Al-Zaffran Restaurant & Caterer Private Limited

You can find us on S. A. Farooquie Road, which most people around here just call Akra Road. We run a restaurant and catering service from this spot at T-24/4. It is a very lively part of Kolkata. The kitchen is usually the busiest place, with big pots of rice and meat cooking over the flames. We do a lot of catering for local events, so there are times when we are working through the night to get everything ready for a party or a wedding the next morning. It gets really hot and sweaty in the back, especially when all the burners are going at once. We don't have a fancy dining room with expensive lights; it’s more about the food and getting it to the customers while it’s still hot. Sometimes the delivery van gets stuck in the Akra Road traffic, which can be a real headache. We’ve had days where everything feels like a mess, but we always manage to pull it together. It’s just us and a few helpers who have been with us for years. We handle the shopping ourselves at the local markets to find what we need. We usually have a radio playing in the corner of the kitchen to keep us going during the long shifts. The smell of the spices and the meat stays on your clothes even after you go home. It’s just the life we chose.