Vrai Raymond, or Natalie as she is known to her customers, wears many hats. From doting mother to media personality, to event manager to being a fulltime entrepreneur and the Chief Executive / Executive Chef of the success that is Achcharu Kadé, to creating her own organic chocolate known as V's Organic Chocolate, she’s an individual who versatility runs deep in her veins. Gracing the cover of Women at Work this September, Vrai sat down with us for an informal chat and shared details of her incredibly hectic but rewarding life.
Tell us a bit about yourself.
Where do I even start? I schooled at Bishops College, dabbled in a few areas and then settled on Broadcast Media as a career, before settling on what I am doing right now, so it’s been a mix of everything. I'm a mother to three amazing kids, who everyday remind me how incredibly blessed I am. I love to cook (duh!), travel and read, and as I like to say, I graduated from the University of Life, with a few hard knocks, but top of my class!
What prompted you to start the Achcharu Kadé? Have you always loved being in the kitchen?
I have always loved to cook, ever since I was a little girl. My aunt and grand aunt would constantly have delicious food and amazing aromas emanating from their kitchen, and I always wanted my home to be like that so it seemed only natural that I eventually delved into cooking.
Food is a passion (no, I don't particularly like eating, strange I know) but I love my food. Combining flavours, colours and cuisines is my true love (which makes me a fussy eater!)
My home was full of fruit trees - Mango, Ambarella, Pera, Jambu, Lovi, Nelli, Billing, Soursop, Jambola.... you name it, and as kids we would come home after school, have our showers and actually scoot up into the trees with our lunch and homework! So eating Achcharu was, well, part of our daily bread!
Taking my love of cooking and making it a commercial venture is based entirely in having seen women and kids sitting on the side of the road with a basket of fruit and trying to make theirs. I decided to find a way to purchase the fruit and vegetables from these women in a way that have them a sustainable income, and Achcharu was the solution. So take a community initiative that supplies you home-grown, pesticide free produce, a love of flavours and a culinary skill, add to that a platform like the Good Market and voila, Achcharu Kadé was born.
You recently shut down your outlet. What was the reason for this?
Yes, we found that we were not able to meet the demand as organic produce is hard to come by in bulk quantities. If I switched to buying from a commercial supplier, we would have failed in what we set out to do, which was and is primarily to provide an income for these women led single income families. So we decided to close the outlet, and go back to doing deliveries. On the request of many customers though we've now got a limited number of packs available at the Good Market Shop at Lakpahana daily, and of course we still have our pop up store at the Good Market every Saturday.
Our chocolates retail at Milk & Honey Café on Horton Place, and from next week at the Good Market Shop.
Whom are you most inspired by, when it comes to your work and success in what you do?
I have always been surrounded by very strong women and they have influenced my life in every way. My mother obviously is in a league of her own, and I'm honoured to say she is a praying woman, and though we've had our differences, I am who I am because of her prayers.
But if I had to name one to the top of the list, I’d have to say my grandmother. She redefined resilience to me, and pushed through some really hard times, and her indomitable spirit is an inspiration to me, everyday.
How do you wind down after a long day?
I actually haven’t had any time for myself in such a long time but when I do have a bit of free time, I love watching the work of culinary gods such as Heston Blumenthal, Masahiro Morimoto and Gordon Ramsay. They epitomize what culinary science is, and their styles of cooking are most admirable.
I'm also an avid reader, and generally read late into the night. I read on average three books a week!
In terms of dining experiences in Colombo, what would you say tops your list?
To be honest, I don’t have a list only because I barely have time to frequent restaurants but I’d have to say London Grill has always made me very happy with their food, service and ambience. And this thosai place in Bambalapitiya whose name I honestly cannot remember! The ghee masala thosai was unbelievably delicious.
Do you enjoy travelling? What perfects a vacation?
I’m not a conventional traveller, and to me the cultural experience plays a huge role, in addition to the cuisine on offer, so I suppose it depends.
Do you have any advice for working mothers you’re willing to impart?
Include your children in everything that you do. Listen to anything they have to say, ask them for opinions when it comes to making an important decision. You’re involving them in your work, and it makes them feel important.
What do you do to ensure that you strategically do your work in an organized manner on a daily basis?
Make lists, have reminders on your phone, and stick to a routine, because when you do, you can get so much work done.
Interviewed by Sarah Kellapatha
Photographs by Kushan Pathiraja
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