Chef Nambie Marak brings Garo cuisine to Chennai

Nambie Marak, a Garo chef known as ‘The Tribal Chef’, is bringing her interpretation of Meghalayan cuisine to Chennai through a three-day collaboration at Colony, Raintree St. Mary’s.

Marak, a former MasterChef India runner-up and upcoming MasterChef Asia representative, aims to showcase the diversity of Northeast Indian food. She emphasizes that Meghalayan cuisine is not a monolith of meat and chili, but a collection of distinct traditions from the Garo, Khasi, and Jaintia tribes. Her cooking utilizes regional ingredients such as bamboo shoots, sesame, and lye—an alkalizing agent made from burnt bamboo or banana bark—alongside techniques like fermentation, smoking, and roasting.

Having lived in Chennai for eight years while pursuing her Master’s degree, Marak notes that her culinary style has been influenced by both her Meghalayan roots and the spice-heavy traditions of Tamil cuisine. She also founded ‘Eat Your Kappa’, a platform dedicated to documenting and sharing Northeast Indian recipes.