Forget your age and keep rocking -The
Culinary Artist
As
Mark Twain aptly said, “Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind,
it doesn't matter." In today’s world, one’s dreams are not bound with
one’s age. Age is only being a number. People even get married at the age of 50
once they accomplish their objectives or their dreams. The current scenarios in
our society deliver the message that one can do anything at any point of their
life. The time is always right to do what is right for yourself.
Padmanayana
Shetty, 55, a.k.a “Nayana” had started a unique cooking workshop for kids in
the capital city of Oman, Muscat. Intoxicated by the smell of authentic “fish
curry” and “horse gram rasam” prepared by her mother, she used to get drifted
towards the kitchen. She got inspired to traditional cooking by her mother and
sisters. Slowly, she developed a secret love affair with the kitchen and so
called- Art of cooking.
Getting
to know Nayana’s genuine interest in cooking, his brother got her, along with
his wife into 2 months of Cooking and Baking course. In the year 1985, the
twosome got admitted in Nirmalanikethan, a Home science college in Bombay. The
classes were interesting and became successful to ignite her suppressed love
for cooking. During the course, she was introduced to different types of
cooking. The classes made Nayana well versed in creating her own creations, her
own signature dishes.
Once
married in 1987, she flew with her husband to Muscat, Oman. She used to cook
food and invite people at regular intervals for dinner. Friends and family
never get tired of admiring her lip-smacking dishes. They used to eat till they
were full. Before the arrival of the guests, she would be ready with almost 25
varieties of foodstuffs. People always remark her as an excellent chef and suggested
to open a cooking school. She ignored that with a mock. She thought time has already lapsed for the
above fantasies and it won’t be possible anymore even though she had a dream of
the similar kind. It is not only her food but also the firm hospitality that
attracted guests to her place. “I
strongly believe Cooking and Hospitality are two faces of same coin”, she
added.
Nayana
was blessed with two sons who were away because of their academics. She was finally
left alone at home. She had ample time to cook and used to come up with new
creations for her own. She started writing down her recipes. Fortunately, she
got in touch with Navanitha .B .Shetty’s blog popularly named as “The
Manglorean cuisine” https://www.facebook.com/groups/themangaloreancuisine/
The
blog gave her an opportunity to unwind her recipes. She used to come up with
outlandish menu and beautiful write-ups too. During her journey she learnt how
to write food recipes. She used to educate people with kitchen tips and also
make the readers familiar with vegetable and food carving. Her recipes
comprised of chutney recipes made from the seeds and peel of vegetables.
Healthy juice recipes were a big hit. Nayana's recipes got featured in Oman newspapers and magazines. In Karnataka, her recipes got published
in DaijiWorld and Vijaykarnataka too.
The
year 2014 proved one of the best years she had ever experienced. Like many of
the food loving people, she was also a big fan of Masterchef Sanjeev Kapoor.
Her dream came true when she met him during the Star Chef Hunt Competition
organized by Spicy village chain restaurants and was fortunate enough to be honoured
by the MasterChef as the first runner up of the competition.
Nayana’s
journey did not stop here. The spirit of her dream was still alive deep in her
heart-the fun experience with food and children. She inaugurated the cooking
school “FUN WITH FOOD” in March 2016 with initial objective of 7 days module.
The classes are free of cost. Kids bring the ingredients, prepare and enjoy
their cooking at the end. She conducted 2 batches for 15 days. The unique thing
about the cooking class is- once her students are in; Nayana does not jump into
cooking. First she makes them practise some warm-up and breathing exercise. The
few minutes exercise session followed by the cooking classes. Gardening knowledge
and few craft work are also part of this session so to break the monotony. She also delivers a five minute talk on
Safety, Cleanliness as well as Recycling which adds value to the overall four
hour session. 
