The Passionate Foodie

While it seems Henry Chisüte spent quite a number of years trying several other pursuits, he ultimately went back to living one of his biggest and first dreams. That he is passionate about food is easy to see the moment you strike a conversation with him.
One may find it interesting to learn that he had a couple of other careers in mind before he took the big plunge and settled for a Chef & a Baker rolled into one, which, given the society’s attitude are not the fanciest of ambitions. If you ask him of childhood, he will tell you with a grin, “We were kids…and I wanted to become a pilot, but never took up Science.”
Instead, he studied English Literature from Jamia Milia Islamia University in New Delhi after his 12th from Mezhür Higher Secondary School Kohima. That he also pursued a Diploma in Software Applications and further taught in Northfield School for 3 years makes an intriguing resume.
But obviously, his passion has always been something else: food. So, who was his inspiration? It is without any hesitation that he says, “Definitely my mother.” Well, he also learnt to cook rice before his sister did. Part of his inspiration also comes from Jamie Oliver and Anthony Bourdain, but he is largely inspired by India’s most celebrated cookbook author Nita Mehta “who not only founded the largest publishing house of Cookbooks Indian Cookery books, Indian Cuisine, International Cuisine India but is also the force behind a successful chain of Cooking Academies and has done cooking programmes for various TV channels and has conducted cooking classes in USA, UK, Canada and several other countries.”
Henry actually trained under the renowned chef and writer while he was still pursuing his studies in Delhi - something he delighted in after college but sort of kept it something of a little secret without too many people knowing about it. When he finally decided to pursue his first love, he opened KC’s Kitchen in 2010 (KC, which actually stands for his initials - Kaihrü Chisüte, although he is more popularly known as Henry). He started the kitchen with the take away concept, but eventually realised that it is not very feasible in the town as our society is yet to open up to the idea of eating out or ordering in.
Still, it runs with a few chairs spread around and with regulars like chow & momo in the menu, which he previously called noodles & dumplings. But given the unfamiliarity for these names, he says, “Our people shy away from trying it, thinking it’s something new”, which is why he went back to good old chow/momo. Nobody in Nagaland can plead ignorance of these two well-loved names, right?
A specialty in KC’s Kitchen is KC’s Wrap which is his creation blending 3 different cuisines, namely Mexican, Lebanese & Indian. The menu also lists Tandoori Chicken, Afghani Chicken, Cholay Batura, etc, in the menu.
Henry also exhibits his culinary skills at a Cafeteria in Modern College and The Grid, which is placed in the heart of Kohima town, and caters to food & beverages such as Steam Boat, Pad Thai, Carnivore Rice, Fish & Chip, Egg & Bacon, Spicy Minced Salad, French Fries, Burger (Combo), Beef Wrap, Noodles/Soup Noodles, and Choco Mousse, Coffee, Latte, Iced Tea, Lemon Tea, Green Tea, Fruit Beer, etc.
One of his personal favourites, he says, is North Indian, something, which he started doing even without learning. “The infusion of different masalas you use is very interesting…there is nothing so intriguing as Indian,” he expresses as he goes on to say that there are people who can be very natural, very simple but make it tasty…like a clear clean soup.”
Measurement, he emphasises is an important thing. Nagas generally indulge in a greater measurement of salt and chilly, but when you do it professionally, he states the need to think about others who do not take too much.
When it comes to baking, he says, “It requires much precision in terms of measurement.” He further enlightens that baking follows procedures, which is probably why, he seems more drawn to cooking. “When you cook, you get to experiment a lot of different things and it kind of surprises you as well.” But that does not stop him from baking either as is evident from the orders for cakes that keep pouring in and he is happy to indulge in it. Actually, he has just baked a 5-pound cake, catering to an order.
He feels that ‘eating out’ among our people has improved in recent years, which, he ascribes to both parents working in many families. The trend is especially noticeable during weekends with families going out for dinner. He also sees that there are two different sections of people who go out to eat - the young and the older generation. “I am glad because a lot of youngsters have gone places and are open to the idea of eating out”, he says.
He has catered to as many people numbering 1000 with the help of 5 assistants, taking about 5-6 hours for the preparation although, if it is main course, the prep time is about 12 hours.
He also finds it intriguing that there is much ado about men who cook and are the main chefs when since time immemorial 99% of kitchen assistants have been male in restaurants and eateries.
On the other hand, observing that winter is the peak season for cakes, he looks forward to baking more cakes while especially showing interest for
October, which, he terms it as a ‘big month’ with plans to bake 4 cakes consecutively for family alone.
But the most fun part, he insists, is ‘Potluck’ with friends. One can easily see his passion for food because it’s undoubtedly something he is up to most of the time.
In the near future, he plans to run a Coffee House while keeping in mind that we rarely find places with breakfast menu round the clock, although it seems to me, he’s already got his hands very happily full.