Long 12 to 15 hour days, constant pressure, and the need tomeet their self-imposed standards of quality control: this was what life wasall about for the three chefs from Goa. They sweated, toiled, and slaved overtheir work stations, but the end result spoke for itself.
“I can’t believe the manner in which some of those plateswere just wiped clean, especially the dessert,” says Chef Zelma Pereira ofCidade de Goa. “We thought we would be catering to 500 people, but I looked upto see at least 600 people present with more still coming through the door,”she adds. And wiped they were. The chef’s speciality dessert, Bolo de Caju,vanished off the platter as though it had been inhaled.
The Chefs, taking the scenario in their stride, promptlystepped back into the kitchen to make adjustments and whipped up more treatsfor those with sweeter teeth. Chef Peter Fernandes of O Coqueiro in Porvorimwas all smiles as he said, “In a way, this is a great thing. It is a testamentto how good our food is. We worked from 8 am to 11 pm almost every day to makesure we got things done right. I would go anywhere in the world with thiscompany to experience something like this.”
With the mobs reminiscent of a concert slowly ebbing aftertheir taste buds were satiated, the chefs got their much needed breather.Wiping the sweat off his brow after a long day in the kitchen, Chef JohnRosario Pereira says, “Coming in here was a challenge. We had a lot of issueswith the language barrier, but it was fantastic to see the aid and responsethat we got from the whole team at Hotel Sana. We got by with sign language andmaking ourselves understood to each other. But it’s been a fantastic experiencein all.”
With the kitchen closed, the apparatuses all packed andready to go, the chefs begin to make their journey back home to Goa. One thingis for sure though. If the crowds at the Hotel Sana Lisboa are anything to goby, their culinary nous, as well as the fantastic end product that they dishout, will be sorely missed by the city.
