She successfully launched a remote restaurant in India serving traditional cuisine, became famous amongst celebrities and tourists
Each day, women come to my restaurant for job opportunities, and I try to give employment to as many people as I can. We are a community of less than 1,000 people so we share very intimate relationships. After my mother’s passing, it felt nice to fill my business with warm faces.
- 1 year ago
August 1, 2023
Nilza Wangmo runs a now-famous restaurant called Alchi Kitchen in India serving traditional Ladakh cuisine. Her perseverance after her mother’s death has made the restaurant a famous spot amongst Bollywood celebrities and tourists. | Photo courtesy of Nilza Wangmo
LADAKH, India —For years, cooking comforted me. I faced a lot of challenges in my life. My father died before I was born, so my mother took care of me on her own. She raised me in my grandparents’ home and worked tirelessly to support me. My mother became my rock. I saw how much she struggled her entire life, never having a moment of rest.
My mother taught me everything I knew, and we spent hours cooking together in the kitchen, surrounded by wonderful smells and ingredients. When I first shared my idea to start a restaurant that exclusively served Ladakhi cuisine, my entourage discouraged me. My friends and family believed the plan would fail. They said no “outsiders” will be willing to try these foods. However, I felt determined to stick to my plan. I wanted to introduce the foods my mom and I made to the world.
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Losing everything in the flood and facing the worst tragedy of my life
Once I became old enough to work, I wanted to help my mother financially. I found a job at a guest house in Kargil. Kargil is a city largely dominated by men, where women typically cannot work. Not wanting to be separated, my mother came to live with me there. One day, my workplace and our house got destroyed by heavy floods. We escaped but we lost everything.
Broke and devastated, we settled for simple accommodations until my grandfather helped us build a home. My mother encouraged me to finally start my business and we opened Alchi Kitchen right there in our house. Slowly, my excitement came back as I envisioned the future.
Things felt like they were beginning to look up, until I experienced the most heartbreaking tragedy in 2021. I lost my only support system, my mother, due to Covid-19. When she passed away, I felt overcome with grief, unable to do anything. The world felt empty and cold, and I shut down my kitchen as I recovered. My heart broke each morning when I woke up and felt her absence. Even now, two years later, the loss remains fresh in my mind. Her presence lingers everywhere I go.
Just as I lost hope, the restaurant gained popularity among celebrities
There are only 932 people living in my village. Tourists come between March and October, making the rest of the year quiet. A remote hamlet, Alchi sits about 66 kilometers from Leh, a city in the Ladakh territory in the disputed Kashmir region. In addition to the geographic challenges, when the restaurant first opened, my mother stood by me every step of the way. She and my grandmother taught me everything about cooking. Now I faced my work on my own with no formal training. Discouragement settled in.
Slowly, my restaurant gained popularity among tourists. People began posting about it on their social media. Due to the scenic view, many Bollywood films were shot in our area. This brought numerous celebrities to the region during their breaks. The restaurant soon became a famous spot and stories about me appeared on the news.
Hotels across India and abroad began calling on me to serve as a guest chef. I attended so many conferences as a Ladakhi food connoisseur, it felt surreal. In 2020, the government of India recognized my efforts, and the President of India awarded me with one of the highest civilian honors for women in India, the Nari Shakti Puraskar award. I’m so grateful my mother got to see the ceremony before she passed.
Helping women through my work became vital to me
I come from a place that’s always been in dispute for its geographical boundaries that connect India and Pakistan. The two countries share a complicated relationship. While Ladakh has always been in the headlines for its political and military unrest, the women there remain more progressive than the rest of India.
Women in Ladakh work all kinds of jobs, with no social stigmas stopping them. I felt so impressed by the women around me who took risks to open small ventures rather than depend on their government or the men in their lives.
Each day, women come to my restaurant for job opportunities, and I try to give employment to as many people as I can. We are a community of less than 1,000 people so we share very intimate relationships. After my mother’s passing, it felt nice to fill my business with warm faces.
I never imagined the restaurant would do as well as it’s doing now, but I feel so grateful for its success. I owe so much of it to my mother, who helped with every single thing. She cooked, cleaned, ran errands, and managed the books. I only wish I could share this success with her now.
