I finally made it to the place I have always wanted to be: THE KICTHEN! I was given my chef uniform (black checkered pants, a white shirt, a chef’s hat, a hair net, a handkerchief, and black socks) – I looked kind of weird, but still very happy. See attached photos below!
It was so funny, people were not only shocked that I wanted to work in the kitchen but also that I actually wore the uniform! I started the day with the Head Chef of the Hotel, Chef Christopher Stevens, giving me a tour of the 8 kitchens on premises. After the tour, which was ok nothing special, I was directed towards my first cooking lesson and day at the 24/7 5-star buffet restaurant Citrus. Right when I arrived I was learning how to cook!
The Citrus kitchen is located within the restaurant Рa live kitchen sort of thing. So every guest that walked into the restaurant can see what we are cooking, or what when I mess up. The chefs were so nice to me and liked that I really wanted to learn the recipes instead of just goofing around. My first dish was an Indonesian recipe called Nasi Goreng: a huge concoction of chicken fried rice, chicken saut̩, a fried egg, and peanut sauce. This was really easy to learn and make Рperfect drunk food for foodies :) just kidding. But really, there were so many flavors going on that it makes it to die for and really filling.
After I learned how to make the first dish, one of the chefs asked me what my favorite part of cooking was. My reply: tasting everything! Once I said that, I literally tasted every dish that left the kitchen: Indian, Thai, Indonesian, American, Italian, you name it they had it.
My next dish was the cream of mushroom soup with a whipped truffle cream on top. The truffle cream really made this soup set apart from the rest. I then learned in more detail about traditional Indian dishes such as dosa, gravy, chutneys, and paneer. I really enjoyed everything I learned and cannot wait to make them in the USA.
It was hilarious though, because Citrus was a live kitchen all the guest could see me. When the Indian guests came to the restaurant they literally were doing triple takes because they couldn’t believe a white woman was cooking back there for THEM. When Americans would enter the restaurant they would spot me and then, every single one of them came over to talk. They really loved hearing that I was so adventurous to travel to India for my internship ALONE – as a 21 year old….if only they knew.
I then went to the funniest yet scariest information session: personal hygiene. The two hour session was about how to wash your hands – I am being dead serious. When I first realized that the entire session was about hand washing I thought it was so so funny, but then I realized: what have I been touching? Or better yet, what have I been eating?
In the cafeterias there is an entire section to wash your hands. The first two weeks I though, wow Indians are so hygienic. FALSE. Indians eat with their hands (I have already told you this). So as an American I figured they washed their hands before they ate thinking they were better than Americans who only sometimes wash their hands before eating (yet they NEVER touch their food). Boy was I shocked to find out that the sinks in the cafeteria are for AFTER you eat to wash the food off your hands, what is the point of that? You just piled in millions and millions of germs in your mouth and now youa re concerned about what is on your fingers?
Anyway, the session was teaching the staff about this new technique: washing your hands for 20 seconds in warm water and soap, then afterwards use hand sanitizer. Hand sanitizer is a new and really big thing here in India, the Leela just forgot one thing: to teach the staff how to use the sanitizer. The staff thought it was a new kind of soap so they were using hand sanitizer then WASHING it off – basically washing away the affects of the sanitizer. The staff was given mini samples and explained that the sanitizer evaporates into the air and is ok to leave on your hands. At the end of two hours, people were still not fully understanding the concept, or why they even needed to wash their hands.
Once work was over, my friend Peggy took me to go art shopping! The typical Bombay traffic took an extra 1 hour to get to the store, which turned out to be a huge disappointment. I was really upset, but there is always tomorrow (I was reminded by Peggy who swore to me that she would help me find a painting before Saturday). So tomorrow we are off to another market that will definitely have the art I am looking for. The trip though wasn’t a complete waste of time: I was able to go to the liquor store and buy two white Indian wines and a bottle of India’s oldest rum that is only sold in the state I am currently in! I know mom and dad will really enjoy this (or I hope they will!)
Tomorrow I am working in the cold kitchen where I will be learning how to make drinks (non-alcoholic and alcoholic) with fresh fruits and vegetables! I am so excited, once again these are skills I will have and be using forever!
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