Educating for the future.. are we killing creativity?

I have an interest in education. I guess everyone has interest in education. it is one of those things like religion and money.

which is quite evident with the way we react to the college cut off percentages, even though we might not know anyone who will be going to that particular college or university. we are fascinated with the MIT's and IIT's so much even though our interests may lie in arts or commerce.

I believe this is so because of our believes that it is education that will take us into the future. the future we know nothing about. we don't even know how the world will look 6 months from now, especially with the US and French interest in Syrian people(read: oil).
But it is the children that we educate today who will be a part of the leadership in about 25-30 years from now. The world has changed so dramatically over the past 10 years and it was just picking the speed at that time. So how can we continue to use the methods that British started to use in the early 19^th century to train a standardized work force that would later work in the industries that fuelled their economy. The entire setup is so archaic but all we try to do is to evolve it to meet the present world issues. And that is not good enough. Not any longer.

The motto of our current education system seems to be STANDARDISATION 

Standardization is good. Who does not like Pringle chips? Standard, uniform and all taste the same. I love binging on them(that is quite evident now). But if you were told that you can have your children the same way. They will your look talk think and act the same way. Just like Pringle chips. How would you feel now? Would you still go for it?

If you have ever been around children (small people), yours or someone else’s. You would have noticed that they are all different. No two kids are the same. They are all so unique, smart and creative. My 5 year old niece is so good in painting. But what I have realized is that ever since she started to go to the school her paintings have changed. There is more of uniformity in her approach. Now she her drawings have got a structure. And I guess at her tender age she has been exposed to the norms of the world. And now I can bet even though she is an awesome painter most of the kids in her class would be making similar paintings.

The point that I want to make is that in the modern education set up most of the kids are slowly but steadily drawn away from their creative selves.

All over the world I see that kids are being trained to compete in the rat race by their parents. Even without realizing that at the end of the race the winners are still rats.
The maximum emphasis given by teachers and parents are on the subjects of mathematics and sciences.
I wish equal weightage was given to arts and sports. There should be more dedicated arts classes (music, dance, painting, etc.) where kids get a chance to get chance to express themselves and be creative.
Especially in India we do not give chances for kids to think on their own. Most parents take decisions for their kids and it’s the kids’ responsibility to follow what has been told.
Luckily for me my parents never stopped me from choosing my career, they were all the more supporting and  let me choose the path I want to take for my future. They definitely guided me and help me choose the Best college for my graduation.(Pepper, I hope you understand what I mean by BEST). And now I can’t think of what else I would have been if I were not a Chef. that defines me now.

The education system does not need evolution it needs a revolution. Yes mathematics and sciences are important. But what is more important is have an organic development for our kids.  if a kid is poor in numbers does not mean that he/she is a duffer. intelligence has different forms. the kid might be good in something else like music, sports etc. creativity in all forms should be respected and nurtured.
By the way Pablo Picasso was dyslexic, imagine if he had listened to all the people who said that he was not smart enough... and so is Richard Branson...

I believe that creativity is and will be even more bigger deciding factor to where we will take our country/world. 
Lets educate our children in a way that we can customize their education as per their needs and bring out the creative bests in them. it may not be possible in schools but let's do it at our homes for them.

As Mark twain once famously said, "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education."

Salt

India... Superpower??

Is India the next 21st century super power/the next world leader?

That's what everyone says the world over. But is it? And if yes then why?

What constitutes to being a super power?

Is it the population? Then yes we are on course to  top the charts. We will overtake China very soon(2034).
Or is it military? we have 4th largest army in the world. we have the nuclear weapons as well.

But if you look carefully these have been with India for a long time. So there must be something else that has that has brought about that shift in India's position in the modern world.
I was wondering that how come India with all the trouble it has managed to be considered a super power.

