It began the way many viral food debates do. With a casual video, a plate of pasta, and a confident opinion. A foreign traveller eating Italian food at Chennai International Airport claimed that Italian food in India
tastes better than it does in Italy, adding that Indians are simply better at making it. The clip, shared widely on X, shows him seated at an airport lounge, praising the sauce and the overall flavour. Within hours, the video crossed 100,000 views and turned into a full-blown comment war.
‘This Sauce Is Fire’ And The Internet Takes Over
The moment that really stuck was when the traveller declared the sauce “fire,” a line that quickly became the video’s hook. For some viewers, it felt like validation. For others, it sounded like culinary blasphemy. The post drew hundreds of replies, ranging from amused pride to outright disbelief. Some users agreed that Indian soil, water and ingredients often add depth to food. Others argued that airport lounges are hardly the place to judge authenticity, let alone compare entire cuisines.
Foreigner eating Italian food at Chennai airport says that Italian food in India tastes better than Italy and Indians are better in making it. pic.twitter.com/UMIjM5TnTE
— Woke Eminent (@WokePandemic) January 23, 2026
Indians, Italians And The Authenticity Argument
The replies reflected a familiar divide. One section of users insisted Italian food abroad, including in India, is often “Indianised” to suit local palates. Several pointed out that risotto, pasta and pizza served in Indian restaurants rarely follow traditional Italian techniques. Others pushed back, saying taste is subjective and that food evolves wherever it travels. A few even joked that Italians may have invented the cuisine, but Indians perfected it. The humour didn’t soften the debate. If anything, it sharpened it.
One user wrote, “It’s the soil. The flavors from Indian soil cannot be topped by any other country. We just don’t know how blessed we are with the kind of topsoil, water etc that produces the most flavorful produce known to man.”
Another user commented, “If you eat Punjabi food in Toronto it will taste a lot better than in a restaurant in India… weird but true.” Another reply pushed back on the hype around the setting itself. A comment read, “This airport lounge food is effin good. Sorry but it’s like the smallest lounge I’ve ever been to… So what’s the use if the food is good but I don’t get a seat at all.”
Multiple users questioned whether food at an airport lounge should be used as a benchmark at all. Some praised Chennai airport’s lounge food, calling it surprisingly good. Others complained about limited seating and crowded spaces, arguing that comfort matters as much as cuisine. The discussion quickly drifted from pasta to airport infrastructure, service quality, and expectations from premium lounges in India.
