By Tasneem Merchant
In the early hours of the morning when the world is still stirring awake, an older woman stirs a broth in a large vessel and chops several kilos of onions with seasoned hands. She roasts coconut as she prepares the African-Indian curry, kuku paka, as well as minding badam pak – a particular community favourite – simmering on another large pan, all in the Dawoodi Bohra community kitchen in Manchester.
Fatema Dudhwala
Fatema Dudhwala was single-handedly cooking for as many as 500 people just then, but with her poised and tranquil approach to handling large-scale cooking, you’d never know it.
Armed with 27 years of experience and an attitude to cook with peace, patience, and joy, Fatema has carved a culinary identity for herself within the community.
Born in Sagwara, India, Fatema married young and migrated to Blackburn, UK in the 1980s. Encouraged by her community, Fatema began cooking for the Dawoodi Bohra community in Manchester in 1998, which at the time consisted of just 120 members. When she agreed to try her hand at industrial cooking, she was relying on no experience in the field – only a resolute willingness to try. Fuelled by a spirit of initiation and supported fully by her husband, Fatema took up the mantle, learning and adapting as she went.
With her husband by her side, Fatema served the Manchester community for 15 years, before another couple, Akila Zavery and her husband, joined in around 2017 to support the needs of the growing community.
Akila Zavery
Akila was born in India and raised in Africa before migrating to the UK in the 1980s. Her background influenced her love for cooking and provided unique opportunities to explore different culinary traditions.
“I began by cooking for local schools in Manchester,” she says. She found her childhood interest in cooking only deepening thereafter.
Cooking for a large group can be overwhelming given that many small details often go overlooked. The management and upkeep of large cooking vessels, utensils and other equipment—especially with the lack of a full-fledged kitchen staff— is a crucial part of the job. The otherwise routine task of procuring raw food and ingredients turns into an arduous one, since ingredients for traditional dishes may not be readily available.
There is help in the form of family. Apart from her husband, Akila’s two adult sons are actively involved, taking over the shopping and other physically demanding aspects of the job. Fatema was also supported by her husband before his passing away, and now has a community member come in to help her.
With advancing age and a growing community, it sometimes gets difficult, the women say. But it’s the love and support of fellow community members, the positive feedback, the last-minute calls for help with catering, the gratified smiles on their faces and the recognition they derive from their work that override any hardship.
“Cooking is something that should be done with joy. If you cook from the heart and with delight, the food will always turn out well,” said Fatema. “My goal has always been the same: to serve people good food and make them happy.”
For Akila, too, it is the appreciation she gets from the community and the knowledge that people have eaten well that fuels her motivation.
Having cooked for several years, most community members are well acquainted with each individual’s style of cooking. It is thus natural that community members request their catering services beyond large-scale gatherings for private functions as well.
Training the next generation
After cooking a legacy spanning decades, who is to pick up the baton next?
“There are four teams now,” says Fatema, each one picking a week. She prefers an informal style when it comes to guiding newcomers. “Instead of a novice observing me cook, I prefer to observe them and shadow them as a sous chef,” she says, believing that a newcomer learns very little by simply observing.
Akila, too, is quite happy to guide the next generation and shares her tools and tips about several aspects of large-scale cooking. She believes her guidance should blend well with each one’s unique style. “You can’t interfere in each other’s cooking style, I let them find their own way,” she says.
Fatema and Akila always ensure that there is zero food wastage. The community has established a system where members are asked to confirm their attendance for gatherings. Despite this, there are instances when less or more people show up than what the RSVP numbers show.
“When there is more food, members are happy to pack some of it to take home. When the food falls short, well, I have enough experience in what last-minute alterations to make so that it suffices,” says Fatema.
Food has become the recipe of community cohesion: not only bringing people closer to each other, but also serving as a constant reminder of who you are and where you come from. It is in this context that the endeavours of Fatema Dudhwala and Akila Zavery in steadfastly serving good food ultimately compound to a culinary legacy — one that is marked by quiet fortitude and pillared by an ever-supportive community.