I created Spice Mama because I wanted to find a way to tell the story of my family, and my culture, in the only way I knew how, through food. The kitchen has always been a special place for me, there is a magic that happens when I cook the traditional food of my past, and I am transported back in time and space to the places that still exist only in my dreams.
My latest Spice Mama venture involves so much more than a journey of the imagination and I am so full of joy that it I am close to fulfilling another long-held dream, to design a nostalgia based tour of old Bombay, and to take some of my favourite Bombay Cook Club clients with me.
In February 2018 Sultana and I will be taking eight guests with us on our Bombay Dreaming tour, to embark on an itinerary that will include all of our favourite places. We will be staying in a beautiful small, boutique hotel in Colaba, across the road from where I grew up, and spending time exploring the little streets of this beautiful area. We will also take a boat out to Alibag to visit a traditional fishing village and have lunch at an old farmhouse, just like we used to when I was young.
It's so important for me as I get older, to remember and bring to life in any way that I can, the stories, the places and spaces of a long gone past. In our frantic lives I think this is a lesson for everyone, to not only look to the future for inspiration, but to where we came from; to tell the stories of our family and share them as a way of keeping them alive.