Chennai: After receiving flak for not including beef in Chennai Food Festival, Tamil Nadu government on Saturday gave a nod to three restaurants including Sukkubhai Biriyani for selling beef biriyani at the food festival on Island Grounds. The three-day festival till Sunday initially had stalls by some restaurant chains and women self-help groups serving traditional food but did not include beef.
On Friday, the food festival was inaugurated by Tamil Nadu Health and Family Welfare Minister Ma Subramanian along with Minister Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Minister P K Sekar Babu.
Addressing the controversy, Minister Ma Subramanian said, the beef biryani was not included since no caterer offered to set up a stall.
He also said that beef biryani was not deliberately skipped and it was absent since none of caterers offered to put up a stall.
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Further, the Minister said that even he eats beef and there is no need to make this an issue. "Food is one's personal preference and no one can stop it. Had anyone expressed interest, then we would have permitted them to set up a stall," the Minister said, as per PTI.
However, a day after the controversy broke out, Tamil Nadu government on Saturday said that they have included beef biryani after Sukkubai and two other restaurants offered to set up the stall.
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A three-day festival on August 12, 13 and 14 is underway at Island Ground. The food festival with over 150 stalls offers a variety of dishes including vegetarian and non-vegetarian.
The food festival organised by TN Food Safety Department is held in association with Eat Right India, an initiative of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).