Hi Everyone, You will recall last month (October), I invited you to a meet-up so that we could go eat at the Stabroek Market Cook Shops and show support for this vibrant part of Guyana’s street-food culture.
Quite a few people turned up, but not as Bajans say, “a mob o’ton of people”. I think the weather played a major factor as it rained all day and you know how we in the Caribbean get about rain.
The main goal of the outing was to create awareness, enlightenment and offer support. Each of one of us – those of us that went together and those that came after and got lost – were all bowled over the shops, the people and the food. We roamed from one shop to the other and ate the food from almost all of the shops. Any shops we didn’t get to were just because we were way too full.
Impressions
● Several people did not know that there were cook-shops at the market. While some knew of the cook-shops, others did not know of the exact location of the cook-shops. When standing across from the market on the side with Demico, the cook-shops are located on the far left side of the market. Enter through the gate on the left of the market and upon entering, make a sharp left and there you will find the row of cook-shops.
● People could not stop commenting on the cleanliness of the cook-shops. They were impressed with the tables covered with tablecloth and the quality wooden chairs. Some had long comfortable wooden benches and booths. The cooking areas, which were clearly visible in some of the cook-shops, were spotlessly clean and carefully organized. It was as if you were in someone’s home kitchen with things in place and properly covered and neatly arranged.
● The variety of food on offer made choosing a difficult task; it’s as if you wanted to sample everything on the menu. In most cases we each shared with each other. We had a great time and plan to make it an annual outing. I hope that you’ll join us next year.
The cook-shops are full of personality and history and I want to share with you a story/recollection as shared with me by a friend and faithful reader of this column, Padmini, whose late mother played a pioneering role in the Stabroek Market cook-shops. This story is not just about her mom (Data), it’s also about Padmini and her perceptions of market cook-shops. Here’s her story, in her own words.
“My mom was an ordinary housewife, but I think she had the desire to be financially independent, even when she was young, she just didn’t know what it was. You’ll recall back in those days, it wasn’t considered important to educate girls so she went up to Primary 4 before being taken out of school to help with her siblings… However, in the village, was an ex-school teacher who made cakes and so for weddings, and taught sewing; so, my mom went and talked the lady into letting her come and do her housework and chores in exchange for learning to sew and bake cakes etc. Her dad agreed (my mom’s dad), as this wasn’t costing him anything. The teacher eventually took on more work and took on my mom as her assistant, and she was paid the princely sum of 25 cents per week (this according to my mom was big money then).
“Eventually, with her savings and a little help from her dad, my mom bought her own Singer sewing machine and took in sewing after the teacher passed on.
“Fast-forward a few years later, mom met dad and they got married. My dad’s sister had a cook-shop in the Stabroek market and took my mom to work with her. Well, my mom was quietly saving up her stash (money) and waiting for when a cook-shop would be up for sale, because as she put it, ‘you only sew clothes for occasions, but you have to eat everyday’.
“Due to goodwill on her part, when one of the older owners was about to migrate, she sold her shop to mom, although she (mom) couldn’t have paid her off in full. Mom then paid the balance weekly into the lady’s Bank of Baroda account; it was the first time she would go into a bank.
“My mom then roped in her small sister and they began what would be an almost over 25-year reign in that market. My mom and auntie Meena were both excellent cooks, not bad to look at either, but more than that, they were young and hungry for success. The other cook-shop owners were older and pretty much kept the shops how they had them for years. Not mom. As soon as she got in a bit of money, she started painting, upgrading etc. (except for carpentry, she and my aunt did the work themselves). Hers was the first cook-shop to have curtains and better furniture and these she changed four times a year! Mom was the first to tile her shop and so on and she introduced different foods. The shops back then served Indian food only but she started to offer Cook-up Rice, Chowmein and soup on Mondays.
“Soup was always served on Mondays because a lot of guys would turn up with a hangover from the weekend drinks. Mom was the first to cook vegetarian dishes there too and she was also the first cook-shop to have breakfast ready to serve at 7 am whereas the other shops were now lighting their coal pots. Mom did this by cooking three to four different stews and curries the afternoon before and cooking 30 – 40 oil roti at home every morning. Though she hadn’t any business training or so, she was doing well at seeing what her ‘market’ and ‘clients’ needed. Hers was also the most expensive shop in the line! All her meals were 25 cents more and when people would ask her, why her price was higher, hot-mouth mom would tell them, ‘Come and taste the food then you go know why.’ She absolutely did not believe in skimping on her ingredients, and if you recall, garlic, onion, masala and so on had to be purchased black market as they were banned.
“Fast-forward many years later to me having done well at Common Entrance and getting in to Bishops’ High School, one of the top schools in Georgetown. I had the insecurities of starting high school and a ‘town’ one at that. So the last thing I wanted was for my classmates to know that my mom sold food in the market. I think it had to do with people’s perceptions that only “poor people food” was sold there.
“My close friend, Mayfield Muir, knew that my mom had a business in the market, she never knew what that business was and assumed it was clothing or some such thing, as I went with her and we bought lunch every day (at school). This was for almost the whole of the first term. Mayfield’s dad had a lumberyard on Lombard Street so we would walk down to the market everyday after school and then she would continue to her dad’s place.
“Well, my secret came to light when to my horror, I went into the shop one Saturday and there was a classmate (Deonarain), in the shop! So, I was mentally thinking that I’m gonna say somebody forced me to come and buy food here for them, when he asked, ‘What are you doing here?’ I replied, ‘What are you doing here?’ Deonarain explained that he went there almost every Saturday after lessons with his dad (who was a bank manager!) to have lunch after they finished running errands and how ‘them people dis does cook a bad-fuh-days chicken and duck curry.’ So there I was, standing and thinking, ‘Wow, so his dad, who is a bank manager does come here and eat?! Hmmm, well look at that!’ So now it was my turn to answer what I was doing there but before I could, my mom came up and handed me her cash apron and said, ‘mind here for me, I’m going at the back of the wharf, you want anything?’ Well she wasn’t a woman of patience and I did not respond fast enough and before I knew it she was gone. Deonarain stood there looking at me like I was mad and said, ‘But you does buy lunch everyday…’
“The following week, the entire class wanted to know why I bought phulourie and channa and so when I could go and eat chicken curry etc. Anyway, after much poking and prodding and bugging, I asked my mom if my friends and I could come for lunch a day. Mom said that we could come the following Saturday after lessons, and to come after 1 pm when her lunch rush was over and we could linger as long as we wanted.
Remember the shops’ seating are limited. The outing was such a hit that my close friends would not let me forget. We used to go every month-end-Saturday. My mom even used to keep two roti for Mayfield (which she still remembers) when we would go to lunch on those Saturdays. Mayfield liked chicken curry but she is not a rice fan.
“Somehow, after the incident, I didn’t mind telling anyone that my mom has a cook-shop in the Stabroek Market called Data’s Cook-Shop.”
Today, Padmini’s family no longer owns Data’s cook-shop but in memory of Data’s many firsts, the new owners kept the name. The cook-shop is now known as Alicia & Data’s Cook-shop.
Looking forward to seeing you next year for the market cook-shop meet up.
