Odisha’s economic growth is picking up and it is poised to take its place as a job-generating state in India. The Eastern state known for the hub of Lord Jagannath in Puri, is also rich in traditions that await globalization. Among these traditions, food takes a soulful place. Odisha is a powerhouse when it comes to food traditions that include its adivasi recipes to Puri temple’s medieval food basket and modern sweet revolutions. I will discuss Chenna Poda, a burnt cheesecake that will beat the best of cakes on its worst day. Most famous chefs of India and a number of world-famous chefs have their own blogs on this cheesecake. However, the world continues to be deprived of this cake. The shelves of cafes and the dessert menu of restaurants deserve to add this fabulous dish. All it will take, is a little commercial effort to popularize this already acknowledged sweet.
An outsider view on Cheesecake
In my 15 years of stay outside Odisha, I have entertained a variety of culinary traditions across India. Just like Chenna Poda, there are multiple dishes that have the scientific and culinary strengths to become a global buzz. Apart from a few, most have remained local phenomena. The reason is simple, the audience has been primarily the average Indian.
For a greater part of the recent past, the focus of tourism campaigns by India and its states has been promoting tourists to visit its landscape, heritage-sites and expressing local cultures. This can be visualized as a more traditional way of promoting tourism. In contrast, a foreigner who visited India a few years back has little means to re-live certain experiences without paying another visit.
Indian tourism needs to adopt policies where heritage gets adopted as part of the globalized culture. Chenna Poda has the properties to capture a good proportion of the global Cake market.
Chenna Poda has most of the unique strengths to capture the mainstream cake market. This cake marketed by Odisha as the “Original Cheese Cake” is easy to reproduce, comparatively healthier with a longer shelf-life than other diary-based cakes. All it needs is a low-maintenance oven and a few items. My purpose is not to elaborate the recipe. Interested readers can visit this interesting link by Slurrp to know more: https://www.slurrp.com/slurrp360/regional/chhena-poda-1665411024433
The Tiramisu Model:
While sitting in Starbucks, I often wonder what makes Tiramisu click! There are a host of other cheese-cakes on cafe shelves as well, but why not the Chenna-Poda!
A quick research on Gemini gave the following result:
Tiramisu’s journey from a quiet Italian secret to a global superstar is a masterclass in culinary timing. Unlike ancient classics, this “pick-me-up” conquered the world through modern pop culture and ingenious simplicity. The obsession sparked in the 1980s when The New York Times branded it the “newly trendy” treat, securing its place in the American lexicon. By the 1990s, Hollywood turned it into a household name; a single confused joke by Tom Hanks in Sleepless in Seattle sent millions rushing to find out exactly what this mysterious dessert was. Meanwhile, Japan’s “Tiramisu Boom” pushed the craze across Asia. But its real secret? Accessibility. As a no-bake wonder with stunning photogenic layers, it became the darling of home dinner parties. Combined with a name that promised a caffeinated “energy boost,” Tiramisu evolved from a simple menu item into a timeless cultural phenomenon.
Breaking down the above with thorough research, the Tiramisu did not just get popular through sheer customer demand. It was marketed strategically by entrepreneurs. Popular mass media such as songs and magazines, culture columns of newspapers in highly-competitive culinary bastions as well as tourism into Italy made Tiramisu click. A closer home phenomena can be the Rasagolla or Rasgulla. Chill! I believe both Odisha and West-Bengal should market the dish as their own in a coordinated manner. The impact of Rasagolla in Indian mainstream media, contemporary culture and culinary spread is just wonderful.
What can make the Chenna Poda a hit!
Here is my take on policy recommendations for the Odisha Government as well as entrepreneurs.
The NAME
Chenna Poda is a complex name and it is still good for the Eastern part of India. For a global market, there needs to be branding of this dish. ‘Name’ is an important reason that the Tiramisu (or “Pick Me Up” in Italian) became a catchy title for customers. Similarly, Nayagarh Burnt Cheesecake can still remain in culinary books. But, the commercialized version of this cake needs to be something catchy. “O-Cheesecake” is my take on this. What do you think?
O-Cheesecake is simple, elegant and easy to remember. “O” can be Odisha, but it will have a cognitive impact on customers who might associate the letter with Original. An important fact is that there is no use of O-Cheesecake name as such for any popular dish. The only con here is a regional local dish called the Oatmeal-Cake from Scotland.
O-Cheesecake or Chenna Poda rendition by ChatGPT. Do you like it?
