ALAPPUZHA: The worldwide lockdown created by the pandemic could not dampen the spirit of two youths of Kanichukulangara near Cherthala, who were working as chefs in cruise ships in the US and Canada. As the wait to rejoin their jobs was getting delayed inordinately, they decided to try something different to beat the crisis. They have opened a temporary food court at Kanichukulangara junction on the National Highway 66 and it is now doing brisk business.
K B Bibosh and Sonu Soman are running the shop to make ends meet. Bibosh, son of Babu, Kaduthanathu, Kanichukulangara, was a senior chef in Princes Cruise headquartered in the US for the past six years. He had come home in January for annual leave. However, with the flight operations remaining cancelled due to worldwide lockdown, he could not leave for the US.
“The delay in restarting flight services affected my plans. Financial problems also began to crop up. So I decided to start a makeshift tea shop (thattukada). My friend Sonu, who was working as chef on a cruise ship in Canada, was also facing similar problems. We decided to join hands to run the shop and it was started a week ago. Many people come to the shop and we serve food following the Covid protocol,” Bibosh said.