Christmas Feast Hotline

for traditional Christmas sweets and savoury dishes

Bored of being a housewife,Anne Dias started taking catering orders in 1982. That should explain the Dadar resident’s popularity among those who are looking for authentic Christmas specialties. The festive season every year for her begins early December when orders start pouring in. Apart from the traditional sweets,such as pinag,doldol,guava cheese and marzipan among others,Dias is known for her savouries — chicken roast and ox tongue roast,xacuti,sorpotel and vindaloo. This season,she’s already prepared 90 kgs of sweets. “But that isn’t my only interest. I like teaching women from households suffering from financial strain how to cook — working as cooks can help them earn more than what they do when they work as household helps,” says Dias. Contact: 9869173268

Christina Fernandes

for traditional European

Christmas dishes

A PASTRY chef through the year,

33-year-old Christina Fernandes switches to making popular European Christmas lunches on order starting December 20. Suckling pig,glazed ham and roasted whole turkey and chicken with a variety of sauces with roast potatoes on the side,are some of the more popular items on her menu. “The traditional Goan dishes are done by many,but the market for these specialties was just warming up when I started my business,” explains the Cuffe Parade resident. Although the number of orders is growing,she chooses to work on them herself,with help only from her family. It also gives Fernandes the flexibility to customise the dishes based on her clients’ food preferences. Contact: 09820928420

Rocha’s Farm Products

for marinaded meats and

ready stuffings

THOSE who wish to enjoy the process of cooking in one’s own kitchen but don’t want to work on the dishes from scratch,have an

option in Rocha’s Farm Products. The Colaba cold storage,which has been in business since 1890,is known for its meaty pork chops throughout the year. But in December,the Rochas also start to stock marinaded meats and birds as well as popular sauces and stuffings. “Not everyone these days has the time to prepare a whole meal. They come to us to buy these semi-prepared meats which they can easily finish in their own kitchen on Christmas mornings,” says Luiza Rocha who is currently heading

the business.

Contact: 022 22840335

Tanya Fonseca

for sauces,spreads and jams

WHAT’S a Christmas meal

without a variety of dips and spreads to accompany the feast. Under her recently-launched company,Take A Whisk,Bandra-based Tanya Fonseca sells a variety of home-prepared food products that one might not easily find in the market. Take for instance honey cinnamon butter that she calls Your Daily Spread,or Some Like it Hot,a smoked and spiced bacon jam. “There’s also an apple and chilly jam that can be used as a dip and honeyed whole grain mustard,among others,” she says. But the young lady,who merely moonlights as an entrepreneur,also makes a variety of vegan and gluten-free items,including cakes. Contact: 9820036191

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