Experience the unique blend off enriching taste and indulge in the blissful luxury at Ayish Manzil, an abode of unmatched ethnicity at Thalassery, the town synonymous with its culinary treats. Alluring tourists from across the globe with a variety of irresistible dishes is Faiza Moosa, the housewife turned entrepreneur who has taken the name of this north Malabar hamlet across the shores through her luxury homestay. Faiza Mooza narrates her experiences and unravels the amazing tale of her tryst with the tourism industry. Faiza Moosa is in conversation with Brand Kerala.
She says, “The idea of Ayisha Manzil came to our mind by accident. In December 1994, an incident made us think about Ayisha Manzil. The tourism industry was in the limping stages and no one was aware of a homestay and homely food at that time. The Kappad Beach Resort owned by my husband was the only place available to stay for those who visit Northern Kerala. My friends working in Trans Indus (a London based tour operator company) were on their way to reach Kerala from Nagarhole, National Park spread over Kodagu and Mysore districts of Karnataka. They were planning to visit Kochi and backwaters of Kerala and hence chose the route through Thalassery. Since there were no places to stay in this route at that time they stayed with us for a night.
This was an eye-opener for us which prompted us to turn Ayisha Manzil into a temporary place where tourists passing through this route can stay”. As time passed, Ayisha Manzil became a favorite destination and our traditional cuisine was well appreciated.
In 2004, BBC did an exclusive story on Ayisha Manzil highlighting the variety we offer in our cuisine. That was a breakthrough. Then we started getting invitations from Europe to conduct a food festival exclusively with our dishes. Then some international magazines and other publications published the recipe of our dishes in their cookbook. Then people started enquiring about the possibility of learning cooking from us and slowly our cookery classes also became famous.” She recollects.
The cookery class is titled`Tellicherry Pepper’. Two years before Faiza was invited to conduct a cookery show in the Sharjah International Book Fair. Now, every year she is getting invitations to do cookery shows for the Cruise passengers in Kochi. “In 2006, I was invited to Devighat Palace in Rajasthan to prepare a special dinner for a group that came from England,” She adds Fox Traveller, French, South African, Israeli TV channels have don exclusive stories on Ayisha Manzil highlighting their cuisine.
She says, “When I realized that I have this inborn skill in cooking, I discussed the idea of using my culinary skill with homestay with Mr. George Dominic of CGH group and he straight away gave the green signal to go ahead. It was actually with the wholehearted support from them that we could establish ourselves in this sector. ”
The couple is indebted to CGH, especially to George Dominic, Chefs Joe Varkey, and Asaf Ali. “My message to all those who work in Ayisha Manzil, especially the chefs, is that to highlight their talent in cooking. I recollect the competition of renowned Chefs from all over the world in Chennai a few years ago. An Indian Chef made our simple breakfast Uppuma and presented well. Uppuma won the award for the best dish and was praised by everyone there and culinary magazines featured about him and his dish. So what matters is the way you present a dish and the taste of it.” She says.
