What's cooking at President's dinner for G20 leaders

A "specially-curated menu" tailored to sync with the delicacies consumed during the Indian monsoon awaits the heads of state and other delegates at President Droupadi Murmu's grand dinner at the G20 Summit venue on Saturday.

Preparations are underway and senior managers and staff members of a luxury hotel group are busy setting up the dinner tables at Bharat Mandapam, which will host the two-day summit.

Sources said the ceremonial dinner will be served in bespoke silverware made especially for the occasion.

"We have prepared a specially-curated menu, keeping in mind the culinary delicacies consumed during this (monsoon) season in India. Millet-based dishes will be on the menu too," a source in the luxury hospitality group told PTI.

Officials are tight-lipped on the exact menu but it is expected to reflect India's culinary diversity.

Murmu will host the grand dinner at Bharat Mandapam after the end of the summit's first day.

While the details of the menu are being kept "tightly guarded", the heads of state are in for an "Indian delight" that will leave a "pleasant and unforgettable taste" in their mouths, another source said.

"Sweets of varied kinds such as gulab jamun, rasmalai and jalebi, etc are planned to be served," the source said, adding that the serving staff will wear a special uniform.

There has been no official word on the menu from the Indian government yet.

Asked if the delegates will use bespoke silverware, the luxury hospitality group source replied in the affirmative.

A Jaipur-based metalware firm on Tuesday said several luxury hotels commissioned made-to-order tableware and silverware that would be used by the foreign delegates staying at their establishments and at the special dinner.

Most of the tableware have a steel or brass base or a mix of both with a coating of silver while some the plates that will be used to serve the welcome drinks have a gold plating, Laksh Pabuwal of Iris Jaipur had told PTI.

The company held a media preview on Tuesday of some of the silverware.

About 15,000 silverware crafted by 200 artisans have been made for the summit, it had said.

The designs of the tableware are a nod to India's rich heritage and its global prominence, said Rajeev Pabuwal of Iris Jaipur.

"The tableware depict the glorious cultural heritage of India, motifs of flowers, the peacock -- our national animal -- graces the plates, and other items. The silverware will dazzle the heads of state with their cultural sparkle," he told PTI.

Some of the tableware will be sent to the luxury hotel group responsible for arranging Saturday's grand dinner.

The group will cater the lunch and the dinner menus at the G20 Summit venue, the sources said.

The G20 Leaders' Summit will be held at the newly-built international convention and exhibition centre -- Bharat Mandapam -- at Pragati Maidan on Saturday and Sunday.