Exotic bytes

With Shangreiwon Multhou

Shangreiwon Multhou, a professional chef, began her career with ITC in Delhi and the Taj in Mumbai after graduating from IHM in Guwahati. She set forth to California but as we say home is where hearth is, she returned to India to work with Guwahati Airline Catering. She has recently started her own school in culinary, ‘Exotic School of Cooking’ at Dimapur. Her art of decoration with local raw vegetables have been cherished and is a treasured captures in weddings and menus.

Shangreiwon Multhou

Q: How did you start your career after coming back home?

Wedding is a lavish practice here, where decoration of food and cuisines are important and integral part. Initially I ventured into arrangements and decorations of food items in wedding and then there was the demand to learn cooking from those I came in contact. Cooking makes me learn more.

Q: What is close to your heart while displaying your culinary skills?

I love to make something out of raw ingredients.

Q: You could have started the same business in California too taking the ethnic cooking abroad. What makes you start your business back home?

I always wanted to come home and share my knowledge, promote cuisines and connect with the grassroots here with my people and traditions.

Q: How do you familiarize the ethnic taste for those who are not familiar with cuisines from North-east India?

I improvise on the cuisines and try keeping the traditional flavour intact.

Q: How do you see yourself five years from now?

More people should appreciate the ethnic exotic cuisines of Nagaland.

Q: How do you take chef as a career?

Well, nothing is impossible if we put our heart and work hard to live to our dreams.

It is good, I get to travel different places, get to familiarize different flavours, different cultures. It opens up avenues. Cooking is a lifestyle and people are adopting it.

Q: What is your message to our readers?

Chef as career can make you survive in any part of the world. It is a need and lifestyle!

With boom in hospitality industry, a lot of good opportunities are available for trained and experienced chefs. Once a person is trained in kitchen, they can work in Hotel, Airline Catering, and Cruise Liner or start their own business.

CARVING IN RADISH

CARVING IN WATERMELON

CARVING IN GOURD

Thankyou Shang!

We welcome your comments at letters@friedeye.com