The very first world impression I got about my own country came about 18 yrs back, from my aunt, who had recently come back to Delhi after living an year in Mexico. She had narrated to me that while she was travelling in a bus in Mexico city, she was asked by a fellow passenger if we had any busses in India? or we still used to travel to our offices in bullock carts or on elephants. and if she knew the rope trick. This was amusing then, on how little knowledge people had about India.
Fast forward to today, if you ask any one in the West almost everyone knows what India is.
the general impressions about India are following
INDIA is the place where all there jobs have gone.
it is the place where all 1800(toll free) calls are answered.
its the land of software gurus, business tycoons and slum dog millionaire

So how did this all change?
what is significant is the spread of internet in this period.
the flow of information has been enormous, even if Indian Government wanted to spread this information or not.

But what I believe have been the real causes in the shift are the things that actually happened without anyone knowing it.
Bollywood (hindi cinema) and Indian Cuisine.

I have been living in the UAE for almost 4 years now and whenever I go to a theatre to watch a Hindi movie I see more Locals watching them than Indians. majority of them young adults. Not just here that is the case all over the world. Americas, Europe , South east Asia and even Africa. people watch such movies without comprehending a word that is spoken, in many cases even the sub titles are not in their native languages. anyways these movies are made to be understood without all sorts of handicap. After the 2 and half hours of song, dance and drama. they walk out of the theatres with stars in their eyes and India in their hearts.

And the same is true about Indian cuisine. With the growth of the middle class around the world, eating out has become a habit for many around the world. and that's where Indian restaurants do there trick. the proliferation of Indian restaurants around the world is such that you cant go to a medium sized town in Europe/Americas and not have an Indian restaurant there. it might not be a very good one, but they are there. Indian restaurants in Europe and US have been awarded Michelin stars.
and you have extremely good restaurants all over. the spice of Indian food ensures that people don't forget India after their meal or not at least till the next day morning.
Indian restaurants in Britain employ more people that coal mining, ship building and iron & steel industries combined. And that is a fact.

As a Chef I consider it my honour to showcase my country on a plate. And being the talkative one I love talking to people and share my culture and my country with them.

what I have concluded is that its not about which country has the biggest military muscle or the financial power. in this century the country with the better story will be the NEXT SUPER POWER.
Governments aren't the best at telling stories(especially ours where the leader refuses to speak up). But as I write here the story is being told all by the medium of art, culture, costume, custom, cuisine and consonant.

Many also say that India is a super power and super poor. How can we be both?
India has the software of growth but not the hardware of growth. but as you read the country is fighting to overcome the challenges of poverty, illiteracy, roads, electricity and much more. Even Rome was not built in a day and India is thousands time bigger than Rome. All  it needs is the correct governance and a strong leadership/ownership and a bit of dictatorship (which can happen in the next general elections) to put it on track of hardware acquisition.

India has done its mis en place to prepare an amazing dish. it is just waiting for the Chef to cook it well and serve it to its people and to the World. and take the honours of being the next superpower.


And for me that is a better story.

......
Salt








 

Food is not the same anymore!!

Today I ask you to... Reimagine Food!

Pepper would agree that we the crazy ones are passionate about food. The base of our passion coming from the hotel school, where we learned the basics about food, culinary techniques, concepts and similar terms. We read books, went through practical cooking classes. All these factors came together and gave our perspective of food at that early stage.
But it was later that I started working in professional kitchens that i realised the perspective that I had built was based on books written many decades ago. And I had started to envision, learn and write about food was based on those old texts.
Since last 20 years more emphasis has been given to link food closely to science(chemistry/physics of food)
Chefs around the world are going much ahead in creating newer techniques and aesthetics of doing food. And in order to learn them I needed to open my mind. Study not just cuisine but science behind the cuisine and create my own culinary aesthetic. It is time that we go byond the 'Authentic' and recreate it in a way I would love to have it. Combining the best of cooking techniques with the best of ingredients and creating food which redefines it's identity. Putting my identity on the plate. Let's not follow the pattern, open our paradigms and think different(apple). As old way of doing things is indeed the OLD way of doing things.
But does that mean what was done before was wrong? Not at all, that was right for that time and will continue to appeal many. I would still like my butter chicken with garlic naan. But how can I make the butter chicken even better? shall I cook the chicken sous vide or shall I use plum tomatoes for my sauce? That is for me to work on and conclude what is the best(for me)?
Coz I believe, food is not the same anymore!!

