The Calcutta Porkaddicts — a group started in November 2016 by people who are bound by their love for pork — celebrated their sixth Foundation Day with a ‘Pig Out’ at Kafulok Restaurant in Tangra on November 20. The group now has more than 7,000 members and the best part about this gang is its diversity. The mother chapter began in Kolkata and slowly spread to Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru.
The speciality of all their meets is that the meals are fully curated — dishes that are not available off a ‘regular’ menu. Jonathan Yih, the head chef of Kafulok, prepared authentic Chinese pork dishes that were enjoyed by the members of TCP. The meat was succulent, the flavours were authentic and the fivecourse meal gave the members another memorable day to cherish. The menu was delicious and authentic, beginning with Steamed Rice, Streamed Pork with Preserved Vegetables, Stewed Pork Belly with Tofu, Char Siu Pork with Bak Choi, Chilli Pork Ribs and the Chinese decadent dessert, Darsaan and Ice Cream.
The main heads behind organising ‘Pig Out’, curating the menu, booking the place and getting everyone together were founding president Ayan Ghosh, secretary of TCP Richeek Dey and treasurer Kasturi Roy Choudhury.
The Telegraph was a part of this lip-smacking Sunday where friends met and indulged in a scrumptious meal.
Char Siu Pork with Bak Choi
Chilli Pork Ribs
Stewed Pork Belly with Tofu
Organiser speak
Ayan Ghosh
“We all take eating very seriously, so when we eat, we don’t talk (smiles). We have a half an hour session called ‘Fellowship’ during every event. We speak for half an hour first and then we eat. All our menus are curated and whatever you get at a TCP event, you’ll normally not get when you walk into a restaurant. Today’s meal was also specifically designed only for this event. We look at different cuts and different flavours so that there’s variation. This is an all-Chinese menu — and I’ll call it ‘Kolkata Chinese’,” — Ayan Ghosh, founding president of The Calcutta Porkaddicts
Kasturi Roy Choudhury
“I am a foodie, and my children are more so. We are constantly looking for places, dishes and occasions to meet and give adda. We try out all kinds of places — from simple places to five-star ones and it makes our gettogethers unique and diverse. So, you get a flavour of all kinds of experiences. The best part about TCP is really the togetherness; we look forward to the food with our friends,” — Kasturi Roy Choudhury, treasurer of The Calcutta Porkaddicts
Richeek Dey
“The Kolkata event is special as we have around 5,000 members in the group from the city itself. It’s a large group and there are more participants. Kolkatans love pork and we’re all uniting over the love for food. We are all friends now and it happened because of one common root that binds us — being a foodie,” — Richeek Dey, secretary of The Calcutta Porkaddicts
Chef speak
Chef Jonathan Yih
“It was good to feed so many pork lovers of Kolkata. This is all home food. We steam the meat, cook and boil the meat to make it soft, which takes two-three hours. The secret ingredient for it to taste good is pure love,” — Jonathan Yih, head chef of Kafulok Restaurant (Tangra)