A Foodie's Fantasy - Zartaj Shaikh (book club recommendations TXT) 📗

Chapter-1

Hello everyone!

 

I am Zartaj Shaikh and today I am going to tell you all a story. Which is mine indeed!

 

So lets start shall we...?

 

Okay my story starts like this...

 

Imagine one fine winter morning in Mumbai, or Bombay for some. Now Imagine a residential tower with luxury homes in it. Now visualize a luxury apartment at the topmost floor of the tower giving a spiffing view of the city and the sea shore. Did you hear that noise coming form one of the rooms of the apartment well that's the alarm going off waking up the owner of the apartment in the process. Me! I wake up and shut the alarm off as I rub the palm of my hands over my face.

 

"Good morning" I say to the person on the bed beside me as I move her to wake her up. That's Snehal my best-est  friend and my partner in crime. Even though we have so less in common we have this bond where we understand each other without saying anything and know what we need to do without telling anything to each other. She turned around and woke up taking her phone in her hand and checked for time as well as her today's appointment's at her work as she got off the bed and headed towards her own room. Yeah we sleep together at times, in the literal sense of the word.

 

I got off the bed and headed towards the bathroom in my room and did the routine brushing teeth, having a relaxing shower, getting dressed for work, straightening my hair and applying subtle make up. After getting ready I headed towards kitchen and prepared some chai and Veg parathas for Snehal while I grilled some overnight seasoned chicken for myself. Yes you guessed it right Snehal is a vegetarian, while I enjoy being an omnivore. What can I say I love eating the juicy tender meat alot. So do I also love cooking for that matter.

 

I am a Chef at 'The Mug' which I opened along with Snehal as my partner. While she works on the management part I work on the cooking part. And I love it! Well I always loved the cooking part for as long as I can remember. But I only got to try my hand at cooking once I turned 8 not before that.

 

Well can't blame my mom for that now can we? since all she wanted to do was keep me from harming myself. She didn't wanted to see me end up cutting or burning myself.

 

But eventually everything turned out fine. I learnt cooking complete meals by the time I reached 5th grade. Also later on once done with school I joined for Hotel Management and learnt what I couldn't at home.

 

At first I worked as an intern at ITC Maratha for some time. Later once I had enough money to start with my own business I ganged up with Snehal and we opened up 'The Mug'. Now you all might be wondering what is so special about what I opened up. Well, let's have some patience about it?

 

We divulged into our breakfast while we discussed the news and today's affair's and events. Once done with that we headed to the parking area towards our car. Once inside I started with the ignition and we drove off towards our work place.

 

Since we have to leave earlier in-order to open up to be ready for other people's breakfast it was quite an easy drive. My assistant had just arrived to the work when we reached the place. Snehal headed off to her office while I entered straight into the kitchen. I started working off on my mug cakes while my assistant worked on the sauce that we use in our mug pizza.

 

Well I guess you got the idea about what 'The Mug' is? yeah we serve the food that can be made into mug's then be it cake or pizza. Mac n cheese  any one? And we are the first one's to serve such food in Mumbai. Hence we hit it off, quite easily. In the cosmopolitan city,  where people are so busy it was easy to work it out this way. People come here, order their meal, get it in one mug, they eat it and leave. No ruckus off any sort or waiting for half an hour for food or any off it. The food is ready on the go. People have it and simply leave.

 

But it doesn't end here, Students from colleges come here to hang out with friends, families come here together to catch up on the lost time in the busy life of the city. We also hold parties on Saturday Nights.

 

This is what my life is, or was until one fine day...

****************

A/N: Hello to all my dearest readers.

 

From today onward's i'll work on this book and complete and finish this one first. for my other books they'll be stalled and i'll be changing their story line a bit and then put em up again.

 

please co-operate with me until then.

 

Thank you!

 

Yours sincerly,

Zartaj ^.^

 

P.S: Don't forget to add this book to your favourites. I'll be back with a new chapter really soon. until then take care pals! :) 

 

XOXO

Chapter-2

 

Well, we won't go directly to that day. Before that I need to tell you all about how that day arrived, right? Well something like this happened...

 

"Guess what babez..." Snehal said as she entered kitchen with a paper in her hand.