DILLI 6

"I asked my soul, what is Delhi" She replied: "The world is the body and Delhi its soul."

Asadullah Khan Ghalib (19th century poet)

By Delhi, Ghalib meant what is now called Old Delhi, one of the most fascinating part of the capital city of India. I have been visiting the city since my childhood and have been captivated by the distinct identity, culture and traditions of the area. It is perhaps this distinct identity and culture which has implored people to refer to it as "the Walled City," a city in itself.

I come from a family of vegetarians. And my grandfather being the best vegetarian cook ever known to me. He was a very good story teller as well. I have heard many stories about his days in old Delhi and the legendary chaats of Sita ram bazaar from him. But it was only when I was working in Delhi and had planned a street food festival in my restaurant I decided to research on the where is the best street food in Delhi. I took help of my Kulfi supplier (whose family was in the business for the last 4 generations). I decided to meet him at his shop in sita ram bazaar, Dilli 6

It was a cold delhi afternoon, I boarded the metro from the Rajiv chowk station (Connaught place, heart of New Delhi). Took Rs.6 ticket to Chawri Bazaar metro station and here I was in metro station 4 storeys below the ground level. I wondered why they have dug up soo deep. As I stepped out of the station I realised why!!

I was in the busy, dusty, narrow, noisy bylanes of old delhi. Hustle bustle of walled city can mesmerise any one. The area is identified by extremely small shops, congested streets and dilapidated buildings. Over the years, there has hardly been any difference in the typography of the area except over the recent past when the area has witnessed a spurt in modernism, thanks to the Metro rail project, which has connected the Walled City to the more modern and cosmopolitan part of Delhi.

Thanks to the Metro rail project, it is particularly trouble-free to reach Chandni Chowk now. There is a perceptible change in the economy of the walled street because of the Metro Rail project. For the first time, old delhi is directly connected with the cosmopolitan section of the city.

Built in 1650 AD as an accompaniment to Red Fort, Chandni Chowk was designed by Jahanara, daughter of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. The story goes that on a moonlit night, the new complex and the river canal, which used to flow through Chandni Chowk lay shimmering; and as a result it acquired the name of Chandni Chowk.

Out side the station I asked for directions and moved towards Sita ram bazaar. Went upto Subedar Kulfi wala where Bobby (proprietor) was waiting for me. After the compulsory tea, he made me sample some of the best kulfis he does like the mango kulfi(inside a real mango skin), chikoo and orange(similarly done). According to him he loved doing business in this part of the city as people here were very fond of eating food(only vegetarian) and knew their tastes very well.

 People who would start their day with halwa poori and imarti. Have diferrent chaats throughout the day and matra kulcha in the evening before heading home. Heavy eaters, the size of their stomachs showed true Global-isation.

He then guided me to an old shop in sita ram bazaar, the guy sold gol gappa nad bhalla papri chat. I must say the gol gappa I had there were the best ever.rustic, thick, semolina pastyry shells, typically homemade, stuffed with boiled potatoes, tiny chickpeas and tamarind chutney and then dipped in the tangy water with raw tamarind were a revelation. Then I sampled the bhalla papri chaat a there, oohhh that was just awesome. I noticed that he was adding spicy sweet potato and a strange black spice mix. I asked him what was tis black spice mix to which he replied that he does not know. It was made by his father and his father never told him the recipe. I wondered what if his father could not whisper the recipe in his son’s years on his death bed. The special spice mix will be lost forever. That was very strange but I realised what it took in this day and age for an old man to keep his stature in the family.

