Chirag Desai

It’s been a little over a month since Steve Jobs passed away, and I’ve toyed with this post since then. As is the case with everyone who knew he was battling cancer, it was expected and yet, it seemed sudden. As I opened up a new tab to apple.com, hoping against hope that it was just a twitter rumor, I was greeted by a page that carried the simple words, “Steve Jobs, 1955–2011.” I spent the rest of the morning watching the news coverage highlighting his life and realized that a person’s legacy is what happens when he passes, the people that are touched by the news, and the impact that has on everything we do.

Screenshot from apple.com, taken Oct 7, 2011

My obsession with computers can be traced back to 1988. Although, considering the timeframe, it focused on Bill Gates and Microsoft. I learnt over time, more so in 2002 that my calling was more about the story of Apple. That was the year I ventured into the offices of The Triangle, and continued to toy with Macs full time until I left in 2005. It was 2008 before I would get my hands on another Apple device, and I finally (happily) moved to an Apple computer in 2010. During the last few years, I’ve looked over the start of the computing era over and over, with movies such as Pirates of Silicon Valley and books such as iWoz. Now that I managed to get through Steve Jobs, I feel in a better place to put down this post.

I think about the Think Different campaign more so since I heard the Steve Jobs rendition of the ad; there is passion in his voice as he narrates it, because — unlike Dryfus, the narrater of aired advert — he believed and equally, understood the words he spoke. I have played Jobs’ version about once a day since I first heard it, and I encourage anyone who might be interested to play it out (see it here or at the Remembering Steve event, starting at 9:45).

I know that he wasn’t a perfect person but as I’ve grown to understand, and as been stated already — Apple was a company only someone like Steve Jobs could have built. With all his passion. His perfection. His eccentricities. His abrasiveness. With who he was.

People talk about the flailings of a man that powerful, someone who had a bad side, someone who drove people to madness and had shouting fits with anyone and everyone. As he himself told a former staffer who tried to fight him, “…you have no idea what it’s like to be me.” I get that. I really, really do.

I think also, that it makes sense to look at what he did right. Of where his ‘reality distortion field’ pushed people to do things they didn’t think possible, whether it was the first Macintosh, or the iPhone. For someone to tell a supplier that the reason they couldn’t do something was because they didn’t believe they could, and that, if they tried, they’d get it, takes a unique set of guts and he had them. He read people instinctively and he knew how to push them, how to get at them. And how to get the best out of them. And it’s those people, the ones who understood, are the ones who will tell you a story about a man who changed the world.

Jobs today is credited for being the person behind revolutions in the music industry, smartphones, PC, tablet, animated movies, retail stores … and Apple itself. His story will be told for a while, of the revisions he made to everything, of his second coming — back to Apple, of his belief that hardware and software should be integrated and not fragmented for it to work, for bullying the music industry into submission — and saving them to an extent — and more.

Even John Scully, the man who ousted Jobs way back when, revealed later on that he believed the Apple Board should have sided with Jobs in that power struggle, and that says a lot. Jobs Commencement Address at Standford is considered by many as one of the best; where he cited three approaches that he wanted to pass on:

• Keep looking (for what you love), don’t settle
• Death is the single best invention of life, it’s life’s change agent.
• My favorite line in this section was: “Even people who want to get to heaven don’t want to die to get there”
• ‘Stay hungry, stay foolish’

Today, we all strive to make something the Apple of its category, and I think that says a lot. I find it even more interesting — even though he obviously didn’t intend it that way — that his (approved) biography released was completed and released some 10 days prior to his passing away, thereby being perfect, complete, in all the events leading up to it.

In the end, the best statement to Jobs’ legacy is the line he himself approved in an ad that ran all those years ago, “…the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world…are the ones who do.”

Recommended Reads:

• Mona Simpson’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs
• Remembering Steve, Apple event for Steve Jobs held Oct 19, 2011
• Steve Jobs Commencement Address, Standford, 2005
• Steve Jobs was always kind to me (Or, regrets of an asshole)

I have been making cheesecakes yet again. This time I decided I would attempt to make a favourite of mine. Ferrero Rocher Cheesecake. This took some imagination and a little bit of research. I finally decided to alter a few recipes which I found to make my own.

