South American Culinary Tour July-August 2003, Part Eight: Santiago, Chile

Kurma Dasa Wyświetlono: 130 razy 2006-02-25 17:42:12

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Day Thirty

Back in Santiago de Chile! It was hard to believe that a month had passed since my transit here on the way to Bolivia. Since then I had been in close correspondence with a couple of stalwarts: Adikesava, the Swiss-born head of the local devotee community here, and Caitanya Bhagavata, also from Switzerland. Between us we had carefully planned a four day hands-on cooking workshop to be held Monday through Thursday inclusive. Close to twenty-five students had booked, and I had decided on some delectable and challenging menus. In total we would be tackling over 40 recipes.

During our pleasant drive from the airport to our home base, the Cultural Centre at J.M Calle, we also fine-tuned details of a press conference and media liason scheduled for Saturday in the local town of Penaflor. A busy week ahead! So, what else is new? I guess I like to keep myself engaged, especially doing my favourite things. The rugged snow-peaked Andes looming in the east looked appealing, and I suggested we should also make some time to squeeze in a visit to the snow later in the week. Everyone nodded in agreement. Back at the Centre, I attended the evening Sunday Feast, then retired for an early night.

Day Thirty-one

An office and adjoining reception room had become the venue for our four-day course. After breakfast we began transforming the rooms, bringing in gas stoves and tables, all the foodstuffs purchased so far, and full gas bottles to connect up before the first evening class. Chaitanya Bhagavata and myself carefully went throught the menus and made up a list of missing items still needing to be purchased.

Iranian Saffron Rice
Eggplant, Panir Cheese with Spicy Tomato
Saudi Baharat-scented Chickpeas
Bengali Dal Curry
Creamy Corn Raita
Anise-scented Cabbage and Potato Curry
Hot & Sweet Apple Chutney
Fresh Puffed Breads (Poories)
Succulent Gulab Jamuns

The evening commenced at 6.00pm and our eager students squeezed in for some close cooking encounters. The majority of those attending spoke little or no English, so Caitanya Bhagavata was my translator. Tonight's menu consisted of nine recipes. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the class, taking lots of notes and pressing forward to seriously observe every stage of the cooking.

Day Thirty-two

After breakfast we drove to the picturesque town of Pinaflor to meet our hosts for next Saturday's press conference. But when we entered the restaurant compound we found it locked, so we sat in the adjoining sunny open courtyard and waited for our host to arrive. I noticed a small, bushy, resinous tree with short trunk and a compact, rounded, spreading crown. Its bark was reddish-brown, rough, and furrowed into scaly ridges. It resembled some sort of pine. Strewn around its base were a number of large nut-like seed pods.

Strona: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

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