It was a lazy November afternoon, and we stood at Smoke Shack, the rooftop lounge of Park Plaza for their annual Christmas cake mixing to start. There’s a little nip in the air, and the sun is about to set. And we are all ready too, waiting for our cue to start the mixing procedure.
At first, the dry fruits were all tipped out of their confinements, and spread across the flat surface. Then, bottles of alcohol were quickly opened, and poured on top of it. Then, copious amounts of sugar and spices are sprinkled to flavour the dry fruits.
Anindya Chatterjee pours in his share with a happy grin. As the crowd starts to gather the dry fruits together and mix them with the alcohol, there is a general sense of merriment, and the smell of alcohol is strong, and inhaling it might make someone dizzy.
The sense of merriment continues as more and more people join in the fun. The fruits would then rest for a month and more inside a sealed tub before the marination process is complete, and afterwards, will be mixed into Park Plaza’s Christmas cakes.
Afterwards, lovely songs were sung, followed by a chunk of Chef Jayanta’s special Basbousa, which never fails to make me happy. I inhaled the general sense of merriment, and went my way with the refrain from the song hovering in the back of my mind, humming it gently as I walked.
Disclaimer: Poorna Banerjee was invited to the cake mixing event by the management of Park Plaza.
