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Odette Mascarenhas.
Odette Mascarenhas is a person who needs no introduction. She is one of the most well-known names in the culinary circuit in Goa. Through the course of her career, she has donned multiple hats including that of a food chronicler, a food critic for The Times of India, the host of a food show on TV, an entrepreneur and much more.
Her Early Life
Odette, who is currently based in Porvorim, had a simple childhood. She was brought up in a oneroom tenement (called a chawl in today’s jargon) and received a convent education. An introvert while growing up, Odette was always reminded that “children should be seen and not heard”, which loosely translates to how children should not speak when adults are around. Her childhood, being simple and minimal, food was considered a luxury and most of their meals had one meaning - ‘eat to live'. Although Sundays were always special and a bar of chocolate was given as a treat.
She loved to read a lot but was never the studious type. An introvert and a child with low self-esteem, she would hardly speak with anyone at all. She recalls a funny incident when she was in 4th standard at school. Her essay on ‘Superstition’ was read out to the entire class. Having no intention to draw any attention towards herself, she put her head under her desk and did not speak with any of her classmates for the rest of the day.
Odette’s mother had great dreams of her daughter becoming a doctor, but Odette had other plans. Although she opted for Science after completing her SSC, she was miserable because she hated mathematics and science. She wanted to explore a career in writing, but didn’t receive positive support and was constantly reminded that she could make it big only as a Doctor and that Journalism wasn’t a paying job, with the other alternative being getting married.
Her Career
Odette took up Hotel Management after completing her Higher Secondary education and was soon selected by the Taj group for a management program. Back in those days, it was quite challenging and even considered taboo if a woman wanted to join the aviation or the hotel
industry. But being a silent rebel, Odette joined in anyway. Women back then were not that adventurous or considered for higher positions in the Food and Beverage industry with the unsaid reasoning being, no one would like to take orders from a woman. But Odette did not give up. She worked hard which resulted in her getting promotions and rising up the ranks to become the Food & Beverage Manager. She then moved on to become the Group Training Manager in Goa so that she could spend a little more time with her family despite the shift timings being long and tiring.
After working for 18 long years with the Taj Group and with the support of her husband Joe and her son Nolan, along with all the experience and skills she enhanced hil working in the hospitality line, Odette decided to open her own consultancy and named it OnM Creative Consultants. As for any new business, it was tough for her too at first, but with time and effort, she has now worked with more than 40 multinationals all over India, going from places like Delhi to Jamshedpur, Karnataka to Maharashtra to Goa.
Getting others to join the company, making inroads into the big multinationals, and leading her team for 10 years asserted her belief in herself.
Accolades won by Her
She won the Special Jury award at the receive the ‘Special Jury Award' at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2008 for her book ‘Masci, The Man Behind the Legend’ a book which was based on a case study she had written about a Goan boy who worked to become India’s first Executive Chef at the Taj. She went to Paris to receive the award and recalls it was a defining moment in her life to receive the same prestigious award which was also won by Julia Child of the film 'Julie and Julia' in 1993. Standing on stage with 450 international writers who had not heard much about Goan cuisine made her shift her focus and work on books on Goan Cuisine. In 2015, her book titled ‘The Culinary Heritage of Goa’ won an award in the Historical Recipes category at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in Yantai, China.
Her Pillars of Support
Odette recalls being a rebel since her early childhood days and says her mother challenged her to be that rebel. Odette was never the one who would succumb to gender or customary norms just because everyone else did. Being a rebel made her take tough choices which ultimately shaped the journey of her life. Her husband Joe Mascarenhas and her son Nolan were and still are her biggest pillars of support. Her husband Joe always encouraged her and said ‘do what you feel is right for you’, while her son Nolan, when he was just 6 told her, ‘I know you love working
mum, do what makes you happy’, These words coming from a 6-year-old kid were enough to fuel the fire inside her. “I am indeed blessed with a supportive, loving and understanding family”, says Odette.
Challenges Faced and Upcoming Projects
Odette says that the biggest challenge while pursuing her career has always been addressing the ‘self-doubt’. “Will this really work? Will it turn up the way I imagined?”White at present Odette is working on two projects simultaneously and not having to rely on just one helps in limiting self-doubt. At present, she is authoring a new book that traces the origin and migration of Goan food through the past centuries (The Culinary Odyssey of Goa) besides working as a critic for The Times of India It works well, she reckons.
Final Words
The one piece of advice Odette would give to herself if she could go back in time would be to tell herself that she has the potential, not to doubt herself and to believe that she can achieve whatever she wants to do despite the circumstances. An advice she would give to her followers is that “Family is important.” Parents need to understand that a child needs constant support during their developmental years. Parents should not ‘push’ their child towards a career that they feel would benefit the child. Parents are there to support, guide, and help children achieve their goals.
