Self-taught cook with a big heart for food

Have you ever been so passionate about food that you create a profession out of it without actually attending a single training class? Simi Mathews, self-taught cook, dreamer, reader and a passionate individual for all-things food, believes in the idea of therapeutic cooking and with hard work and success, a self-taught professional can get anywhere. 
Simi accelerated her career to the point where she began appearing in television cookery shows, such as Mazhavil Manorama's Dhe Chef, Kitchen Killadi (Media One Gulf), foodshala (Zee TV), Annie's Kitchen (Amrita TV) and many more. Her cooking has opened eyes of not just professional cooks and judges, but also the general public, through her pop-up events at different restaurants, where she would serve her classic Indian dishes.  
As we all have a therapeutic hobby or passion to keep our mind off busy schedules and constant worries, cooking is the mind healer for Simi. "Cooking for me is therapeutic in so many ways, especially baking; when I am stressed I bake and when I am happy, I cook, which is pretty much daily. I also have a family of foodies which means that every dish I try is eagerly waited for and so it is rather easy to hone your skills and further your passion," she said. 
The perfect dish?
To Simi, creating the perfect dish is not just about taste - the cooking game is much stronger than that! In fact, she believes there is no perfect dish out there - with a mix and match of imperfections, trials and errors, the cook paved her way through her excellent cooking skills.
She said: "To be honest, creating the perfect dish is a lifelong journey. Even today, I learnt something new about creating the perfect fried egg - drizzle extra oil around the edges for crispiness! So its all about trials and errors and tasting and discarding and starting all over again till we achieve the impression of a perfect dish." 
Challenges of being a self-taught cook are not far away as you would require to do extensive research on cooking methods and much more. Simi says with deep thought: "Technique is one to start with, because culinary school teaches you techniques and methods which a self-taught cook will only be able to learn through trials or watching videos of other experts.
Moreover, in this age of social media experts, you are bound to face criticism where the question invariably comes up - 'What does she know - she didn't go to culinary school! 
Fusion confusion
Simi is skeptical as she says: "I guess if it was done in a way that does not compromise the integrity of the original dish, it is fine. For example, I have a problem with 'spicy' shawarmas - I know that some cultures like their food spicy but a shawarma is not meant to be spicy, so I feel adding chilli powder to the chicken compromises the taste of the original dish. The soul of any dish/cuisine must be left intact."
KT readers travelling to Kerala this summer can register for Simi's pop up event at Sulthan Veedu, Kochi, on August 1-3 and The Gourmet House, Thiruvananthapuram, August 9-10. 
To Simi, creating the perfect dish is not just about taste - the cooking game is much stronger than that
Ayisha Alka, a fashion enthusiast, is an editorial staff at Khaleej Times.
 

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