Christmas Spirit Comes Alive Bit Early at Hotel Taj Gateway during Cake-Mixing Ceremony
Mangaluru : As they say that “Too Many Cooks Spoil the Broth”- but in this case here” Too Many Chefs/Bakers Surely Didn’t Spoil the Cake Mixing”, instead they will be creating some fantastic and delicious cakes come Christmas time. Wouldn’t it be fun to mix lots of colourful cherries, dates, plums and dry fruits together with bunch of your favourite drinks, from Rum, Brandy, Wine, Tequila, Vodka etc? However, the treat is not to savour immediately but to keep ready for the festive season.
BEFORE CAKE-MIXING…..
With around 34 plus days left for Christmas and New Year, the city’s premier STAR Hotel Taj Gateway, Mangaluru began its celebrations with the cake mixing ceremony, which was graced by guest of honor William D’souza- Managing Director of Globe Travels, along with Peter Nirmal- General Manager and Noor Mohammed-Food & Beverage Manager at Taj Gateway, joined by other executives and in-house staff of the hotel- and the best part was that they were all geared up with aprons, caps and gloves to take part in the fun-filled ceremony.
As per sources, the History of the cake-mixing ceremony dates back to the 17th century, when it marked the arrival of the harvest season. During this time lots of fruits and nuts were harvested and prepared to go into the making of the traditional plum cake. The mix was saved up for the next harvest season with the hope that the coming year would bring with it another abundant year. This ceremony quickly metamorphosed to a close affair, with the family sitting together and soaking dry fruits in wine or rum and hoping that the fine flavor fills their Christmas with delectable sweetness.
…AFTER CAKE-MIXING
It’s indeed nice to see that the American/European tradition has invaded the City and everyone who took part in this Cake-Mixing ceremony seemed to be in full spirit of true Christmas. Few kilos of assorted dry fruits, dates, plums etc mixed with cinnamon, nutmeg and generous amounts of liquor like Rum, Brandy, Whiskey, red and white wine, and stored in a container until the festive season. This marinated assortment of dry fruits will be incorporated when baking of plum cakes and puddings starts around 20 December. The longer the mix is kept for, the tastier will be the cake, said one of the chefs of the hotel.
Yes, Christmas is no fun without the traditional Christmas cake; and making this cake is not a quick, easy simple step. Preparations begin months in advance. The first step towards making the cake is the mixing process, formally called the ‘Cake Mixing Ceremony’, a ritual religiously followed the world over and said to be a harbinger of good tidings and happiness. And locally, Hotel Taj Gateway had its “Cake-Mixing Ceremony” today (20 November) at the Cardamom. The traditional cake-mixing ceremony conducted every year by the Hotel since last few years, saw the Chefs/bakers, managers, guests equipped with gloves, and engaging themselves adding varied alcoholic beverages to a generous quantity of dry fruits, tossing and coating the entire mixture in a massive vessel. Wine, rum, vodka, whisky, along with mounds of black raisins, brown dates, red cherries, cashews, cardamom and other exotic spices went in the cake-mixing ceremony.The more to mix, the merrier the feat.
That done, Head Chef Praveen got his merry band of men in to complete the mixing as it was now all down to muscle power! A load of fun and a load of work, all amidst great cheer and fervour. The holiday season was rung in under the watchful eye of Executive Chef Sinu Vijayan, summoned in by the Hotel General Manager Peter Niraml, and F & B Manager Noor Mohammed each time before any culinary move was made! It should be noted that be it representing the harvest season or being a reason for family gathering, cake-mixing ceremony successfully marks the onset of Christmas season. While the cake-mixing ritual has now acquired a social face, it has not diluted its religious importance, and it remains to be one of the most awaited events in Christian household, which marks the onset Christmas season.
While the Cake mixing ceremony is a sort of warming up to the Christmas time, it surely does more than just that. Addressing the gathering, GM of the Hotel, Peter Nirmal said, ” This ceremony brings in the rhythm of Christmas, not only here at the Hotel, but all over the world. The efforts put in by the chefs and bakers behind this cake-mixing will make the cakes yummy. The punchline of Taj Gateway is to celebrate life, and we always try to put smiles on peoples face. This ceremony is basically to bring in the Christmas festive mood and make merry. People who will get these cakes during the festive season will be in for a pleasant surprise too.”
Chief guest of the occasion William D’souza said, ” Though the history talks about it as harvest ceremony, however, today cake-mixing is seen more in modern day context. And celebrating it as an occasion of social gathering and celebration is more relevant. It is in itself very old and so it can too be called the history of the ceremony. This ritual in fact marks the beginning of a very busy year for the baking industry. Hotels and bakeries celebrate it in a big way. Seems like the cake mixing ceremony at the Taj has become an event in the calendar when the staff really bonds with each other. Donning gloves and red aprons, the ritual of pouring and mixing the wine into the chopped fruit is performed with much enthusiasm and gaiety. And the flavor of dry fruits mixing with wine is an experience in itself I feel proud to be part of this ceremony, and I can’t wait to savour a few delicious cakes when they are ready before Christmas, and also buy a few cakes and share/gift them to my relatives and friends.”
Food & Beverage Manager Noor Mohammed said, “The entire mixture would be sealed in airtight containers and left to mature around till Christmas. Around 20 December or so, the cake baking will start. This practice is followed in several western countries and it has become an annual celebratory ritual for us at Taj Gateway. After the specified duration, the entire mixture is blended with cake batter and baked to unveil the traditional cake for the people. I cherish this celebration because it sets the festive mood in. Though it doesn’t have any religious connotation, it continued as it is the first gathering “.
He further said, “We have added 35 Kgs of Dry fruits and will be baking 100 Kg Cakes. We have used Brandy, Dark Rum, Vat 69 Whisky, Indian Red Wines Vodka, Bacardi white rum on cake mixing. The same will be ready on 20th Dec and we will be having a cake counter at the hotel lobby from 22nd Dec till 1st week of Jan and selling in best rates. Also the baked cakes/ puddings will be used on 24th & 24th Christmas and 31st New Year Buffets and Brunch on 1st Jan as well”
Now that the cake-mixing is ready, and delicious and yummy Christmas cakes will be created few days before Christmas, Hotel Taj Gateway request all you cake lovers to stop by at the Hotel, and take home one of their cakes meticulously prepared by the in-house chefs and bakers. Christmas has already come early at Hotel Taj Gateway! Under the guidance of Executive Chef Sinu Vijayan, Head Chef Praveen along with three other in-house chefs namely-Chef Gangu, Chef Arun, and Chef Ganesh, with help also taken from assistant chefs who have got this cake-mixing ready, will be all set to create some delicious and mouth-watering cakes come 20 th December onwards until we ring in the New Year 2020.
