MARGAO: Crescy Baptista, a 52-year-old resident of Loutolim, runs a cozy and vibrant eatery in Margão. Her love for cooking traces back to her childhood when she helped her mother, Zemira Vas, bake cakes. “I entered the kitchen probably when I was six, to lend a helping hand to my mother,” Crescy recalls. Her first independent dish was likely ‘Ukdem Xitt ani Sungtam Koddi.’ Crescy attributes her deep understanding of Goan cuisine to her late mother-in-law, Elisa Menezes Baptista, whose legacy she continues.
Crescy primarily focuses on Goan food but enjoys experimenting with recipes from other cuisines, including Indian, Asian, and European. She emphasises the central role of food in São João, a festival in Goa where families and communities gather to share meals and enjoy the festive spirit. “Food plays a central role in bringing people together during São João,” she says, lamenting that modern DJ parties often overshadow traditional culinary celebrations. “And that’s why I feel I must do my bit to
Her culinary creations have garnered a dedicated following, largely through word of mouth and social media. Initially, it was friends and family who enjoyed her passion for food, but she gradually expanded to accepting orders for events and parties. Crescy now operates in a more organised format, offering clients options to pick up orders
from her home
in Loutolim.
Crescy sources her ingredients from local farmers and vendors as much as possible. “It is pure joy to find and get my produce from local Goan farmers and business owners,” she says. However, for certain ingredients, she relies on the open market.
She takes pride in ensuring that Goan food retains its unique flavour by cooking it traditionally. “Goan food has a certain uniqueness that will only come through by cooking it in the manner and time it is meant to be cooked in. I take pride in ensuring this, since I have adopted a pre-order format over a restaurant format, where food has to be cooked immediately. Certain dishes like Sorpotel, for instance, are traditionally cooked a day or two prior to a feast, to ensure that it ages. This is precisely how I offer sorpotel, in its aged form”, says Crescy who on an average spends twelve hours in her kitchen each day.
For São João this year, Crescy’s selection includes Goa’s classic specialty, patoleo, along with jackfruit patoleo, muttleo which uses roasted jackfruit seeds, filos, mandoss, halwas, and figada. Lunch specials like aad-maas, beef in green curry, ukde-xitt with prawn curry, and kharem will also be available. The most special offering is the vojem, a collection of sweets for a newly-wed son-in-law from the bride’s family.
Crescy mentions the importance of pre-orders, which allow her to manage an extensive menu of over 200 dishes and avoid food wastage. This year, she has a separate selection available on Sunday and Monday. “Pre-orders give me the bandwidth to have an extensive menu and showcase Goa’s culinary jewels beyond those that are commercially available,” she explains.
“Price inflation of ingredients is the biggest problem I face,” she says. “Nowadays, it is difficult to price dishes and keep it stable for even three months due to constant price hikes,” she adds.
Crescy’s favorite recipe is Jackfruit patoleo. “It’s got such a wonderful flavour enhanced by jackfruit and is different since it does not use the turmeric leaf like regular patoleo,” she says.
Crescy emphasises the health benefits of local and seasonal food. “Our bodies are conditioned to process this food naturally. This is the health connection that comes with cultural identity. If one takes pride in being Goan, one needs to be proud of its culinary heritage and enjoy it just the same way we enjoy any other food that is trending,” she adds with a smile.
