The Gathering is a meeting of food, art and imagination. We bring visionary chefs and pioneering artists together to create experiences that invite people to connect, exchange ideas and see food in a new light.
Conceptualised, designed and produced by Licked Clean, each edition creates a world of its own. Through intimate dining, creative collaborations and a wider cultural programme, we celebrate the people and perspectives shaping contemporary India.
The journey began at Travancore Palace in New Delhi. From 21–23 February 2025, Edition 01 brought visionary chefs and pioneering artists together to create dining experiences shaped by conservation, innovation and exploration.
Each collaboration offered a different way to experience food and storytelling. Intimate tables, original menus and creative encounters set the foundation for The Gathering: a place to connect through food and discover something unexpected.
From 16–18 January 2026, Edition 02 brought The Gathering to Mukesh Mills in Mumbai. The historic venue became a meeting point for food, art, community and contemporary Indian culture.
Alongside chef–artist dining collaborations, the programme expanded into workshops, conversations, music, shops and creative spaces. From The Salon to The Mills and The Moveable Feast, each space offered another way to gather, exchange ideas and explore.
India’s best visionary chefs partner with pioneering artists to serve up storytelling like never before. With tables designed for an exclusive 20-guest seating, and meals that will never be repeated ever again, The Gathering reinvents the idea of immersive dining under three broad themes- Conservation, Innovation & Exploration. This year, we stretch our legs further with new spaces like The Salon, The Mills, The Workshops and more. We are building a temporary city of creativity right at the intersection of food, art, community and contemporary Indian culture. Come wander through our streets of curiosity. Come take a seat at the table.
The Gathering exists to distill the essence of dining in contemporary India. It brings together the country’s most compelling ideas, tastes, and creations into one unique, shared experience.
We believe that culture shouldn’t just be consumed but felt, exchanged, and built in conversation. Each edition is a deliberate composition of people, moments, and stories that define what it means to live, create, and connect in modern India.
At The Gathering every table, every sound, every encounter is a dialogue between tradition and transformation. This is a space where India’s creative vanguard meets to think, taste, and feel the future together.
The Gathering was created to change how India experiences food. Edition after edition, it builds a new vocabulary for the country’s culinary appetite - one that honours craft and context while embracing risk and reinvention.
This is not a festival about what’s fashionable now, but about what’s next. A living interaction between flavour, philosophy, community and creation. This is a space where India’s creative future takes shape - bold, expressive, and unmistakably its own.
The Gathering acts with intent. Every aspect of it is derived from care, thought and clarity. The tables, the collaborations, the conversations—all are shaped deliberately. Intent precedes how we work and what we share with the world.
Craft is central to The Gathering. Food, hospitality and art are born of years of practice, knowledge and labour. We want to bring to light the discipline and dedication behind the work, and treat it with the seriousness and respect it deserves.
The Gathering brings people and disciplines together. Collaboration opens space for exchange, shared discovery and new ways of making. Each encounter offers the possibility of creating something together.
Staying true to our DNA of ‘Never Before. Never Again.’ experiences, The Gathering values presence, participation and the art of being fully present in the room. Meaningful engagement requires attention. We want to create a world where the past and the future condense into the now.
Curiosity is the backbone of The Gathering. We are led by imagination and creativity. We remain open to new voices, emerging practices and unpredictable ideas that shape the future of contemporary Indian culture.
The Gathering recognises its responsibility to the culture it engages with. We aim to support, document and contribute to the ongoing evolution of contemporary Indian culture. Every individual working on the project must display due reverence.