A young chef by the name of Louis S. Zhimomi is successfully running a cooking school in Dimapur. At 25, she’s not only giving private cooking classes but training college students and people from the Village Development Board (VDB). Her students are as young as 8 year olds to grandmothers who travel from other towns to learn cooking from her.
Louis herself learned to cook at a young age from her mother, and has been passionate about food ever since. After graduation from University of Calcutta, she took a one year diploma course in culinary arts and later interned at the Westin Hotels & Resort, Gurgaon.
Initially, after her return to Nagaland she had planned to open a restaurant but when her father suggested that she open a cooking school instead, she agreed to the idea. Her hands were already full with catering orders so she decided that she’ll put the restaurant dream on hold and instead impart her knowledge and teach people how to become true cooks. She gives lessons in Thai, Continental, Korean, Japanese cuisines and also baking lessons.
A year later, she launched the “Apron Strings Cooking Class & Cafe”. A very important fact which she wants to stress on is, she managed to open the café and school without any financial help from her parents. “They had the means to help me, but I refused because otherwise there would be no pride in my work. However, my siblings, cousins and friends helped me with the interior and setting up of the place which I am very proud of,” she stated.
She cautions that it is not easy to be a chef or cooking instructor in Nagaland, especially one trained in foreign cuisines. She opined that people here are very hesitant to try new food. She explains, “I’ve changed my menu so many times, and have to substitute ingredients to suit not only the palate but because many ingredients are not easily available here. It’s also difficult to introduce new cuisines because people here generally like spicy food.”
A dish close to her heart is pan seared chicken with orange ginger sauce. Because she says, “It was one of the first dishes that got everyone complimenting me during my culinary training!”. Now, she makes sure to teach this recipe to her students.
Running Apron Strings Café, Louis says that she still cooks every order that comes in unless she is occupied with her cooking class. When she starts speaking about her love for cooking, you can immediately see it- her whole face lights up! And this joy of cooking she wants to share with the people around her. She said. “It gives so much joy not only to me but I’m able to share it with others. It builds relationships and also connects people. It makes me happy when my students do well. I’m more than happy when somebody who took classes from me shares their pictures, or tells me what went wrong or right etc. When my baking students say they baked something and sold it, I always wish the best for them. I really want them to learn and don’t want to teach just for the sake of it but to make sure they leave with good experience.”
This young and passionate chef says that Cooking is not just about following a recipe but cooking with a lot of love. She leaves us with this food for thought: “I never get bored when cooking, and no matter how tired I am- physically or mentally, the moment I start cooking, all my focus goes in and it makes me feel so much better. In fact, Cooking has made me a responsible person. It is everything to me and I thank God!”
Apron Strings Cooking Class & Cafe is located opposite Dimapur Club, Midland, Dimapur.
