Tracing Madras through its food

CHENNAI: Before there was a Madras, there were fishing hamlets and trading settlements along the coast. As the city grew into a colonial port, new communities arrived, settled and left their mark, not just on its streets and institutions, but on its kitchens and tables too.

As part of the Madras Week celebrations, Madras on a Table, a collaborative event organised by The Sunday Supper Club and Madras Inherited, explores that history through a four-course dining experience spread across two evenings.

The first, on August 22, looked at the circa-1600s and the food of indigenous fisherfolk, weavers and merchants who shaped the coast’s table. The second, on August 29, moves to the circa-1800s, tracing the kitchens of settlers, colonisers, traders and migrants who became part of Madras.

The idea is to look at the city chronologically, with the organisers choosing pre-1639 and post-1639 as the broad historical markers. For Olivia, founder of The Sunday Supper Club, the idea grew from wanting to create a Chennai supper club that went beyond its familiar dishes.

A Madras Inherited walk through Perambur and its Anglo-Indian settlements eventually gave her the direction.

“I thought there must be so many other communities in the city whose food, labour and contribution usually go unnoticed. So I wanted to do a Madras Day supper club showcasing food from these underrepresented communities,” Olivia says.

The menu was developed after researching 10-15 communities and 25-30 dishes, with the final selection shaped by feasibility, flavour balance, availability of recipes and other practical considerations.

Olivia says her research involved reading experts, watching videos, speaking to people from different communities and talking to PhD scholars researching Tamil food heritage. One discovery particularly challenged the familiar image of a traditional Madras breakfast.

“I think one of the things that particularly surprised me was the fact that we had a predominantly meat-eating culture for breakfast, which mostly included fish, dried fish, all kinds of meat, etc. Unfortunately, through the years, we have developed a facade that Madras breakfasts are vegetarian,” she says.

The four courses are not designed as straightforward representations of individual communities. Instead, dishes and influences from different communities have been brought together to create a meal, while Ashmitha of Madras Inherited will narrate the histories behind them.

“Because the story of any city is the story of all of its people. I strongly believe that we shouldn't selectively choose which histories to highlight. Madras serves as an ideal setting for this exploration because it is a true melting pot of diverse cultures," says Ashmitha.

For her, food is another way of preserving the city’s collective memory. “Food carries embedded memories; we hold vivid recollections of meals enjoyed over time, ascribing deep value and meaning to them. These personal, lived experiences form an essential part of our broader collective memory.”

The experience also questions the idea of one fixed version of “authentic” food. Olivia says the dishes draw from documented recipes, but are not intended to reproduce them exactly. “Authenticity in food is a scam. Especially in a country like India,” she says.

Ultimately, Madras on a Table is an attempt to expand what is considered iconic Chennai food. “We have this phrase that Vandhaarai Vaazha Vaitha Madras. From settlers, colonisers to migrants, Madras helped them flourish and survive. In turn, those communities have contributed immensely to the city as well,” Olivia tells us.

“I hope people see beyond filter coffee, dosa and biryani as iconic to Madras, because there are so many micro communities whose food deserves equal representation on a Madras Day platter." Madras on a Table will be held on August 29 at 1 pm in T Nagar, with the venue shared upon RSVP.

The three-hour dining experience is priced at Rs 1,500 per person.