Lucknow's UNESCO Nomination Is Long Overdue

Honestly, UNESCO or not, Lucknow doesn’t need a blue plaque to tell it what it already knows.

In a world where everyone is trying to be the next Copenhagen or Tokyo of food, Lucknow is too busy slow-cooking a pot of nihari to care. It’s food, a remembrance of the famous Awadhi cuisine, isn’t trying to be content or remembered. It’s just that the world is paying attention now, because finally lifted the lid.

The Uttar Pradesh government has nominated Lucknow for the UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy tag earlier this June. It’s India’s entry into a global hub of cities that eat with intent, tradition, and soul. The shortlist includes culinary powerhouses like Chengdu, Parma, and Istanbul. And if all goes well, Lucknow might just join them.

For decades, Lucknow’s food scene has been India’s worst-kept secret. Awadhi cuisine—steeped in royal tradition, consisting of Mughal techniques, and full of Persian influences—has quietly shaped North India. The dum-style cooking, the nuanced layering of spices, the insistence on patience over shortcuts—it’s all part of a code of culinary honour passed down through generations.

Now, as part of UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network—which celebrates cities for their contributions across crafts, design, film, literature, music, media arts, and gastronomy—Lucknow’s nomination comes as a long-overdue nod to its contribution to the global food conversation.

BiryaniIncredible India

This isn’t about fancy plating or reinventing the wheel. It’s about storytelling and spice, and honestly, Lucknow has been doing that longer than most cities have had streetlights. Food here is presented with old-school Tehzeeb and ghee. It’s not your average “heritage” cuisine, but a slow, studied affair with marinated kebabs and biryanis.

At places like Tunday Kebabi, Idrees Biryani, and Raheem’s kulcha-nihari joint, recipes haven’t changes for more than 50 years. This isn’t because of some old-school stubbornness, but because they were right the first time. If the fine-dining scene is the sultan’s court, Lucknow’s street food is the heart. Sharmaji ki chai, bajpai kachoris, Royal Café’s chaotic genius of basket chaat, or that winter-only bowl of makkhan malai are like local lore.

Unlike Copenhagen, there are no gimmicks and edible flowers here. No smoke bubbles or the integration of design in food. Instead, the richness comes in its structure: recipes honed over centuries, spices folded into dishes, and a philosophy of cooking that reveres patience.

For instance, the dum pukht technique, now a buzzword in elite restaurants, began here in royal kitchens centuries ago. Meat or rice is sealed in heavy-bottomed pots and cooked over low flames, sometimes buried underground, the steam trapped inside allowed to do its slow alchemy. There is no stirring here either.

So yeah, whether or not the UNESCO stamp comes through (although it should), the nomination itself reaffirms what needs no validation in Lucknow. But at the same time, recognition does matter. Not for the headline, but for what the nomination may end up protecting in this city.

In a city where modernisation looms at the edges—new cafes, fast-food chains, fusion menus—this recognition is a moment to pause and reaffirm what’s worth preserving. A UNESCO tag could mean funding, visibility, and most importantly, validation for the custodians of this culinary legacy—many of whom don’t have restaurant signs or social media accounts, just recipes and reverence.

And even if it doesn’t come, it’s okay. The kebabs will still be soft. The biryani will still be patient. And Lucknow will be Lucknow.

Must-try dishes in Lucknow

Galouti Kebabs

Where to go: Tunday Kababi, Aminabad

Lucknow Chaat

Where to go: Several street vendors at Hazratganj and Chowk

Kachori

Where to go: Bajpai Kachori Bhandar, Aminabad

Nihari

Where to go: Raheem’s in Chowk

Biryani

Where to go: Mashi, Shakeel, Idrees