Delicacies like dal makhani, bisi bele bhath, palak dal, paneer sabzi, sandwiches, french fries, and Kashmiri pulao will be soon be prepared by the cooks and caterers working with the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD).
A batch of 20 trainees comprising cooks employed at Matrusri Tarigonda Vengamamba Annaprasadam Canteen, Tirumala, are undergoing training at Andhra Pradesh State Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition (SIHMCT&AN) in preparing the exotic cuisines.
“Though the employees working in the cadre of catering supervisors, head cooks, cooks, servers and cleaners have expertise in their respective domains, they are trained in the nuances for enhanced satisfaction of the guests,” says the institute’s principal V. Giribabu. “We already know how to cook two or three cuisines with cauliflower, but have learnt seven more today,” says a participant, expressing satisfaction over the ‘upskilling’ programme.
The trainees are not only the cooks drawn from the Annaprasadam canteen where thousands of devotees are served piping hot meals every day, but also those working at Sri Padmavathi Rest House, where the VIPs are dished out a variety of cuisines. While the cooks are trained in a hundred delicacies, the servers are trained in table etiquette, managing buffet and room service aspects. The exercise started over three months ago and apparently has little to do with the latest decision to provide food of same quality to all the pilgrims visiting Tirumala.