We then carried on to Hauz Qazi where we tried a chaat which is not seen in new delhi. Kalami vada- deep fried gram flour discs loaded with, sweet yoghurt, tamarind chutney, mint chutney, kala masala and spiced shakarkandi. Unique.

Our last stop was the matra kulcha wala around the corner at hauz qazi. Boiled dried peas tossed with onion, tamarind, ginger, green chillies, and kala masala and served with kulcha bread.(this was my grand fathers favourite) I missed him with every bite I had. I was truly delicious. The meal was rounded up with 2 helpings of banta(LEMONADE).

After all that I had it was impossible to try anything more. But bobby wanted me to try more stuff that dilli 6 had to offer. But then sense prevailed and I said bye to bobby. Until next time.. to visit the non vegetarian paradise of Dilli 6!

 Bon appetit!

The prep list and the murphy's law

I have gone through some major changes in my life in the past couple of months. Some of my friends will know for sure what i am talking about here. I was lost, but I wasn't afraid. It was like following a fool proof recipe to the "e" where in the scope of improvisation is quite limited or none, and more so you already know how the end result is going to look, taste and feel like. The only improvisation that you can actually do is in the presentation part. Fortunately or unfortunately, thats my forte. As always, this time it is very crucial as well.

I was away for a bit and my friend "salt" had kept the kitcherie alive by injecting the special marinades time and again.Wanting to write again after some time is a bit of a challange for a Chef. Just that you get sucked into so many of the everyday chores that keeps you busy. Everyday chores here will be new menu planning, costing it, marketting activities, photoshoots, training, presentations, execution and follow ups, top it up with occassional out door caterings. They are quite some fun too. Your life is pretty much exciting and juicier as a Chef, or we like to make it sound like that, whatever be the reason, its quite amazing being one and being able to live upto it.

"Salt" can give you a fairer idea with his all time favorite sayings that "Chefs never sleep, they take rest, Chefs never eat, they taste......." and my personal favorite one "Chefs never COME.. they ARRIVE!!" And I know a lot of CHEFS who live by this statement.

Recently I did an outdoor catering event. It was pretty high profile event considering the fact that the host was one of the richest in UAE and comes under forbes list of te richest entrepreneurs. Trust me, outdoor caterings are always fun, there are always unavoidable last minute things which will go wrong and then the key is to change gears and make the sticky situation into a caramel toffee and use it to benefit. I had been negotiating with the host on all the planning, menu, set up and everything majorly. Last moment requests were happily accomodated. Now, the degree of happiness varies when you get these last moment changes on a weekend and you know that there wont be any supplies till the begining of the week. All said and done, as usual my new enthusiastic assistant Chef or the Sous Chef as we call in kitchense, made a couple of extremely well defined checklists to be checked off. Cooking was done in the degree of fondness for teh food. Each Chef I have ever seen is passionate about certain dishes which he calls his speciality, I usually prefer them to freely do those particular dish as the level of confidence is higher and there is always this sense of competition amongst the cooks to cook better than the other one. Althogh, I do make sure that they follow a certain recipe and I am aware that wht dish will it come out to be. Its good to be unpredictable, but in Kitchen trust me you love to be predictable!!!