Ingredients:

• One box of Ferrero Rocher chocolates
• One jar of Nutella
• 1 250g packet of Chocolate Digestive Biscuits
• 100g Butter, melted
• 1 Tub of Double Cream (300ml)
• 1 Tub of Cream Cheese (300g Philadelphia)
• 3 tablespoons of Icing Sugar
• a handful of chopped roasted Hazelnuts (to decorate)

Method:

1. Line the cheesecake tin with baking parchment
2. Crush the digestive biscuits in a mixer and add the melted butter into the mixer. Pulse the mixture till combined.
3. Pour into the cheesecake tin and press down firmly
4. Whip a bit of the cream with the Philadelphia to soften and remove any lumps.
5. Whip the rest of the cream in a separate bowl with the icing sugar
6. Add the softened Philadelphia to whipped cream and mix till just combined
7. Pour the combined cream cheese mixture into the cheesecake tin, smoothing down with a spatula or spoon.
8. Spread a layer of Nutella over the cream cheese mixture.
9. Sprinkle on some roasted chopped hazelnuts
10. Add one whole Ferrero Rocher per slice of cheesecake. (usually 8/10 slices)

Top tips:

• If you are making it in a cheesecake tin, line the tin with baking parchment
• Grease the baking parchment with some butter to make it stick to the inside of the tin
• You can make individual cheesecake pots (see picture above)
• Press the digestive biscuit base down gently with a spoon or fingers if you like getting messy
• Dipping the spoon/spatula in water helps the Nutella layer smooth out

I love making cheesecakes almost as much as I love devouring them. I dare you to give this one a try, you will not be disappointed. Happy Cheesecake making!

The history of cake dates back to ancient times. According to the food historians, the ancient Egyptians were the first culture to show evidence of advanced baking skills. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the English word ‘cake’ back to the 13th century. According to food historians, the precursors of modern cakes (round ones with icing) were first baked in Europe sometime in the mid-17th century. It was not until the middle of the 19th century that cake as we know it today arrived on the scene and the birthday cake became an integral part of the birthday celebrations in Western cultures since the middle of the 19th century. With the development of culinary and confectionery advancement, what we have now is just a delectable masterpiece of rich ingredients, combined to tantalize all senses.

Well, can you imagine a world without cake?

Wait, wait — can you imagine a birthday without cake?

No, never.

So, here’s presenting a slice of sin, from Shakespeare & Co, Dubai — the Mogador. Moist sponge with hanzenut cream, oozing rich milk chocolate, finished with whole roasted hazelnuts and dark chocolate. One word — divine.

Diwali is almost here — lights, colors, bling and ofcourse, sweets. So on the occassion of Diwali, we bring you, live from the naihar kitchens, the Ghughra. Since I try to relate stuff we do to more colloquially known items out here, I suppose you can think of this as perhaps a sweet fatayer.

Layered on the inside with sweetness that will change your mood regardless of how angry you are on the day, fried on the outside to a nice crunch to boot, and filled with a richness that is supposed to give you energy and brain power (and maybe, a tad bit of cholesterol), the ghughra is a traditional gujarati diwali production. Not that it can’t be eaten during the year or anything, but well, it just must be on the table during all those diwali get togethers we have around this time. Relish!

I am a man of simple pleasures. And for those who know me, Iced Tea is my simplest pleasure. Which reminds me, I need to go place my iced tea bottle into the freezer for a quick chill.

Where was I again? Right, so this afternoon we strolled down to one of my favorite dessert shops, Brunetti. Jumping straight for the usual suspects, their little tiramisu container and some cappuccino, we wandered around to see what else attracted our eye. Their cheesecake looked alright, but sitting smugly next to it was a pear and cheese crumble that we proceeded to…crumble. Good stuff.

