who have made food their medium of resistance, resilience, and revival.
Based in Delhi but deeply rooted in Meghalaya, Tanisha Phanbuh, the founder of Tribal Gourmet — a platform that showcases the gastronomic delights — has spent the last eight years curating pop-up dinners, leading food panels, and introducing audiences to the bold, earthy flavours of Northeastern India. “Back then, it took real effort to coax people into trying Northeastern food,” she says. “But things changed, and so did social media. Now people are curious. They’re open.”
Tanisha’s work is cultural with a blend of culinary education. Her signature dishes, rich with smoky, fermented, and spicy notes, are crafted to spark conversation and curiosity. Events like Culinary Cascade, she says, make this easier. “When you see this many people excited about our food, you know you’re doing something right.”
For Nambie Jessica Marak, a Culture and Culinary Ambassador of Meghalaya, food started as a form of memory-keeping. From the remote village of Aparangs, she went from documenting her mother’s cooking to becoming the first runner-up on MasterChef India Season 8. “I was just a rookie cook,” she says, “but I saw how underrated our cuisine is, and I wanted to change that.”
Nambie now documents tribal recipes on Instagram and YouTube, where she showcases traditional dishes like ‘Doh neiiong’ and ‘Kapa’, some of which have found fans as far away as France. What drives her is the need to preserve a fading culinary knowledge and make it accessible. “If people in Europe can love our food, why not the rest of the country?” she remarked.
Daphi Shullai is also building something powerful from her home kitchen in Shillong. Her label — Ha Skum — named after her family home offers handcrafted condiments made with seasonal Meghalayan ingredients: pork, beef, shrimp, red chilli oil, bird’s eye chilli, and more. “I started two years ago, just experimenting,” Daphi says. “Now I have regular customers and it’s become something I never imagined.”
Unlike traditional slow fermentation, Daphi has adapted the recipes to meet modern demands without losing their character. She still dries ingredients naturally but finishes the cooking on a gas stove to ensure quality and speed. “I cook everything myself,” she says. “It’s exhausting, but it’s worth it.”
Then there’s Bikrinda Marboh, a first-time entrepreneur from Pingwait village, selling millet and sweet potatoes for Rs 50 per kg at the festival. For her, Culinary Cascade isn’t just a marketplace, it’s a moment of recognition. “It’s my first time in a market like this and I feel honored to be here,” she says. “It’s motivated me to go back and tell others in my village to step up, to share our stories, our food.”
That’s the power of Culinary Cascade; it brings people from different ends of the spectrum —urban chefs, rural farmers, home cooks — and puts them on the same stage. It’s about representation as much as it is about flavour. The festival’s programming, live demos, street food stalls, innovation showcases and storytelling sessions create space for real exchange between generations, between geographies and between past and future. This isn’t just a food movement, it’s a cultural awakening. And women like Tanisha, Nambie, Daphi, and Bikrinda are leading the charge with quiet confidence and bold flavours. Their message is clear — Meghalaya’s cuisine has always been rich. The world is just beginning to catch up.