Coming back to the checklists, it was perfect. everything looked so good on paper, but then I had this deja vu moment where I knew that no matter what you follow or do, MURPHY's LAW prevails. Something will go wrong! In this case the other day, I checked everything but we manged to loose out the dessert garnish, the siphone gun won't work there and to deal with a sudden request to organize a live bar be cue for 50 people, while you are away from your set up by 80 odd kilometers! Its like fighting the battle on a foreign turf with no ammunition.
But then, there I was equipped with two other CHEFS in the team, and as our training or talim  goes, we never say no. So, somehow we managed to pull off a great night for th hosts. They awere all merrily happy considering the fact we were serving food a'la zafran fine dine style and drinks till 4 AM.
The team was physically and mentally exhausted after 17 hrs or work for some and 12 -13 hrs  of work for some others, the function got over, but its still not over for us. We need to unwind, repack and come to the base, unload, cleaup and then you plan for the next day and if you may, get some sleep.
All this pain goes and becomes a satisfying smile with the host turning and telling you how godly good the food was. Well, not that I didnt know it was good, but still you wait all evening to listen to those golden words of gratitude. Isn't this very similar to being in the entertainment industry? We are still no superstars.. but for me that day the entire team was a super star!
The star on the menu that night was the "seared malai scallops with zafrani jhinge" went very well with figs and berry chutney. Rumali rotis were another attarction, its old claasy and still works to draw crowds, just like the gran torino car.

As I see the busy weekend pass by and sail into a relaxed sunday (now you know, where the bolg came from) other things are catching up the prioirty on the list which I need to check off. And time and again.. Muphy's law will prevail... or rather hope not.

Adios...
Pepper

Young, Unique and Passionate.

Young, Unique and Passionate. Passion is one thing i find common in my breed of Chefs. Young and Passionate are the most apt words to describe them. We are young but does that mean we lack experience?? Maybe.. Maybe not. i believe lack of experience helps us to be innovative. Young, Unique and Passionate. 

what brought me here..

(it always takes me a bottle of wine to start writing)I blame it on the Indian education system that when i feared that i will flunk in my maths board exam in High School i managed 70%. that was good enough for me to take up maths as an elective subject along with Commerce(though i always thought i was better at arts).  but i blame this too on the system (even though no one forced anything on me, its nice to put the blame on others). but after 2 years of hard fought struggle i managed to survive commerce, and that too with flying colours. i had kept my expectations low and fears high, so the 70% i got were good enough. Meanwhile i was still thinking what next???
what can i do after school? continuing with commerce would have been like stabbing my self AGAIN!! so that was out of question. or shall i continue pursuing one of my passions, that was at that time, JUDO. Maybe i thought, i was never sure. i had heard about Hotel Management, don't remember from where. but heard it was the course of the future. what future? I had no clue.
so i applied to 7 hotel management colleges in the country. gave entrance examination everywhere. the results started pouring in. i got scared. i got through each and every one of it. ooty, kolkata, delhi, aurangabad, meerut but the fight was between Gurgaon and IHMCTAN. gurgaon was sponsored by a reputed hotel company, no fees but a 5 year career bond after a completion of a course of 4 years. 9 years of my life dedicated to a company?? i did not know what to expect out of the course after 1 month, imagine 9 years of bond. phew!! it was not for me. al  other colleges never excited me. one of my family friends who worked for Pusa Institute was very possitive as i had scored All India rank of 144 and i could choose any of the 26 colleges spread all over India. i had no clue what to choose. i heard Delhi college is v good(pepper would agree), and i can be home while studying. But a friend of my dad told him that bombay college is much better than delhi. so my dad asked me if i wanted to go there?? i still had no clue.. i said, Why Not?
I went to bombay in Rajdhani express with my dad. at 7 am in the morning as the train was closing in on the Mumbai central station, the view outside was not an ideal start to the day.
we reached IHMCTAN mumbai (dadar catering) at around 9 am. the college campus was just 2 buildings, 1 basketball court and staff quarters. Much smaller than the average college campus in any other part of the world. I guess the prize paid for being in a prime location in Mumbai. at around 10 am I along with other 200 odd clueless students had an induction to the college. We were told about the history, reputation, discipline of the institute and stupid questions and answers were exchanged. As i sat through all that my mind was working overtime thinking, if all this was worth it? had i made the right choice by coming here? I had no idea what to expect out of this B.Sc.(H&HA).
After two hour long induction session we were told to check out our Hostel rooms. mine was 809!!

And the journey began!!