Fast 038; the Furious

While the upmarket restaurant is plush and air-conditioned, the kitchen is hot as hell! The 8216;men-only8217; team had Rozario, the master chef who always added the final touch. Premchandji worked on the cooking range and stirred, fried, tossed and flipped before I could bat an eyelid. And Shyam, who washed the dishes would I be doing that, I wondered. There was also Bachchan Singh Rana, knife in a pocket stitched on his sleeve, with an amused smirk on his face that was present through the evening. I decided to stick around the genial Premchandji.

The orders started pouring in around 9 pm. 8216;8216;Pork Chops, Chicken Mustard Porcini,8217;8217; Rozario yelled. Another order for Asparagus Mascarpone pasta and Risotto followed. Premchandji and I got busy, working on both simultaneously. He asked me to scoop out some boiling water from a sink where the pasta was being cooked, and poured it in both the pans. Then some asparagus. I stirred. He worked like mad8230;Mascarpone cheese, grated Parmesan, cooked rice. I8230;ahem8230;stirred. And lo! my Italian khichdi was ready. It looked good, but there was no time to bask in the glow. Ritu was saying something about table number 5 sharing one starter, which meant the main course had to be ready soon. At times Ritu even cooked, or instructed the cooks. Scallops, a fish imported from Scotland, she told me, had suddenly become a hot-selling item that day. 8216;8216;Funny, sometimes, it lies around for a month, other days, everyone wants to have it,8217;8217; she remarked.

The scallops were being grilled. Some bacon was being thawed. The prawns had to be peeled, cut and marinated. Suddenly, someone discovered that the prawns were too small. So Mukesh Kumar, who doubled up as the odd jobs man, was sent to fetch the jumbo prawns.

Meanwhile, one guest was allergic to black pepper which meant that every trace of pepper had to be eradicated from a salmon dish that was being cooked. The atmosphere was heating up. 8216;8216;Hey, come on, that order came at 9.30. It8217;s 9.45 already, where8217;s the pizza?8217;8217; shouted Rozario. Everyone had something to do, even Shyam, who now had a heap to clear.

Instead of dodging the pans and grills being passed around, I volunteered to peel the jumbo prawns. 8216;8216;Let me show this guy I know better,8217;8217; I thought cheekily. I picked one and tried to squeeze my finger between the crust and the soft flesh.

I could just hear my mother exclaim: 8216;8216;What? You call yourself a Konkani pori and you can8217;t peel a prawn!8217;8217; Perhaps Ritu saw me struggling8212;an amateur with a jumbo prawn is an expensive proposition. 8216;8216;Dada, I8217;m adding prawns in this pasta, so charge for the prawns. Be careful with the scallops, if they start shrinking, that means they are overcooked. If it8217;s returned, Rs 800 goes down the drain,8217;8217; she said.

I looked at my prawn. What damage was I going to do? Sorry ji, I can8217;t do this,8217;8217; I said, moving to the tap to wash the stink off. Yowl! I had turned the hot water tap on! Shyam, the dishwasher gave me a sympathetic look. Bachchan Singh8217;s smirk broke into a smile.