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| Sunday, 11 July 2004 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Male in the kitchen by Umangi de Mel
Ashan Dias - News Presenter "Of course I can cook," he boasts. "I don't know the conventional ways of cooking but I can manage to put a little bit of this and a little bit of that and voila, you have something nice cooked at the end." Ashan actually seems to know some cooking as he's cooked since he was a teenager, "I was bored after A/Ls. I'm somebody who loves food so I started experimenting with it and it was fun. My dad and brothers really like to try my cooking and they love it when I cook, which is not done often. They keep enquiring about the ingredients that went into the dish but I never tell, since I hate to lose my customers. It's not really that bad, it turns out well, which is what matters," he chuckles. Ashan says that he doesn't know the nitty-gritties of cooking. Yet he manages to find stuff from their hiking nooks, "I don't know the spices and stuff but I always put lots of sauce and get blasted. I make devilled beef although I'm not too sure if you can really call it that cause I put my own list of ingredients but it's quite up to standard," he continues, "But, I have this habit of eating while cooking so, by the time I finish cooking half the dish is already in my stomach". Ashan says he doesn't find cooking a chore; "Once in a while is fine, I don't think it's a chore but I don't know if I'll like having to do it everyday like my mom. Talking about disastrous cooking, he says that he hasn't experienced any major disasters so far, "Once I tried out chillie paste which, for some reason, turned out to be pretty hard. You could actually kill somebody with it, that's about it and no, I haven't set the place on fire. I love cooking and even if I don't find the essential stuff, I always find a substitute and I keep the people happy!" Kevin Nugara - Dancer "Nope, I can't cook to save my soul," says Kevin. "Of course I'm drawn to the kitchen most of the times not to cook though, but in search of food. Food's what takes me to the kitchen. I prefer canned stuff, which merely requires boiling or frying." Kevin says that he can't recall any cooking in his life. "But I fry eggs and sausages and that's all the cooking I do. I love food but I'm conscious about what I eat. It I think I need to lose weight, I watch my diet but I feast when I'm not bothered about my weight." Kevin assumes that cooking can be fun once you get the hang of it, "It should be a piece of cake then but it's just that 'getting the hang of it' isn't fun. Learning to cook needs a lot of attention and devotion." He feels that a male in the kitchen is just fine and there's nothing weired about it, "I live with my parents so being the bad cook that I am, I survive. Yet I don't think cooking is a chore, cause sometimes you've got to do what you've got to do but as for me, cooking is not the thing right now." Captain Shri (Gold FM) "I love my food plus I love my cooking," blurts out the guy who has station identity for a moniker. "I don't cook a lot unless I'm forced to, though. If there's nobody in the house and if I don't feel like eating out, I guess I've gotta make my own meal then." His fav. dishes are Sri Lankan and Indian. He says, he loves Indian stuff Captain Shri says he doesn't depend on anybody for his food, "I've been cooking since I was 15. I picked it up on my own just by watching any mom. There's no shame in going to the kitchen. I think every male should start learning to cook and we should take pride in it. It's not just one person's job, you can't dump all the cooking on your wife or your mom. It's team effort. Take the hotels, you seldom came across a female chef. All the good cooks are males !" he says chuckling triumphantly. Experimenting with his food, Shri says he loves trying it on leftover food. "We try new combinations with left-overs. It's called the 'Kachal dish' - we put all the left-overs into a bowl and add certain other things to spice it up. I've got a friend who helps me." Talking about disasters that take place in the kitchen he says, "Once while we were in England we tried to cook some meat. We added salt and all the required spices but at the end it was hardly edible. The meat had been already salted and that was a real disaster cause it was a moment when we wanted to feast on it badly. Shohan Chandiram - Dancer/Choreographer/a-ctor "I used to cook but not anymore," he said. "I started cooking at the age of 16. I learnt it from my mom, my grand-mom and aunt. I've always experimented with food. I haven't cared much for the rules but I've done it my way by adding different stuff to make a normal curry taste different." He says that he doesn't have to depend on anybody as he can prepare any dish he wants; "My Fav. is Rotti with fried salmon. I also can cook beef, pasta, rice and all the curries. I may not be brilliant but I can manage." He feels that cooking can't be called a chore, "You don't have a choice at times. When your stomach starts growling, there's no way you can ignore. It's better if you can do your own cooking irrespective of the gender. It's a chore when you don't have time but if you do have time, why not try !!" ***** 30 Things You'd Love to Say at Work Is office life losing its peppery zing? Is the 9 to 5 schedule turning into a tediously tiring yawn? Is the big kahuna beginning to get pesky..... Don't get angry, get impertinent instead. Lighten up your workday with this cheeky look at the work world. 1. I can see your point, but I still think you're full of it. 2. I don't know what your problem is, but I'll bet it's hard to pronounce. 3. How about never? Is never good for you? 4. I see you've set aside this special time to humiliate yourself in public. This is good! 5. I'm really easy to get along with once you people learn to see it my way. 6. I'll try being nicer if you'll try being smarter. 7. I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message. 8. I don't work here. I'm a consultant. 9. It sounds like English, but I can't understand a word you're saying. 10. Ahhh ... I see the screw-up fairy has visited us again. 11. I like you. You remind me of when I was young and stupid. 12. You are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers. 13. I have plenty of talent and vision. I just don't give a damn. 14. I'm already visualising the duct tape over your mouth. 15. Thank you. We're all refreshed and challenged by your unique point of view. 16. Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental. 17. What am I? Flypaper for freaks!? 18. I'm not being rude. You're just insignificant. 19. It's a thankless job, but I've got a lot of karma to burn off. 20. Yes, I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial. 21. Do I look like a people person? 22. This isn't an office. It's Hell with fluorescent lighting. 23. I started out with nothing and still have most of it left. 24. Sarcasm is just one more service we offer. 25. I'm trying to imagine you with a personality. 26. A cubicle is just a padded cell without a door. 27. Can I trade this job for what's behind door number one? 28. Too many freaks, not enough circuses. 29. Chaos, panic and disorder - my work here is done. 30. How do I set a laser printer to stun? |
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| Produced by Lake House |
Men are good at cooking, so they say. Men are also good at feasting on
what's already cooked. Some cook just to prove themselves better, they
really give it a shot and that probably is the reason why we find heaps of
male chefs around. But that's just a handful ... Are men really 'wow' at
cooking or are they total duds when it comes to the kitchen department,
running the risk of even setting the place a fire?
