Fabulous Journey from Eastern Nepal to Global Food Trendsetter- Nabin Chamlagain

Namaste everyone!!

I am Nabin Chamlagain from Belbari, Morang an Eastern part of Nepal. I grew up and spend most of my childhood in a typical village area with my family. Growing through village life, i was a kind of shy and silent type of person in general. I love cooking whenever I am free and also love to play football. I do help mom in the kitchen too.

Accustomed to being around primary adults, I was always mature for my age. Even my own friends often annoyed me during my adolescent years. I did well in school, often knowing how to do complex math problems before the concept had even been introduced to our class.

For my higher study, I choose a hospitality course at Bright Future College at Salakpur Morang. Sharing about my high school experience I began to tire of the pressure placed on me by my family and their higher expectation. I gradually stopped my extracurricular activities, including playing football, hanging out with friends, and start focusing on study, and I have started to give my best on a study. I passed high school with good marks. Being from a middle-class family faced many challenges and problems at that time, but my parents always supported me to accomplish goals of my life,  today I am proud of that.

As I graduated from my higher-level, the days were challenging as well as hard for me. I have no plans what to do next after higher study, because of the financial problems I was unable to join a bachelor's degree than I thought of getting a job abroad was the best choice and I moved to Kathmandu for seeking some opportunity. After struggling a few months in that unknown city I realized that education and being skilled is a crucial part of our life, I have decided to come back to my hometown.

Taking a strong decision at the correct time considered as the most important factor in human life that was the turning point in my life which I can feel now. I heard about Premier Hotel School previously and got enrolled there in a hotel management diploma course. I moved to another city for a diploma course as well as got engaged there for more than six months. I used to work in a banquet for gaining experience. Time flies so fast I was graduated, suddenly a plan came into my mind to go for an internship abroad. Meantime I came to know about the NOREC international student exchange program from GATE College Kathmandu by the help of CEO Mr. Sunil Bhusal of Premier Hotel School who is always supportive and provided new opportunities for us. At first, I try to get permission from my family, they were not ready to send me abroad for this opportunity but I have convinced them about the program and opportunity the qualification that I will get from this program, then finally they allow me for this program. I made a strong decision to join this course faced interview conducted by GATE College and I passed it.

After spending some months with family in my home town, I moved to Kathmandu for the course in the mid of August 2019. I was so excited about the course because we were very excited and keen to meet our new friends from different places; likewise we have unbound happiness of being part of new places.

We have attended preparatory class at first at GATE College where I got a chance to meet with respected people like Mr. Khem Lakai CEO of GATE College Kathmandu, likewise our Program Coordinator Ms. Pratima Gautam, Head Chef Karen Goodwin- Roberts, Dr. Hank Duyverman, Dean of Pegasus International College Vietnam, and many other hospitality professionals. We were glad to be a part of the preparatory program where we got a chance to know more about the NOREC Exchange program and our course curriculum details from Nepal and Vietnam. During our preparatory program, we got direct exposure to visiting our cultural heritage sites of Nepal, Newari Nepali food testing and cultural places tour helps us to broaden the knowledge and experience from such a beautiful cross-cultural exposure. We really had an amazing time to know about each other and the shared value of Nepalese and Vietnamese culture.

Furthermore, we went to Norway to attend NOREC Youth Camp, and that was the most wonderful experience of mine. I got to know different people from different parts of the world as well about their cultures. I learn about leadership, teamwork, photography, sustainability, networking skills which motivate us to become a great leader in the near future. After a one week training, we returned to Nepal and engaged in the course. We all moved to Pokhara for the first phase of the course with our four Vietnamese friends.

We spend our five-months at GATE Vocational Pokhara which is located in a really nice environment.  We have received immense love and support from our General Manager of GATE Vocational Pokhara Mr. Bibek Poudel and our trainers for the course. The natural resource, fresh environment, greenery, and peace were some qualities of that place and I really enjoyed being there. We have completed our course there which was about authentic Newari-Nepali cuisine, and some western cuisine. Newa cuisine is the most celebrated food variety in the country that consists of over 200 dishes. Food is an integral part of Newar Culture. Different kinds of foods are prepared for different occasions, considering the climate and nutritional needs of the body. Newars are renowned for their sumptuous feasting. Here are some lists of Newari delicacy and dishes that we learned in our Newari cuisine practical. Alu tama: curry made of potatoes and bamboo shoots, Hakuchoila- spiced ground meat, broiled, Bhuttan: fried intestine and other abdominal parts, Mainh: tongue pieces, fried, Juju dhau: delicious curd specially made at Bhaktapur, Mamacha (Momo): meat dumplings, practically the new staple food of Nepal, Chatamari: rice pancake which can have different toppings, Bara: lentil-based fried doughnut type snack.

We got many opportunities to know different people and different five-star properties during that time. We have taken part in many industrial activities, socio-cultural events among them mine favorite one was a program sharing happiness for the Student Education Development Organization Orphanage Homes Pokhara, Nepal, and helped them by cooking food as well as aware of hygiene and nutritious food consumption. I had a wonderful industrial experience of 45 days at Hotel Barahi Pokhara where I was able to work in the Food Production department under head chef and got real industrial exposure for the first time. Finally, after our first part of the exchange, we went to Vietnam for the second phase of the program.

I was equally excited and a little bit nervous because we all were going to face a new environment, new people, and new cultures different from us. We have faced many challenges because of Covid-19 but we didn’t give up. We faced lockdown which affects our course and the program extended further. Despite all the challenges, we were able to finish our course and graduated with good marks under Australian Qualification framework “Certificate Level III in Hospitality”. Learning Vietnamese food and culture really means a lot for us. In addition sharing about the great experience of COVID time was providing 700 lunches for students of Dormitory East during quarantine with the support of our exchange friends -The global Food Trend Setters team in coordination with Pegasus International College and NOVOTEL Danang Premier Han A river for providing space and such a meaningful and fruitful opportunities for us.

Lastly, all this was possible because of NOREC, GATE and Pegasus. I am delighted to be a part of this valuable exchange program. There is a big role of GATE Kathmandu and Pegasus International College Vietnam to transform us from this student exchange program. Being a NOREC exchange participant is one of the best parts of my life. After we come home I want to help my society by utilizing my knowledge, skill, experience gained from this volunteer exchange program and would like to apply to my country to encourage many young who are in this hospitality field. Learning never ends in life so I want to learn more and more about this industry. This program has transformed me and my perspective regarding the industry. I would like to share my sincere gratitude to NOREC, my home and host organization, my mentors, family members, and my exchange friends that without all of your kind support I could not able to reach this stage.

 

Thanking You,

Nabin Chamlagain

NOREC Student Exchange Participant-Global Food Trendsetters Project GATE College Nepal and Pegasus International College Vietnam