Flavour Conditioning
Trust me guys! I have seen plenty of people making faces when they eat dishes from other cultures. Outsiders tend to experience neophobic effects for food that they are not acquainted with. The same is quite true for Odia food as well. The burnt flavour or the leafy taste of the Chenna Poda can be tricky for global pallette. It will need frequent exposure and conditioning.
One of the best places to place Chenna Poda will be Barbeque joints across the globe.
It might interest you to know that Sushi and Pizza, the most popular expensive recipes (currently ruling the roast in India) were not favoured by the global audience till late 20th century.
Excuse me for being lazy, but here is the AI-summarized story of Pizza and Sushi’s journey to the global culinary basket:
The “Safe” Strategy of Sushi
Sushi’s global dominance is a landmark case of overcoming food neophobia through strategic exposure. When it first arrived in the United States in the 1960s, the idea of raw fish was met with deep suspicion. To bridge this “familiarity gap,” chefs in Los Angeles created the California Roll, which acted as a culinary gateway; by hiding the seaweed on the inside and using familiar ingredients like avocado and cooked crab, they made the exotic feel accessible. As this “safe” version appeared repeatedly in malls and supermarkets, the Mere Exposure Effect took hold, desensitizing the public to the concept and eventually clearing the path for the global appreciation of authentic sashimi and nigiri.
Pizza’s Post-War Expansion
Though pizza was a staple in Italian-immigrant enclaves for decades, its global explosion was fueled by the “habituation” of soldiers during World War II. American and Allied troops stationed in Italy were exposed to the dish daily, shifting it from a foreign curiosity to a comfort food. When they returned home, their demand for the familiar flavor profile sparked a domestic boom that transformed pizza from an ethnic specialty into a universal staple. This transition was accelerated by the rise of franchising and industrialization in the 1950s, which ensured that the visual and olfactory “exposure” to pizza became a constant in suburban life, eventually making it the most recognized dish on the planet.
Policy Strategy for Odisha on Chenna Poda:
Coming back, here are a few steps that the Odisha government needs to take to market the Chenna Poda.
There are 2 strategic goals which are quite different:
- Market the Chenna Poda (O-Cheesecake) as a cultural export:
The distinction is evident. Odisha has an unique opportunity to ride straight into the hearts of cake-lovers by promoting the Chenna Poda into culinary traditions. The steps to do this are quite predictable. The Odisha & Indian governments need to put a slice of Chenna Poda on the executive table, host tasting events at national and international airports, give-away packaged cakes to tourists, and more. It will cost but the reward is a portion of the US $90 billion cake industry. Not to mention, this alone can be Odisha’s finest international food campaign for decades to come, if successful!
Before, the O-Cheesecake becomes a global buzz, it will need to survive decades of sustained efforts to put it on the menu of popular sweet-shops, cake-makers, cafes and restaurants doting the urbanscape of tourist hotspots. “Stories” need to be told- no human event survives without stories. And, the O-Cheesecake can be made even better, according to local traditions and preferences. As the tradition grows, so does the extent of Odisha’s advertisement.
Visualize these pictures below and relate to your own personal experiences in cafes. I certainly invite your opinion on this.
- Market the indigenous Nayagarh Chenna Poda as an authentic export.
The difference between Cheese from Europe and Amul Cheese is enough to understand this. If and while the Chenna Poda gets branded and popular, the authentic Nayagarh cheese cake will pick-up value. There is a ceiling to manufacturing high-quality Chenna Poda in a particular GI-tagged region.
Some of the most famous GI-tagged cheeses from Italy as of 2026:
- Parmigiano Reggiano (PDO): Often called the “King of Cheeses,” it can only be produced in specific provinces (like Parma and Reggio Emilia). It must be aged for at least 12 months and is famous for its crunchy protein crystals.
- Mozzarella di Bufala Campana (PDO): Unlike common pizza mozzarella, the “authentic” version is made from the milk of water buffaloes in the Campania region.
- Gorgonzola (PDO): A veined blue cheese from the Lombardy and Piedmont regions.
Here is another oppurtunity: I saw a vending machine for desserts by NIC at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi. Can the Odisha Chenna Poda be one of the items here?
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Chenna Poda brand needs Indian entrepreneurs, long-term strategy by the Indian and Odisha governments, and a deep pocket. I guess, bleeding money for promoting this item on global selves is worth the public’s salt.
Jai Jagannath!
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