I Turned an Chef... Part 3...

The only thing that was left, was the critic’s reply. It was quite pleasing, considering it was my first ever cooked item. Some agreed that it was good. Some felt that I could have done by adding some salt. Others felt quite pleased to have this as their breakfast and were ready to have another round. And that was what I was totally unprepared for. This is were I asked pinakin to take over and so I took a timeout, and roamed around the fort a bit. By the time I came back, the batch after having a colourless version of the pohe (turmeric was finished), was ready to leave. So with my bag considerably lighter, we descended the fort, where I again was given the opportunity to make our lunch and limbu sarbat. I wont bore you with the fact of how kichdi is made, only that its same as pohe only instead of “poha”, you use soaked rice and dal. So with that out of the way, I was to make the drink that consisted the last remaining item in my bag. Lemons. Lot of Lemons. The recipe: a lit bit of this, a little bit of that. I mean, first you squeeze the lemons. Then you add water. Then you add sugar. Then you add salt. Then you taste it. Then you increase this a bit, you increase that a bit. And its done. It should taste a bit tangy. There can never be a fixed recipe. So after a lot of playing around the drink was ready for the arriving batch (with almost no load, I was one of the first to reach the base). So after serving everyone with the sarbat, that has all the necessary ingredients that will tend to a tired person namely, sugar for glucose, water for dehydration, vitamin c, and even salt . it is the natural thing to have. Everybody pleased and everybody with a full stomach we get into our bus, with each person feeling that they had done something, they believed they would love to do again.

So that was how I turned a trek cook and now after a few treks of doing that am now in the regular army of male-chefs and sometimes, am asked the question, did you ever consider the option of doing hotel management.

But on a serious note, it is fun. You are responsible. You feel different. You don’t care if the food you have prepared would be given grade A in the cookery classes. You only care to the fact that you have done something that few people get to do. Anybody can cook, with all accessories around them, but a few who can without much instrumental help. And you fell proud to be a part of that selected few.