Mumbai, Aug 14: As India celebrates its 80th Independence Day, The Experience Edit announces The Great Indian Feast Trail , India’s first immersive culinary and culture festival.
Making its debut at Jio World Garden, Mumbai, from27–29 November 2026, the three-day celebration is a homegrown cultural IP that brings together the many cuisines, communities, landscapes and traditions that form India’s cultural identity.
India is a land of a thousand spices and home to one of the richest culinary cultures in the world. Yet there is no single platform that brings together India’s food, regional identities, chefs, communities, culture and storytelling within one immersive experience. It is this sheer, uncatalogued diversity of ingredients, techniques, rituals and regional pride that GIFT sets out to honour. Announced on Independence Day, GIFT is a tribute to that diversity: a celebration of a culinary heritage that is not one story, but thousands, each worth telling.
At the heart of GIFT are 13 immersive trails, each inspired by distinct communities, culinary traditions and cultural landscapes. Visitors will taste their way across India, from the Himalayan Foraging Belt and Sacred Ganges Civilisations to coastal communities, forests, deserts, Partition kitchens and vibrant street-food cultures.
Across the three-day celebration, visitors will discover more than 100 curated kitchens and over 400 signature dishes, each individually sourced and curated to reflect the authenticity of its region. Bringing together home cooks, regional chefs, culinary artisans and cultural performers under one roof, GIFT will come alive through live music, dance, heritage storytelling and immersive experiences woven throughout every trail. Alongside celebrated regional favourites, the festival will spotlight lesser-known culinary treasures, indigenous ingredients and community traditions, inviting audiences to experience the remarkable depth and diversity of India’s living food heritage.
GIFT is expected to welcome more than 50,000 visitors at its inaugural Mumbai edition before expanding to other Indian and international destinations.
A key highlight of the festival will be the Great Indian Chef Collective, where renowned chefs and master chefs will come together through collaborations, conversations and live culinary showcases, spotlighting the future of Indian cuisine.
Sapangeet Rajwant, Co-founder, The Experience Edit, said,
“We chose to announce GIFT on Independence Day because that is exactly what this festival is, a tribute. India’s culinary heritage is one of the richest and most diverse in the world, yet it has never had a single platform big enough to bring it all together. GIFT is a living celebration of a thousand kitchens and a thousand stories, built to be tasted, explored and remembered. We’re not just building a festival; we’re building the stage India’s food has always deserved—and Mumbai is only where it begins.”
Riyaz Sayed, Co-founder, The Experience Edit, said,
“With GIFT, our ambition is to create that lens for India, bringing its extraordinary culinary and cultural plurality into one powerful, contemporary experience. Rooted in India and conceived for the world, we hope GIFT becomes a cultural institution that grows in relevance, scale and legacy.”
Khushbu Vaid, Co-founder, The Experience Edit, said,
“India doesn’t lack culinary diversity; it lacks a singular platform powerful enough to bring its extraordinary depth of culinary expression, culture and community together as one immersive experience. Through 13 distinct trails, we want audiences to go beyond tasting India to discovering the people, landscapes, rituals and stories that shape what we eat, experiencing an India they know, and an India they may never have encountered before.”
The inaugural edition of The Great Indian Feast Trail will take place at Jio World Garden, Mumbai, from 27–29 November 2026. Details on participating chefs, culinary collaborators, experiences and ticketing will be announced shortly.