Family kitchen club on Fridays

For us here in Bangladesh, Fridays are a day to be cherished, because of two important reasons; Jumma prayer and the one day of the week where mostly everyone in the city has a day off. Be it from work, school, or university, almost everyone is free on Friday. As a result, the average house is a lot livelier, as opposed to the weekdays where everyone is out and about for something or another.

On this valuable day, families get a chance to bond, enjoying what they love and get to know each other through that all-important family addas at the dining table or in front of the TV. Fridays can also be the day when the family can undertake various activities together, which they normally cannot. The first, and probably the most important activity would be cooking. Cooking is all about organisation and precision, and its ability to bond people together is tried and tested over the years. Besides, there's no better way than to bond over delicious food.

Uzma, a student and an IELTS instructor, juggles both her work and education, and because of her busy schedule, she is unable to find time for her family most days of the week. Friday is the only day of the week when she can finally have a proper social interaction with loved ones.

According to her, her parents and two siblings are very interested in all things food, so every Friday they all end up in the kitchen to make dinner. Just because everyone ends up there does not mean her younger sister and father are of any help. They do however make themselves useful by cleaning the table!

All five of them have different demands for the night, and most of the time, at least four of them are completely different dishes with different cooking methods. It is very difficult and time consuming to cook grilled chicken, fried rice, Thai mixed vegetable and of course the ever-present spicy garlic mushrooms at the same time. Also consider the fact that many of these might not even go together!

Despite all the hassle about whether the food spread is balanced or not, it is all irrelevant compared to the non-stop jokes, the endless laughter, and a jar full of memories. Spending time together is and always will be the main goal of family cooking affairs.

Uzma and her two younger siblings grew up with these fun memories, and they are going to cherish every single one of them. For any family that is yet to partake in this activity, it's never too late to join the club.

Photo: LS Archive/Sazzad Ibne Sayed