‘Catholic Community should Patronize Catholic Caterers’ – Bishop Aloysius

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‘Catholics should support Catholic Caterers’- Bishop Aloysius, MLC Ivan D’Souza, MLA JR Lobo

Mangaluru : When is the last time you saw a Catholic Caterer at a Hindu or Muslim function? Never- or probably one in a hundred or thousand. How many times have you experienced a tasteless Catholic Mangalorean traditional cuisine catered by a non-Catholic caterer at a Roce/wedding reception? Probably, quite a few times. Once at a wedding reception dinner the pork bafat tasted like Chicken Puli-Munchi- Guess why? The catering was done by Poojary Caterers! Another time at a Roce dinner, the tradition Catholic Mangalorean dessert, the ‘Vorn’ tasted like Pirini- Guess why? The catering was done by Oosama Caterers! If majority of Hindu and Muslim communities hire caterers from their own community so that they can have their traditional community meal at their function, then why is that majority of Catholic communities are not hiring Catholic caterers for their functions- instead give orders to non-Catholic caterers.

The above was one of the issues that a bunch of Catholic Caterers joined together to form a association called ” Catholic Caterers Association (CCA)” which was inaugurated by Most Rev Dr Aloysius Paul D’Souza- the Bishop of Mangaluru Diocese on Easter Sunday, 27 March 2016 at St Sebastian Platinum Jubilee Auditorium- Bendore. The CCA was launched by lighting the traditional lamp and also by unveiling the CCA logo by the Bishop, joined by other guests of honour on the dais namely- MLA JR Lobo; MLC Ivan D’Souza; Roy Castelino- President of Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy; Sr Sylvian- Director,Prashanth Nivas; Lancelot Pinto-MCC Corporator and Sunil Monteiro- Asst. Executive Engineer, MESCOM.

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President of CCA, Alwyn Pinto welcomed the gathering and introduced the dignitaries on the dais, followed by briefing about the birth of CCA by treasurer, Ivan D’Souza, where he said, ” Alwyn Pinto, proprietor of Aroma Caterers came up with the idea of forming Catholic Caterers Association with an aim to help solve problems faced by caterers. On July 2015, he invited all the caterers managed by Catholics to meet a local hotel- discussions were finalized and it was approved to form CCA. After receiving tremendous response from caterers of Vittal, Moodbidri, Puttur, and many other surrounding areas, many more caterers joined the association and eventually the CCA board was formed, Alwyn Pinto of Aroma Caterers elected as the president, Divya D’Souza of M D’Souza Caterers as the secretary and Ivan D’ Souza of Aaron caterers as the treasurer”.

Bishop Rev Dr Aloysius P D’Souza addressing the gathering said, ” I am glad that Catholic Caterers have finally joined together to form this association. One should note that in earlier years Catholic caterers would support each other in their catering business, but recently that unity has died down. If one caterer does successfully in his business, others out of hate will try to bring his business down. That should be stopped now that you have formed this association. You need to help each other. If you have succeeded in your catering business, try to help someone who is struggling to come up his catering firm. For the growth and success of Catholic Caterers, the catholic Community should fully support them by patronizing their business to provide service to your grand occasions”.

The Bishop further said, ” You should have two ambitions- one for the growth of your business, and the other, to see that others also grow in their enterprise. “Live and let live” should be your motto, and try to help your neighbour. On this great joy of Easter, let the risen Lord bless CCA and also bless the owners of all Catholic Caterers to be successful in their business”.

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MLC Ivan D’Souza speaking during the occasion said, ” I was just wondering why this association took birth so late. It should have been formed years back, before many other non-Catholic caterers stole the ideas and business from Catholic Caterers and became rich and famous. But anyways, as they say better late than never, now that you are part of CCA, make sure you work in unity, follow the required catering laws and regulations- and above all, see that the quality of the food is good, and provide impeccable service. Catering is a risky business- if the quality of food and service is bad you may not get paid and you won’ succeed. So remember to provide good food and good service, and surely you’ll prosper in your business. Best of luck, and if you need assistance from the government, don’t hesitate to contact us”.

MLA JR Lobo addressing the gathering said, ” I think you were all waiting for Easter 2016 to form this association. Now that you have a association, you should start to promote good old-days Mangalurean recipes at the functions, and save our Catholic culture. These days we see modern dishes, some western cuisines- but remember a Catholic function should always have that vintage food recipe and culture. Many a times when I attend Catholic functions, I notice that the Caterer is a non-Catholic. Why is that so? As Catholics we should support our community caterers, rather than support non-Catholics. When non-Catholics only support their community businessmen, why not Catholics? “

Lobo further said, ” One bad thing is that when one Catholic entrepreneur comes up in his business/life, other Catholic entrepreneurs will try to put him down by spreading nasty rumors, thereby ruining his business. This has to be stopped. Also make sure the quality of food is good, and the service is professional and pleasing to your client. Work in unity, and if you need help from the district administration we will oblige you. Let’s all work hand in hand, and see that Catholic entrepreneurs grow and reach greater heights in their businesses. Good luck!”.

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Roy Castelino also speaking during the occasion said, ” If Bunts can fully support their own community, Muslims can also do the same, Konkana’s also help their fellow Konkana’s, then why can’t Catholics also support their fellow Catholics in their businesses etc etc. It’s sad to note that these days many Catholic institutions, and Catholic communities give catering order to non-Catholics. This has to be stopped- we need to support our community entrepreneurs. For new business starters you can get help from Rachana – Catholic Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who will always encourage and support budding Catholic entrepreneurs. As a quote says that a friend in need is a friend indeed, let’s all join to help our Catholic friends in their catering business and make them successful”.

