Every
time I have come to Mumbai to speak to Sachin it has been about
cricket. It is only natural that’s the case. This time, however, it is
different. This trip is about Sachin and food, talking about our mutual
love for food. Needless to say his encounters with food in his twenty
years of playing the game in different parts of the world offer a rare
treat.
Sachin, it is important I state up front, is a massive
foodie. Simply put, he loves his food. From the very Indian mutton,
chicken and prawn curries to the sushi and sashimi, Sachin enjoys his meals just like he relishes batting against a good attack on a good track.
Tendulkar,
believe it or not, can very well be the brand ambassador for Japanese
food. He loves the Wasabi and the tempura besides the sushi and the
sashimi. In fact, if he is given a choice to pick a restaurant he
inevitably picks a Japanese food joint when on a tour outside of India.
It was interesting to see him take his time over the order when we were
in Adelaide at Masuri, one of his favourite Japanese restaurants Down
Under.
In
fact, it is Sachin who has been instrumental in encouraging many of his
teammates to try out various cuisines when on tour, his regular
compatriot in tasting world culinary delights being Zaheer Khan.
In
the many meals we have had together, I have never seen Sachin waste
food. From the roti and daal to the more gourmet biryani, he enjoys all
kinds of culinary fare with equal relish. And like an adopted Bengali,
the one sweet at the end of a meal is something we both enjoy. In fact,
it wouldn’t be wrong to say that the meals we had at his London
apartment this summer
were meals I looked forward to with interest. I knew we’d have a number
of dishes to choose from, a rare departure from the bland continental options one is presented with at Oxford most of the time when living in College.
But take him to a cricket ground and all things change. Before going out to
bat against Pakistan at Centurion, South Africa in 2003 for example, in
what is regarded as one of the best one-day innings ever played, all
Sachin had was a bowl of ice-cream. The Pakistani bowlers served as the
rest of the feast. And post winning the Man of the Match award the
entire Indian team celebrated by eating street Chinese in South Africa
at midnight, a memory Sachin still cherishes. Again, he moved to eating
vegetarian food on the eve of the world cup quarter final against
Australia at Ahmedabad last year in an attempt to combat the extreme
Gujarat heat. That it was a prudent call was more than evident.
Just like with the bat, with food also he is one who will hardly ever
disappoint. A man, well and truly, for all seasons.
Source: Boria Majumdar
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