The Butcher the Baker and the Candlestick maker!

Entrepreneurship is the life-blood of a nation, where the spark of an idea, a glimpse of a distant star, can be the beginning of a wonderfully fulfilling success story. This is of course the idea and to some extent the ‘ideal’.

What many of us who have great admiration for the front-runners and the trail blazers see is the systematic pathway from the ‘light bulb’ moment, to the admirable progression through hard work, and consistent dedication to their goals. As I said this is what many of us admire, and are used to seeing. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. In actuality this may be fast becoming the exception rather than the exceptional!

With the Covid outbreak and us all being home bound, we saw a rapid growth of home businesses literally ‘pop up’, as many had heaps of time on their hands and were in a position to share their unique skills, and talents with us all. “How wonderful” was our collective chant as we wanted to see amazing things happen and watch more and more people join in, making this a thriving marketplace, despite the restrictive shadows. As time moved forward, the bystanders outlook started going from a quizzical “what is happening”, to concerned and even shocked disbelief.

We had people who, as I said, were supremely skilled and gave us heaps of delight, showing skills in their ‘hobby’ areas that were so amazing, they had to succeed and soar! We applauded, we supported, we were so proud of their work that we could not get enough. So many wonderful surprises were in store for us, with untapped talents bringing us so many goodies that showed the many capabilities of our business creating ‘go-getters’. These skillful and superb entrepreneurs were sadly ‘few and far between’. Let me elaborate on this.

We had anyone with a spatula and a stove creating food offerings, which were far from any recognizable cuisine, and were more confusion than fusion. We had self proclaimed ‘beauticians’ with not a single hour of any study or training, plying dangerously unregulated lotions and potions, promising everything from eternal youth to Rapunzel like locks, all ‘on order’ and neatly packed into jars. The keyboard ‘middle-man’ brigade were busy ordering every possible gadget and gizmo from dubious overseas sources, to be passed on to unsuspecting local consumers who needed to feel that they were still part of the international set. From throwing together a bunch of wilted wild flowers and calling it an arrangement, to hacking down a much-needed tree and creating some inexplicable sculpture, from uprooting a few sandy sad saplings and plying these as nutritious necessities, to badly thought out and poorly made accessories, those in lockdown, completely retail starved, seemed to be the perfect victims for these disturbing schemes.

As this massive area of ‘de-rail retail’, covers almost everything that money shouldn’t buy, my thoughts are concentrated on an area I am absolutely passionate about - food! Being the unabashed foodie that I am, it is always with excitement that I look at new ventures offering ‘all time favorites’ with smart flavor twists, and also the exciting and imaginative innovations that leave us thrilled at the very taste prospect.

The last time I checked something as simple as a vegetable bun, a cutlet, or a koththu were not considered ‘cutting edge cuisine’ that warranted additional zero(s) in the price! ‘Rice and Curry’ a true staple of our Sri Lankan lives, suddenly evolved with bells and whistles into ‘pricey parcels’ that were meant for your social media feeds rather than your own feeding! With each special holiday be it cultural or otherwise, the food creators amped up their menus, and their prices as well. In many of these unfortunate instances, they may have been thinking that pretty packaging; an extra bow, a ribbon or sticker warranted the inexcusable and comical pricing levels.

Suddenly, unheard of, untested and unproven kitchen Kamikazes were quoting exorbitant rates for offerings that ranged from Sri Lankan street food, to simple fast food. Slathering on some sweet mélange and calling it an unpronounceable name, meant that we were expected to pay for the luxury of a simple piece of, well, anything! When these novices were overtaking and far surpassing, in the pricing range, the established, time tested and tasted pioneers and originators, the future forecast began to cloud over. The reason for these shockingly brazen pricing demands? They just could, and so they just would!

Mention Biriyani and you have my undivided attention. Anyone who knows me, knows this. Biriyani, one of the best loved items from our northern neighbor, is something that is easily available from many a roadside vendor, to some of the finest in star quality eateries. Prefixing an Indian city, region, or name meant that the pricing also matched and even exceeded the actual currency conversion rate! Same goes for the ‘Lamprais’, which suddenly ranged from realistic to ridiculous, in keeping it seems, with what many chefs ingloriously try to do, by simply using the name ‘Lamprais’, while giving us none of the true glorious authenticity. If I want fine dining, I would go and indulge in fine dining, and if I want Sri Lankan street food, I will not be paying fine dining prices. Simple. Call me old fashioned but as a consumer I think we need to all get what we pay for.

Entrepreneurs please keep forging ahead, keep your eye on the prize, work, work, work some more, and when you have worked hard, work even more. Successes are to be earned, and while stardust should be your constant, a healthy dose of realistic understanding of what consumers want, the present economic market, and times we live in, need to be considered as well. Make us proud, make us want your products, make your successes sustainable and long reaching. We are here to support you, so do dazzle, you wonderful creators, dazzle bright and dazzle on!