Ordering Etiquette on trail...

Kitchen in Guest House

During this initial stage of the acclimatisation process we are staying in local Nepali 'Guest Houses' along the Everest Base Camp trek which winds its way through the Khumbu Valley. For those not inclined to camping, the Guest House option is a quick and comfortable way to trek in the Nepal Himalaya.

The general protocal is that you arrive at the (generally) wooden and brightly painted house where you're greeted by the 'Diddi' (Sister) and offered a room. If you're lucky it will be clean; if you're luckier it will have running water and, if the sun, moon and stars align it might even have an ensuite, thus preventing embarassing run-ins with your teammates at 3am enroute to the shared facilities in your underwear. The rule of thumb is that you eat your meals in thecommon room of the  guest house and choose the dish of choice from a standard array of options including, but not limited to spaghetti, yak sizzler, chapatti, egg fried rice, tomato soup, garlic soup, noodles with vegetables... topped off with a deep fried Mars Bar or Snickers for dessert. Bliss.

Chris auditing the food order

We've been especially spoiled with the high quality of both the food and rooms. Accommodating a team of 15 (sometimes) rowdy, hungry and not especially 'fresh' smelling trekkers is no easy task. The proprieters of the guest houses have been extremely accommodating, an observation completely reflective of the warm hospitality experienced throughout Nepal. Not only have the guest houses provided us with some comfort in advance of the challenges ahead but they have also served as a sort of 'transition zone' fostering team bonding and allowing us to get to know each other.

One can imagine the challenges involved in serving such a large (and hungry) group. Boys will be boys and the amount of food that a team of 15 can plough through is quite remarkable.  Furthermore, given that tea-drinking is a British sport, the boys have been consuming like it has been going out of style. It's not uncommon to see endless plates of chips / fries, rice, noodles, yak, vegetables, chicken, mars bars etc. come out of a rather primative-looking kitchen. The server stepping into the 'common room' and announcing which dish is being balanced rather precariously in hand....

There is much to discuss during our meals (eg. what movies to watch at Base Camp; how many cups of tea have been consumed that day; a summit-analogy from a previous expedition; who's trekking boots smell the worst).... Riveting and important details.

Food order coming through

I hesitate to generalise when I say that 'certain segments ofthe population'  struggle to do two things at once. Listening to a food-order being called out and discussing the aforementioned 'riveting details' is an example of this.  This often leaves a young Nepali woman standing nervously in the middle of the room announcing 'Egg fried rice, egg fried rice, egg fried rice' at least 15 times before someone gets so exasperated (and hungry) that they claim the order for themselves... only  to find that about 3 minutes later (or into the 4th bite) that the dish is suddently claimed... at which point the 4-second rule no longer counts and a ritual of 'cattle trading' commences...

"I'll trade you my rice noodles for your egg fried rice"
or
"I'll trade you a deep fried mars bar for your apple pie"

Anyone who has attempted to eat in a restaurant with a party of greater than 6 people can probably relate... The process above is repeated at least 25 times because  meals often consist of both a starter and a main and, in extreme cases, even dessert.... Multiplied by 3 meals per day. One would easily assume that Everest training for kitchen staff consists of running in and out of the kitchen carrying stacks of plates and refilling bottomless cups of tea....

'Tomato soup, tomato soup, who ordered tomato soup?'

Our guide Zac has pleaded with us on numerous occasions to all try an order the same dish to make life easy for the kitchen, minimise drama as the orders arrive, and ensure a speedier service... unfortunately however, we all seem to have discerning pallets which would lead one to assume that we had all been brought up eating in Michelin starred restaurants. The only dish that is unanimously agreed upon is tea. And lots of it.. especially about 30-seconds before we're set to hit the trail...

Distractions as food is coming through...

It's been a 'character building' experience - I've eaten well, have drunk more cups of tea in the past 7 days than I have in my lifetime and identify sections of our acclimatisation walks by the quality of the tomato soup and the creativity in my egg-fried rice.. if I haven't eaten someone's yak steak first.

Zac contemplating his order...