‘I learnt everything on the job’

Amarjot Kaur 

It’s the half-baked debate over sexism in professional kitchens that drives Chef Chris Trapani, the first transgender chef on Food Network, to explore the scope of culinary industry beyond restaurants and hotels. Back home in Texas, and with 24-year experience in the business of catering, he runs a food truck, called Urban Cowboy. As Chris dishes out his views on Trans-empowerment, through community-building initiatives, India’s recent stance on revisiting Section 377 of the IPC befuddles him. “It’s tad too late for a country that’s the land of Kamasutra; why should homosexuality be a crime anyway?” he asks. 

INSPIRING #PURELOVE

A role model for transgenders, Trapani, who was at The Lalit to spread the message of #purelove as a part of its inclusivity and diversity theme, wishes to inspire transgenders across the country. With no formal education in cooking or business management, 50-year-old Chris credits his first summer job that accidently landed him at the cafeteria (of a community centre for senior citizens) for building his interest in food. He was all of 16 then. “I have even worked with New York’s famous Mangia Catering, who cater for shows like Sex in the City and Saturday Night Live. I learnt everything on the job. If I can do it, anyone can,” he says.

MEAL ON WHEELS 

A globally celebrated authority on Tex-Mex food, Chris, on his five-city tour in India, will be tweaking The Lalit’s food truck menu. As many as four The Lalit’s food trucks operate in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Rooting for fusion food, and the need to constantly reinvent the menu, Chris shares his unerring understanding of the business. “Austin, where I stay in Texas, has more than 1,500 food trucks. The only way I’m different from them is that we get the Tex-Mex (Texas-Mexican) fusion food right.” With the US government’s strict guidelines for food trucks, Chris shares that it is a viable source of income for many culinary experts. “You need to constantly reinvent and research to up your game, though. The dishes on my menu are the ones that had the majority vote,” he smiles. 

TASTE OF POLITICS 

Talking of ‘majority vote’, Chris says that he was catering for a party, which Hillary Clinton was also a part of, on the night when election results were declared. The 2016 United States presidential election in Texas was won by Republican Donald Trump and his running mate Mike Pence by a nine per cent margin over Democrats Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine. “We all just froze, on hearing the results. We have an arrogant man for a President. It’s not just transgender rights, but our country’s democracy is in danger,” he rues. Chris’s opinion of Trump was formed over 12 years ago, when he was still in New York. “I worked next to his building and would often see him mistreat the service-class. I remember he scolded a waiter friend for not bringing his Diet Coke, when he hadn’t even ordered it,” he recollects.

REVVING UP THE RAMEN 

Gaining popularity with hipsters on ‘thousand and one’ diets, fusion food, Chris shares, is the next big thing. “Ramen, a bowl of handmade noodles, with a velvety broth, two eggs and your choice of meat or veggies, is a complete meal; it’s one of the biggest food trends in Texas,” he says while adding that most restaurants and food trucks are now experimenting with Asian Fusion food. “Vietnamese, Japanese and Chinese food is really catching up with masses,” he signs off. 

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