 

"What is it?" I asked her smiling as she tasted some Mac and cheese that was freshly out of the oven and moaned "it's good, isn't it?" I said with. Raised eyebrows.

 

"Oh! It's the best. Anyways here this is for you. And you will be really happy once you have read this." She said as she handed me the paper.

 

"What is it?" I asked her. She waved her hand saying "go on read it now will you!?"

 

I looked at her suspiciously, "this better not be one of your pranks gal, or you'll have to pay for it really bad."

 

I read the paper it was a letter from the editor of 'The Gourmet' magazine but what the letter said didn't register with my brain for the First time. I read it and reread it to be sure what was in there.

 

Dear Zartaj,

 

I Meera Patel, the chief editor to the gourmet, am writing this letter to you to inform you about the upcoming event that is going to take place and also would be glad if you have your permission so as to co-operate with us for the matter.

 

As you know that our Channel always airs different shows regarding food. We are starting with the shoot of a new show about the trending and upcoming food that has turned into a sensation on the social media, one of them being food porn. I would be really glad if you would co-host another one of our new show for us along with Michael Ryder.

 

If you would like to take this offer then please do me a favor by sparing some time to meet me. I would be coming to The Mug at 4 today.

 

Thanking you

 

Yours sincerely,

Meera Patel.

 

I was on the cloud nine after reading this. Well I always took Michael Ryder as my idol. The owner of Seamores and the co founder of the Meatballs, he really did know his work. But never in my life did I got the opportunity to meet him.

 

But now this, this was just insane but spiffing. Just what I had been waiting for since always. How could I let this offer just slip off my hands? That will only happen when hell freezes over. Once the realization struck me I squealed in delight. I jumped around looked at Snehal and hugged her tightly.

 

"Finally, I am going to meet him" I said as a dreamy sigh escaped my lips.

 

"I know right!" Snehal replied as she hugged me back even though she doesn't like being touched by anyone in any way. She sometimes makes an exception or two for my sake.

 

I am so lucky to have a friend like that of her. Just perfect!

 

"We need to go shopping babez" I said as I pulled back a bit and saw what we were wearing. Not a good outfit to make an impression on the editor of the best Magazine and the Channel most viewed by the foodies.

 

"Yeah you are right I guess" she replied a bit worried expression on her face as she paled a bit, even though the paleness was a bit difficult to see as she has quite a medium dark skin tone, somewhat honey brown, but I could still see the difference.

 

Well what can I say? I am shopaholic while my gal here is not that big fan of shopping, a bit impatient and lazy as she is, she avoids going with me, because that would me spending hours on getting a perfect outfit.

 

"Oh, okay I'll just get my handbag." She said as she hurried out of the kitchen along with the letter in her hand.

Okay, okay I know so I won't take to much time today and if possible I would simply get the outfit that I already have in my mind, that will save a lot of trouble for my deary friend.

 

So I remove my apron and have a talk with my assistant letting her know about what she must work on while I am away, rest she knows her work well enough.

 

I grab my hand bag and head towards the parking area towards our car where Snehal was already there waiting for me to join her. I quickly get into the car as she slides in I start the ignition and off we are towards the nearest shopping street. Well yeah so what? Shopping streets in Mumbai have better options to choose from, one can haggle for the price and be done with quickly.

 

After buying a black knee length tight fitting formal dress with black heels and similar outfit in white for both of us, we headed to a salon to get our hairs styled for a formal meeting, my waist length hair into waves and that of Snehal's into a sleek bun we were off to our work place back once we were dressed into our outfit.

 

It was exactly four when we pulled up into the parking lot of the mug. Checking my make up once in the mirror while Snehal did the same we were off into the serving area just in time to find Meera Patel making herself comfortable at one of the booths.

 

We approached her and said "Hello Meera glad you could come here, but-" when I realized she wasn't alone. He was there with her in a black suit with blue shirt sitting opposite to her with a smile on his face as he was looking at me. I wasn't expecting him to come here today, but, oh no no no! I am not at all complaining about this.

 

"Oh! Hello Zartaj, well this is Michael Ryder-" she was saying but I cut her of by saying "I