India has seen many struggles in the past couple of years. Farmer protests followed by the Covid-19 lockdowns have left the food, agriculture, and hospitality sector in turmoil. About 14% of the population is undernourished and the response to the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated this issue and forced many more to become food insecure.1 Disruptions in transportation have made it difficult to circulate food supplies, produce that can’t reach the markets goes to waste, and women, who play a crucial role in food production, face not only the threat of infection but also increased violence and unequal access to social assistance.2
Against this backdrop, we sat with several chefs to hear their experiences of the Covid-19 pandemic, how they have adapted to the needs of the people, and their views on the future of food in India.
Chef Anahita
Chef Anahita Dhondy recalled the uncertainty she and her staff felt as the lockdowns received extension after extension. Many of her junior staff were forced to go home to their families unsure if and when they could return to their jobs. Chef sent them home with all the food in the restaurant that would have gone bad otherwise.
Even though she was stuck at home she knew she had to keep cooking. “I personally feel as a chef this is the least I can do to exploit my skill set and I would urge more of my kind to extend their support in any capacity that they can.” Almost immediately, she set up shop at home with her mother and began preparing meals for delivery. They called it the ‘Weekend Kitchen’ and were able to feed delicious and nutritious meals to her community.
Not only has she been able to provide for families, she has also aided her farmer friends who haven’t been able to sell in markets since lockdowns began. Without new orders from restaurants, farmers are forced to throw away much of their produce. Chef Anahita helps to amplify their voices on social media so they can reach consumers directly. This kind of camaraderie and communal spirit have helped to keep spirits up in a very grim situation.
The second wave of Covid hit India much harder than the first. After a lull in cases in February 2021, India reported over 400,000 new cases in one day on 1 May 2021.3During this time, Chef Anahita conducted cooking classes which raised money to help remote parts of Uttarakhand. She raised 1.5lakh rupees to help establish ‘langar kitchens,’ or community kitchens. Along with Kalap Trust, these kitchens helped to feed 37 villages.
While she is eager to return to a professional kitchen, Chef Anahita knows that many are still facing extreme food insecurity and the pandemic is still a prevalent risk. She lost a core member of her team to Covid-19 and feels that, “the safety of our teams and families is paramount.”
“I personally feel as a chef this is the least I can do to exploit my skill set.”
Chef Radhika
Chef Radhika Khandelwal, who runs Fig and Maple and Ivy and Bean in New Delhi, described the domino effect which had repercussions along the entire supply chain. No one to eat in the restaurants meant wholesalers and farmers also went without any new orders. “If businesses aren’t working, then how are people getting paid?”
But Chef Radhika persisted. “I asked myself, what is my one job? My one job is to cook. I just wanted to be able to do what I do. The only thing I am good at is cooking food and I can use my skill to be able to feed people regardless of the time.” A soup kitchen nearby was closed so she transformed her operation to a soup kitchen for 40 days, cooking roughly 12,000 meals. Eventually, she extended her support to crematorium workers who, she noted, “have thus far been living on one roti between two to three people for the entire day.” Now she provides for 200 crematorium workers and 100 Covid-19-affected families every day. She creates these nutritious meals by purchasing excess supplies from farmers which would have been wasted.
The bleak outlook on restoring the food industry has caused workers to begin looking for other kinds of work. “I do not blame them.”
“It is really dicey and difficult in India.”
People have no money to buy food because they are spending so much on hospitals and oxygen being sold on the black market. “There could have been much better support for the hospitality sector.” She recalled some countries giving aid to restaurants in the form of payroll protection or rent assistance. Nothing of the sort has played out in India. The National Restaurant Association of India has lobbied the government on behalf of the restaurant industry to provide vaccinations for staff but so far, they have been unsuccessful.
“I asked myself, what is my one job? My one job is to cook.”
Chef Vanshika
Chef Vanshika Bhatia’s restaurant had just reached its one year anniversary when the lockdowns were enacted. She paid her team their salaries as long as she could but with no government assistance, the money eventually ran out. Like many other chefs, she started baking at home. Her entrepreneurial spirit helped her evolve. She advised her former employees to open similar operations out of their own kitchens; guiding them in planning menus, on how much to charge and how to run the operations. In addition, she makes Sardo with farmers’ excess greens and allows them to sell it at no cost. Her determination and resilience allows her to continue providing for her community.
In August and September when she was able to reopen for delivery she adjusted her menu to meet patrons’ new desires. “Consumers became very health conscious and were asking for comfort food made from local ingredients.” Chef Vanshika saw this as an opportunity to explore the food of her ancestors. In the short time that the public was allowed back in restaurants, she was able to curate an intimate experience for diners. At about 50% capacity, Chef Vanshika could come out of the kitchen and explain the ingredients and benefits of various dishes. She believes that a return to ancestral diets will strengthen bodies and allow people to reconnect with their culture.
All three chefs participate in the Chefs’ Manifesto. They recognize their important role in creating more sustainable food futures and have committed to an action plan which aims to protect the environment, provide healthy diets for all, and celebrate diverse food cultures.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to Chefs Anahita, Radhika, and Vanshika for taking the time to share their insights and experiences.
Sources
1“The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2020.” Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2020. https://doi.org/10.4060/CA9692EN.
2 “Addressing Gendered Burdens in India During COVID-19 – Ms. Magazine.” Accessed June 15, 2021. https://msmagazine.com/2021/05/25/women-india-covid-19/.
3 Samarasekera, Udani. “India Grapples with Second Wave of COVID-19.” The Lancet Microbe 2, no. 6 (June 1, 2021): e238. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2666-5247(21)00123-3.
All of the photos were provided generously by the chefs interviewed and from the Chefs’ Manifesto website.
