Madras Week Is Here, And So Are The Fantastic Food Walks

Madras Week is a celebration of the city that we live in. While it is known as Chennai now, till 1996, the city was known as Madras. And before that, till 1969, Tamil Nadu was known as Madras State. Some say that the city of Madras was founded on August 22^nd, 1639, which was the same day that Fort St. George was built and out of this fort grew settlements for the staff working at the fort, then the villages around the fort and settlements were brought together and it just continued to grow from there. That’s how Madras was born.

In 2004, three individuals came together to establish what is now known as Madras Day. Famed historian S. Muthiah, journalist Sashi Nair and publisher Vincent D’Souza, and over the years, more people came on board to make this a bigger celebration. Madras (or Chennai if you’d prefer) is a city filled with opportunity at every turn. Last year, Lonely Planet named the city as one of the 10 ten places to visit in the world. From education to the IT sector and from history to the auto industries, Madras is famous for so many things.

But what the city is also famous for (as is the state of Tamil Nadu) is the food.  National Geographic ranked Chennai’s food as the second best in the world, making it the only Indian city to feature on the list. The vast cultures and religions have brought about different kinds of food that makes Chennai what it is. And Madras Week celebrates that and so much more. Every year, as part of Madras Week (which runs from August 21^st to August 28^th), there are food walks organized in some of the most popular parts of the city and if you’re interested in them, but don’t know how to go about making it happen, here’s a list of what is happening.

Sowcarpet Food Trail with Storytrails

Dates: August 20^th, 27^th & 28^th

Storytrails is an award winning walking tour company that conducts walks all over Chennai as well as Madurai. Their Sowcarpet food walk is one that cannot be missed. Not only do you get to taste some of the best food in the area, you are introduced to a portion of Chennai history you didn’t even know about. We went on a food walk with them a few months ago and it was an evening to remember.

Time: 4 – 6pm
Reporting venue: Chinna Kadai Mariamman Temple, South Mint Street, George Town
To register, write to [email protected]. Or call +91 9940040215 for details

Sowcarpet Food Walk

Dates: August 21^st and 28^th

Unlike the Storytrails food walk, this will happen in the morning. Organised by Sridhar Venkataraman, who is well known for organizing food walks and history walks all over the city.

Time: 9am
Reporting venue: Ekambareswarar Temple, Mint Street

Mylapore Food Walk

Dates: August 26^th

This is another food walk organized by Sridhar Venkataraman, but in the evening on Friday. You get to experience the history of Mylapore, which is actually one of the most historical parts of the city.

Time: 4pm
Reporting venue: Mylapore Head Post Office, Kutchery Road

West Mambalam Food Walk

Dates: August 20^th

Sridhar Venkataraman is starting off the food walks this Saturday through West Mambalam, which is close to T. Nagar and is known for its shops, bazaars and temples.

Time: 4pm
Reporting venue: Venkatramana Boli Stall, Thambaiah (Reddy) St.

If you need to get in touch with Sridhar for any of his walks, you can contact him at +91 97909 57208. These walks are free, but every place you stop to eat, you’ll have to pay for your food.