REVIVING FORGOTTEN DISHES OF KERALA

Latha K, said to be the first woman chef of Kerala, speaks to TNIE about her love for traditional dishes and her recent cookbook

- STENI SIMON

CHEF De Cuisine Latha K, 54, is busy overseeing the lunch preparation at Malabar Cafe in Grand Hyatt Kochi. After the hustle and bustle around the preparations of a traditional Kerala lunch, she gets ready to talk about her favourite Misins activity cooking.

"I love our traditional Malabar cuisines. Many of which we have already forgotten," she begins.

Born in an orthodox family in Kozhikode, Latha's journey into the culinary world was full of challenges. "I grew up watching my mother and grandmother cook, who made delicious dishes with so much love," recalls Latha.

"My first step into the culinary world was at the age of nine. However, it was not a planned one," shares Latha. "I had accidentally dropped the fish curry my mother had prepared for lunch. To cover up my mistake, I made it from scratch. To my surprise, my father loved it. I have never stopped cooking since then," says Latha.

Latha has come a long way since. From Thai to Arabic, she is an expert in cooking several cuisines. "After completing my schooling, I wanted to pursue a degree in hotel management. But during the 80s, not many institutions offered hotel management courses. And since I was a woman, not many institutions wanted to give me admission. In 1989, I got into the Food Craft Institute in Calicut, which had initially refused to take me based on my gender." But as they say, fortune favours the brave and so Latha was admitted into the institute.