THERE is a famous proverb handed down over the generations which says that “In every crisis lies an opportunity” and this is so true of the Rempah Ratus Kitchen food channel that the husband and wife team of Devan Kurup and Puspha Menon set up on YouTube in July 2020, during the height of the pandemic.
Both retirees, Devan previously worked with the Ministry of Health and Pushpa was once a lawyer from full-time practice. Another thing they both had in common was time on their hands, as they lived with Raghav Kurup, their son, who was working from home at that time.
While many couples were staying at home and trying to cope with Covid-19, Devan and Pushpa decided to embark on a new ‘adventure’ and one that would engage all their skills and also with each other. Plus, they felt it was never too late to learn new technologies and keep up with the times.
Although both of them had no experience of how to go about the whole project, they enlisted the help of their son Raghav, as the other two boys were away in Australia.
As Devan said, “Both of us were in the high risk category and since Pushpa was cooking everyday and so why not turn the whole experience of cooking into a 'Rempah Ratus Kitchen' food channel and engage with the public as well as family members who could tune in.”
Another aspect of the whole experience was the fact that Pushpa was cooking every day, many of which were heritage recipes handed down by her mother, who had since passed away.
“I always loved cooking and even when I was working I would cook for the family on Sunday and when I retired in 2013 my mother was unwell at that time so I took over the kitchen and cooked everyday and so in time I grew to love cooking,” said Pushpa.
But why the name Rempah Ratus Kitchen for their food channel?
“My intention was to showcase Malaysian food and so Rempah Ratus means one hundred spices and I was going to use spices to showcase Malaysian food and most of the dishes had to do with spices and all would cover Malay, Chinese and Indian food and so I discussed with Devan and came up with that name,“ explained Pushpa.
Both Pushpa and Devan said it required a lot of effort to try out the recipes and note down the quantities carefully so that members of the public could follow the recipes accurately.
It required a lot of trial and error before the recipe was perfected for members of the public.
One of Pushpa’s favourite recipes, which has been showcased on the channel was Kerala Fish Curry, exotic as the Malabar tamarind used in that dish was unusual as it is smoked, giving the fish curry a lovely smoky flavour. Tamarind, otherwise known as ‘assam jawa’ in Malay is a staple of fish curry.
Both Devan and Pushpa are Malayalees, their heritage of cooking coming from Kerala, South India, where their forefathers originated from and as Pushpa hinted during the interview, her plan was to include authentic vegetarian Kerala dishes as time went on.
The reaction from friends and relatives was also illuminating, as they were all caught by surprise at the professionalism of the Rempah Ratus Kitchen food channel and the recipes, which all proved easy enough to try out.
Pushpa said no one imagined the degree to which the food channel would progress to such a high level of professionalism. Thus far, they had showcased 23 recipes, among them basic staples such as nasi lemak, kampong fried rice, chicken curry for beginners and for Devan it was definitely a work in progress.
“Honestly, I had to learn so much before I could operate the editing and photography aspect and I downloaded free software on the internet and my son purchased an editing software to help me along the way. I use a normal camera phone and it’s getting interesting and I’m enjoying it and I find it fun,” said Devan.
As for public comments, Pushpa feels there has been a lot of constructive criticism and she has adopted many of the recommendations from members of the public, as they want to improve their presentation and attract more of a following.
In Pushpa’s words, “this whole exercise is more of a marathon” and they will take time to attract a following but they are prepared to go the distance.
Even after Covid-19 is over, they plan to carry on because they feel they can continue to make a contribution. – The Vibes, December 19, 2020
Visit Rempah Ratus Kitchen on Youtube.
