La Jawab Caterers

La Jawab Caterers operates out of the Mahavir Market in Mumbai. It is a crowded place with lots of other businesses around us. We spend our mornings loading big metal containers into vans. Most of the work happens in the back where the large burners are. It gets very humid when we have several pots of rice and gravy going at the same time. We have been in Mahavir Market for several years now. The staff here knows exactly what needs to be done without much talking. We don't have a storefront where you can sit and eat; it is more about preparing large amounts of food for different events across the city. The floors are usually a bit wet from being washed down so often. We use a lot of onions and spices every day, so the smell of the kitchen stays on our clothes even after we go home. Sometimes the delivery trucks have a hard time finding a parking spot near the market entrance. We just carry the crates out to them. It’s heavy work and our backs usually ache by the end of the shift. We don't spend money on advertising or anything like that. People just know where we are in the market. We just keep our heads down and finish the orders that come in. It is loud in the market but we are used to it.