We also came across a Bacio. This was pretty much a chocolate mousse with some hazelnut but it looked oh so pretty with the little layer of chocolate around it.

As we started ordering drinks — we went with a cappuccino, espresso and an orange juice, I started fumbling, unable to decide as my impatient company towered over me telling me to hurry up, unable to understand why I needed more time than I was given while they decided. I tried to read a very italian name (which I will need to go back to Brunetti to get exactly and then update here Te freddo al limone) and was like man, I can’t imagine what that would be…until in little tiny characters I read the words that always get me going: homemade iced-tea with lemon. Voila!

I’ve got to set up a disclaimer here. When in the US, reading those words were like gold. It meant I was in for a treat. Out here sadly, the words iced tea tend to be abused pretty easily. So despite reading those words, and my general affinity for Brunetti, I expect little until this mammoth glass was deposited on the table.

The hell was this…?

Yup, iced tea with a comfortable, convenient and yummy deposit of ice cream. Goodness me….goodness me.

I’ve never seen it before (and that’s saying considering it’s a given that if there’s iced tea on the menu that’s not out of a can, I’ve ordered it), and I was amazed. We quite literally just stared at the thing for a while.

But this takes the cake, pun not intended. I seem to have found the iced tea. And interestingly, it has nothing to do with the ice cream at all. The tea itself was light, fresh as it could possibly be, with the right amount of mint without being overwhelming. (I realize everyone now thinks I’ve got to be insane to psycho-analyze iced tea, but hey…I yam, what I am.)

The ice cream itself was good, not too sweet, and somehow didn’t overly melt and ruin anything. Over time, it lightly drizzled itself into the tea without overwhelming it at all and considering most people have their tea with milk anyway, the taste was more than acceptable.

The iced tea itself runs you to AED24, which is slightly higher than what is normally out there (AED12–20) but it still on par with the general Brunetti value.

Goodness that was good iced tea.

Goodness, goodness me.

Brunetti, +9714 339 8173
http://www.brunetti.com.au/

The Dubai Mall (Next to Candylicious, opp. the Dubai Aquarium)

Because Take 1 just wasn’t good enough.

Say hello to the newest kid on the block (wow, I need new band references) and our very own resident food explorer, Siddhi!

A self-confessed lover of food that’s been plated well, Siddhi is known for snapping up dishes all around town (and beyond), and starts off with the extremely craving-inducing dessert all the way from C’est ici Brasserie in London.

Presenting the Evil mud cake with a dark Belgian chocolate center and chamomile ice cream. Quite a mouthful. She claims it took her mere seconds to devour!

To this day, when I close my eyes and recall the shocking events from 10 years ago, somehow I’m still at a loss for words. Still cannot describe the event. Still.

The impact of the day is continued to be felt the world over. Every thing from the the economy to international relations has changed. Everything.

Ten years ago to this date and time, I was in a car, heading towards New York, when we saw the neon roadsigns telling us to avoid the city. A quick flip to the right radio station told us a plane had crashed into the first tower. I instantly reacted with “a suicide attack?” and people in the car laughed with a look of bewilderment on their face that I had come up with the option.

We pulled off the highway to a rest stop and watched CNN as the second plane crashed. Eyes wide open, complete silence in the crowd that had started to gathered there, unable to eat the fast food on their tables. Someone in our party turned to me and said ‘Oh my god, you were right.“

I have never wanted to be more wrong.

…

A moment of silence, for those who suffered, and for those who continue to suffer. May they have courage to withstand the years ahead.

They stood quietly.

It hummed downward.

35? Maybe 40, they both speculated.

Each was amused, and gave the other the stare down.

Then the depth engulfed them.

Probably senile.

Definitely rash.

They laughed on the inside.

Bing!

The doors opened. One looked confused at the other.

He smiled, “The exit’s here, follow me this way.”

Each walked away with their perceptions changed. Just a little.

Always nice to be featured,so nice to have a photo I took featured on a travel site for Philadelphia, wohoo! For one of my favorite restaurants too — the site is here, and my review of the restaurant which is when I took the picture is blogged here.