Dharamshala: Lobsang of Lhamo’s Kitchen is a NEW Tibetan arrival who runs A family business in the hill station of MCLEOD GANJ, Dharamshala, the home of exiled Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Concerning his successful Tibetan Cooking class, Tibet Post International (TPI) interviewed.
1)When did you start the cooking class?
The class started eleven years ago in 1998, before this I had a kitchen near the Gu Chu Sum, where I had a class for almost five years. After that I moved to just by the Tibetan Welfare office.
2)What kind of Tibetan cooking do you teach?
Usually I teach making momos, breads, soups, cupse. We do many different types of momo - veg, cheese, sweet and others.
3)How often do the classes run, and how many students do you teach?
We have two classes every day: 10:00 AM until 12:00 and 4:00 PM until 6:00. There is no exact number to the class; sometimes we can have ten or eleven students, sometimes just two or three. In peak tourist season, we can have many more.
4)What kinds of people come to learn at your class? Do many Tibetans or Indians attend?
Most tend to be from Israel and the US, but we have students come from all over the world. Occasionally we have Tibetans and Indians coming, for example a few months ago, two classes of 8 and 11 from TCV came to learn. Some cooks also come from hotels and restaurants around Dharamsala to learn.
5)How much does the class cost?
These days it costs 300 rupees per person.
6)Are there any problems you come across while teaching?
Sometimes it's hard to understand the students, if they are from Israel or Japan and can't speak very good English, but we get around it by gesturing.
7)Other cooking classes have had to register with the Indian Government at the police station. Have you done this?
Yes, I've already obtained the necessary permission from the police station.
8)Roughly how many students attend each year?
It's difficult to say exactly, but I'd guess roughly 1,500 per year.
9)Have any famous people attended your class?
Actually, we had three of the Backstreet Boys attend last year, who are a famous US boyband.