Cooking With Stella

Cooking with Stella is an absolutely delightful account of a Canadian chef, Stella Elizabeth Matthews, who’s been serving as the head cook at the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi for nearly three decades. Stella is great in the kitchen.

To which her long-running job stands as a perfect testimony. But more than that, she’s got a super smart mind, which she uses in ways that go beyond just whipping out culinary delights. Being dissatisfied with the meager salary that the job offers her, she’s found extraneous ways to mint money and strengthen her bank balance. But the problem is that none of these avenues is legal and authentic, which leads to her living in constant fear of getting exposed. This fear intensifies with the coming of Michael and Maya, a diplomatic couple from Canada, who quickly befriend Stella. The interesting part is that of the two, Maya is the diplomat, while Michael is the stay-at-home husband, who tends to their baby daughter. Michael also has a propensity toward cooking, which brings him close to Stella, from whom he soon learns the intricacies of Indian cooking.

The maid that’s employed by the couple, Tannu, ends up being Stella’s biggest dread, as she’s the one who’s most likely to see through each of her undercover modes of earning unfair bucks. But Stella isn’t one to fall for the trap so easily. Instead, she lures Tannu into her ploy, making her a partner-in-crime, which causes ‘double trouble’ to the high commission. How long can she keep the cat in the basket, and till when can she guard her dark secret from the prying eyes of the intruders, who threaten to wreck havoc upon her hitherto complacent life?