Making food that's great for company

Signature dry rubs. Pics/Ashish Raje

Nine years ago, on an impulse, Yakuta Sarkari converted her living room into a gourmet store and invited 60 people through the day to an Open House to sample the dips, salads, marinades and meats she has been making. It was a sellout. And a cue that she could go bigger.

Today, the self taught baker offers six menus - All Day Food, High Tea, Kids Special, Bottled Range, Appetisers, and Gluten-Free. "I am passionate about food - I love cooking it, eating it and talking about it. After being in public relations for 10 years, I knew I would eventually start my catering business. When it was time, I examined what was missing in the city and I realised that while people in Mumbai loved entertaining, not everyone was equipped with big homes and staff."

That's how Cold Food Company was born. It serves easy, delicious, hassle-free food that can be laid out at 9 pm until the time your last guest leaves, "with no bother of re-heating".

Yakuta Sarkari

She specialises in homemade salads, dips, mousses, pâtés, hors d'oeuvres, cold entrees, salad dressings and marinades (starting at R235). She started at a time when none of the supermarkets or speciality stores were selling these. It was a unique concept - just toss, serve and enjoy a deli-style menu for your home soirees.

She introduced baked goods in 2012. Perfectly crisp around the edges and soft in the centre, the sea salt chocolate chip cookie is our favourite. "I enjoy baking - it heals me and gives me the chance to re-centre myself. I taught myself to bake so that my daughter would enjoy the aroma and flavour of freshly-baked cookies and share them with me," she says.

Assorted energy bites

Sarkari wants people to experience a sense of community and love through her food. "It's all about sharing, so I want to constantly evolve as a chef and offer food that makes you want to forget your worries," she adds.

And when she's not in the kitchen, she is working on cookbooks through which she hopes to share her journey with food. "One book is about how food healed me through my most emotionally trying phase and each recipe is dedicated to a different strong woman in my life. My second book is a compilation of recipes that I have grown up on, traditional eats from my Bohra Muslim family. Each recipe is linked to emotions and memories that make me smile, and that's what I want to serve on a plate - love, joy and togetherness," she adds.

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