I can tell you I was not exactly jumping for joy at the prospect of going to shoot ace lensman Gautam Rajadhyaksha. That, in spite of the fact that I know him pretty well. Knowing Gautam and talking shop (cameras and cheese) is different from going into Gautam�s kitchen and dining room and cheekily making him pose for me! I can say I did pretty OK, trembling fingers and all. Gautam is a great photographer, we know, but he is a great cook too. And he is a darling man. Check out his Smoked Fish which he makes on a sigdi, using straw and tawa. Better than what you may expect at any world class restaurant. Try and get Gautam to invite you for one of his dinners, in Bombay or in Coorg, his preferred getaway. It will be a heady mix of good food, awesome classical music (which accompanied my shoot) and his wonderful witty company!

Finally, UpperCrust goes to Kerala and brings to you foods from its Moplah cuisine. Calicut in the north is greatly influenced by Arab culture. Many centuries years ago Arab spice traders took Kerala wives and stayed on. They created not just the community of Malabari Muslims, but also a cuisine that is unique in its fusion of Indo-Arab flavours. But in the end, in spite of the vast variety of food from Kerala, it is Appams that remain my favourite. Not to be had as it traditionally is, with Mutton �Ishtew�, but as dessert, with slightly sweetened first pressing of coconut milk flavoured with just a dash of powdered green cardamoms. And also the leavened Kerala parathas dunked in tea at breakfast, the best of which I found in the kitchens of the Taj.

Indian hospitality can never be matched internationally. But strangely within the country one state seems to outshine the other. It�s like go North or South, East or West everyone in India is the best. This time it was at Abida Rasheed�s house in Calicut, where the kitchen doors were opened wide for us, welcoming us to a hearty meal and also to a generous sharing of age-old recipes, something not a lot of people do.

The unusual story in this issue is the dhow-making yard we visited. I really was trigger-happy there. Owning a dhow, for me, is the ultimate in good living. After seeing how much a labour of love the building of one is (every bit by hand), I have understood the romance behind the dhow. This one was being readied for an Arab sheikh in Dubai! Kerala has much more to it and we are sure to return there again in the distant future. Keep that in mind.

There are other nice stories too� The sensual Jin R., a different kind of restaurateur from China; Cuckoo who lives in Goa runs an acupuncture clinic from a roof-top shamiana as well as a fabulous eatery, making his own Tofu and Noodles.

With this issue we enter our fifth year. The going�s been good. Everywhere I go, I hear appreciation for UpperCrust. There can be no better reward than that. A big thank you to all of you.

Farzana Contractor