After about four meals A and I have come to the unfortunate conclusion that our housekeeper is not a very good cook. Not terrible mind you, but not great by any stretch.
The first indication of a potential problem was when I started reeling off some of my favorite dishes to her and she responded that she doesn't know how to make a good third of them. Granted, I like some moderately obscure stuff (ceeb u neebe ak keccax anyone?), but some of the things that she can't make are part of the basic Senegalese repertoire. This would be less of a problem if the things that she has mastered were spectacular. They are not.
Yesterday she was making us a white ceeb u yapp (rice and meat) and I saw the meat before she started cooking it. It was pink, mostly lean, and looked quite excellent. The cooked meat that arrived in the bowl was overdone, tough, almost leather-like.
Since the housekeeper is a package deal with the apartment there is little that we can do except try to coach her into preparing things that will be a bit more tasty. A suggested we ask her if anyone has ever given her feedback on her cooking, and then offer her some. My much more indirect Wolof-inspired approach is to tell her that we have bad teeth and therefore she has to make sure the meat stays nice and tender for us.
Our next step might be to ask her what her favorite dishes are and have her prepare those. Surely the things that she likes the best are things she can cook well? Suggestions welcome.
What if you could invite one of your neighbors to join the two of you for lunch for a few days? This neighbor would be selected because she is a grandmother with lots of cooking experience. When the meal prep begins, she would step into the kitchen and offer friendly assistance as needed. She would get lunch, and you would get a neutral third-party to coach your housekeeper without appearing mean-spirited in the least.
ReplyDeletei love the wolof-inspired indirectness - masla, no?
ReplyDelete