On the road again with Chef Ramsay

We’re back on a train now on our way to see my grandparents in Andhra Pradesh. We’re in a two-tier AC sleeper; riding one of these without air conditioning seems like a rather miserable prospect.

I’ve been obsessed with Chef Gordon Ramsay recently. He has entire episodes of his cooking show on youtube and he does a pretty good job bridging sophisticated cuisine with the realistic potential of household cooking. Plus he’s really jittery and overly expressive with cooking which is always entertaining. And he runs marathons. Hopefully should make for some cooking adventures during the time I’m home. One of his side shows is called Great Escapes during which he visits the grass roots of the more exotic niches of cookery in order to really understand the food and how it’s created. I saw his episode on India which included a segment on the pantry cars of trains.

People are always riding trains in India and inevitably always eating on trains. Every train comes with one or more pantry cars. Each is a hive of activity making biriyani, chapati, tea and every other possible staple in quantities that could feed an army. Many workers then hurry up and down the train, probably marching kilometers every possible dining hour, bringing each food item to the hundreds of passengers. You eventually stop noticing the basket-toting servers that unfailingly hurry past every few minutes, rapidly announcing their wares as they pass.

Now picture a Michelin star rated chef in the midst of all this. It was just kind of entertaining to for once have some real perspective on one of these shows that tries to bring “exotic” culture to our TV screens. Though the train based dining industry is impressive and an unquestionable part of India’s culinary identity, its role isn’t very far removed from that of fast food in America. Despite its history and tradition, it’s just silly to throw a world-class chef behind the frying vats of a McDonald's. The episode still did a good job but maybe something to keep in mind next time you’re watching something similar.

Not much else to say for the past couple of days, for an explanation reference “The Cochin Life”. Before hopping on the train today we flew to Chennai and spent part of the day with Buji Mama and my cousins. My older cousin Pinku Didi, the one whose wedding we saw two years ago, is now pregnant. It’s weird to think a new generation is officially being added to the family, I’m old.