Tuesday, October 08, 2013

Shakuntala, socialtours's Master Chef


Sakuntala has the sun stuck onto her face. It seems like she can’t stop smiling ! Born in the south east of Nepal, in the village of Biratnagar, Sakuntala is one of 6 daugthers. What a gang ! They all meet when it is any kind of celebration. Sakuntala is the only one not being married. Among the six, they are two, including her, having a professional life. Active and hard-working, Sakun’ has grown up in a family where making good food is essential. It’s in the family kitchen that she became such a great cook !

It was a chance to be taken there. So, eight years ago, Sakun’ came to Kathmandu in order to find a job. And that’s how she began at Socialtours : she was at first in charge of maintening the offices and of making the lunch for the team.

But today, Sakuntala is much more than that : she is the ambassador of the Nepali cooking style towards foreigners. How come ? In 2011, Socialtours decided to try organizing a cooking class for curious tourists. The « Cook as a local » experience started being quite known, and since then, almost each day, foreigners are knocking at the door to give it a try.
Sakuntala welcomes them all with her usual big smile, and bring them to the market for sourcing the necessary ingredients. Then back to Socialtours kitchen, she offers technical information and show her pupils how to deal with a momos, a dal bhat, or an aloo paratha. « My favourite is actually the dal bhat, but well, I like pretty much everything ! ». And then she adds, laughing : « You know, I was slim when I started, but now, with everything I cook, I gained a bit ! ». The part she prefers in her job ? « Hard to say. I like being with the people, and of course, I like to cook ».
When she has some free time, Sakuntala likes to travel, to shop, to watch movies… and to experiment some new tastes in her food !






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