They came together to cook for a cause, aphilanthropic venture that transcended competition. Goa’s hospitality sector joinedforces on October 1 as part of the Mekong Food Program. Their aim: createdelicious meals for over 2000 disabled children from across Goa, providing themwith the experience of a lifetime.
And indeed, all hands were on deck, withsmiles on their faces as they worked towards feeding hungry mouths. 48 leadinghospitality brands provided the ingredients and chefs from ‘Hotel Mandovi’ and‘Pan Asian Bowl’ cooked at a hectic pace as they worked up a sweat over theirburners right from 4:30 am, to provide a sumptuous meal to thechildren. The lunch was then packed and transported to the 12 participatingschools and associations. Soven Biswas, the general manger of MandoviQue’sHospitality, said as he heaved a sigh of relief on completion of his teamstask, “It was a challenge, as we not only had to prepare the food right fromscratch, but we also had to package and deliver the food to the institutions.Logistically, it was extremely hectic.”
But one has to track back a little furtherin time to understand how this venture originated. Anish Quenim’s sportinginjury sustained earlier this year out him in a position to understand the painof the disabled. “Lying hospitalised for a lengthy span of time made me realisewhile I knew that I would recover, the stark reality of life ensures that noteveryone is that fortunate,” Quenim says.
Avelino De Sa, the president of DRAG, wasall smiles as he said, “It is excellent to see initiatives of this nature beingundertaken so as to touch the hearts of the disabled. This is something theyprobably did not expect to ever experience.”
With plans of expansion with every passingyear, Quenim signs off by saying, “Overwhelming response such as this is reallymoving. We can only hope to do better and perhaps even quadruple the area wereach out to next year. For those who are unable to make it to us for their variousreasons, the least we can do is, take the dining experience to them.”
