To be able to appreciate

To be able to appreciate

We, the residents of the Retirement Home where I live, are happy with cooks we have for the past couple of months. They replaced the father-in-law + son-in-law pair who were managing the canteen for the previous one year. Though the earlier cooks were OK, the meals they provided were pretty ordinary; never a surprise item in the menu; never one to take any suggestion from the customers. They just did their job.

We are happy with the young couple – Jerry and Daisy - who have come to replace them. They are cheerful, friendly and energetic. They smile a lot. They have the right attitude for the service especially considering the residents are entirely dependent on the meals provided by them. Though they are also from Kerala their cooking style is slightly different and a shade better. They are innovative; they make newer items to provide variety.  They would add an extra item of a pickle or chips that is not mentioned in the menu. They are caring. If a person is unwell, they would offer to do a special porridge and deliver it in the room.

With people coming from such diverse background we all have our own set tastes and norms for how a dish should be made. Every day we would have some comments to make about the food. I would give suggestions for improvement – to use less coconut, less oil, or not to make it too spicy etc. The cooks would take some of them in the right spirit and some as harsh criticism. But we are able to communicate with each other most of the time.

Last week they had to take couple of days off to visit their children living in Kerala with their grandmother. For those days, as a stop-gap arrangement, the contractor sent two ladies to manage the kitchen. Being isolated from the rest of the society we usually look forward to any new change. And of course we had our fingers crossed.

But right from the first morning coffee we found that their standard didn’t match ours. They were not at all suitable to cook in an establishment like this. The quality of food was very poor. Rice was not cooked well, coffee was not strong, curds were sour, sambar did not have enough dal or vegetables. The portions served were limited. They made it very clear that they are not happy to be working here, don’t like any comments and that anything said would be taken as criticism. They did not have the right attitude for a service industry. With that kind of atmosphere, it was very difficult, especially for me, to go through each meal time. Though before going to have my meal, I would make up my mind not to make any comments, it was impossible for me to restrain myself. One meal I even walked out without finishing the food in my plate. I refused to have the watery sambar and went without it. By the second day everybody was pretty uncomfortable. People complained of stomach ache and upset stomach.

But by the third day most unexpectedly Jerry and Daisy came back. I can’t describe the happiness I felt seeing them at lunch time. I expressed my happiness openly. The dining room reverberated with joy with everybody welcoming them back. They provided us a good lunch. There was absolutely nothing to comment about. For afternoon tea they served snacks they had brought from Kerala – banana & jack fruit chips, and Kerala dark halva.  Even the next day they served chunks of papaya with the meal. 

It was a great lesson learnt. We all had to go through the worst experience before we could whole-heartedly appreciate what we have.