Sr Sylvian, Lancelot Pinto, Sunil Monteiro, Gilbert D’Souza- Rachana president also spoke during the occasion and urged Catholics to patronize Catholic caterers.
Two caterers, who were the pioneers of the catering industry were felicitated- namely Mrs Gracy D’Souza, wife of Late John D’Souza- founder of M D’Souza and sons; and Thomas Pinto from Bajpe, popularly known as Thomas Cook. The vote of thanks was proposed by Divya D’Souza, secretary of CCA, while the function was professionally compered by Hera Pinto. The formal function was followed by entertainment comprising of dance, spot games, and off course, the Mother of all Catholic function dance-the Baila, with supporting tunes by the Milagres Brass Band in attendance.

Speaking to Mangalorean.com, Loy D’Souza- the proprietor of M D’Souza caterers said, ” My dad has contributed financially during his time towards many Catholic institution in the city and beyond. I too also have contributed a lot- but when it comes to give orders for their functions, these Catholic institutions prefer non-Catholic caterers. This hurts me a lot, and probably many other Catholic caterers might have the same feeling. People spread rumours that our rates are little higher than non-Catholic caterers- but they should know that we just don’t provide good food, we also provide good service, make sure our servers are well-attired and give proper service, provide better facilities during your dining experience etc etc. Also I have heard rumours that we can’t handle big crowds like non-Catholics caterers do-for your kind information, if we were able to handle over a lakh of pilgrims during Pope’s visit years back, I think M D’souza caterers can handle a crowd of few thousand. I am confident that with the formation of CCA, we can do better than non-Catholic caterers and attract more Catholic communities in giving us business to serve them better with pride and in the spirit of Catholic culture and tradition”.

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It is learnt that the association will provide a platform to discuss issues related to catering. The members will also give their expert solutions to problems faced by caterers. The caterers will then find solutions to their problems through feedback from their fellow caterers. The association will also help in obtaining the required food license, FSSAI certificate, service and income tax etc. The organization also will help caterers on food and hygiene practices along with appropriate waste management through workshops.

The primary concern of the association is to raise the standard of food quality and obtain business partnership from the Catholic community. The Association has many plans to strengthen this group of entrepreneurs by improving fellowship and relations within and working together to not only upgrade themselves in terms of standards and professionalism, but more importantly, work together for the betterment of the community. With every business , there are always some challenges along with the rewards. And the catering industry also faces similar challenges with regard to labour problems, maintaining quality standards, government taxes, competition etc. With these issues in mind , the much awaited “Catholic Caterers Association” was formed to serve their clients much better, and regain the confidence with the Catholic Caterers.

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14 Comments

  1. The objective of launching an Association of Catholic Caterers to achieve High Standards, encourage /support Entrepreneurship the community and find solutions to common issues of the business is laudable. But any exhortation that the community keep out caterers from other communities is obnoxious to a progressive community, retrograde, and would be counter productive for the community in the long run especially in other spheres of business, trade and industry.
    I have a few simple questions to the Leaders who spoke on the occasion:
    Can catholics get elected to public offices with votes from Catholics only?
    Are catholic businessmen running their businesses successfully/profitably on the support of catholics only?
    Why do our educational institutions admit larger number of non christians than Catholic/christians?
    Pope Francis is advocating breaking down of barriers of race and religion-he washed the feet of people from different genders, races and religion- are we awake to his call

  2. Mangalorean Catholics will help to preserve Mangalorean Catholic culinary traditions by patronizing Catholic caterers. It is something to consider when choosing a caterer.

  3. “Many a times I attend Catholic functions, I notice that caterer is a non-catholic. Why is that so?” – Report quoting a local MLA.

    There you go! If a BJP MLA makes a similar statement, it would be all over the media!!!

    • I really dont agree with Bishop and Responsible MLA, to talk like this. In Mangalore there is nothing like Hindu , Muslims and christain. With unity we can live a peaceful life. Most of the time our HIndu and Muslim brothers come for help not christian. First stop the ego. Business will prosper. Everybody cannot make business. You should be polite, sincere, hardworking. and please dont bring religion and language in between business.

    • Joker Rampa, a ‘local’ MLA makes such a statement and we have none other than YOU to copy-paste such unfortunate events.

      Another glaring eg. is the gold-smuggling at MIA and I’m extremely disappointed to note that you have made it your SOLE mission to copy-paste the names of those idiots apprehended.

      However, knowing very well that you have NO OTHER mission in life besides copy-pasting, I quite sympathize and empathize with your precarious plight! I can ONLY hope and pray that the moment will come to pass – & soon that too!

      You see, your wellness of being is of paramount importance to me! Darn! I need my daily dose of jokes! Oh well, don’t blame me for my selfish motives! I’m quite addicted to your jokes and am candid enough to admit that I simply can’t survive for long sans them.

      And then, once you indulge in your life’s SOLE mission, you can’t resist from patting yourself on the back while muttering to yourself as you type – Wow! What a brilliant post (when he means to say – ‘Joke”).. my posts are far superior.. I have superior ‘analytical’ skills…. lah dee dah. (Lol! for copy-pasting names served on a platter to you?). 🙂

      And for reasons best known to you, you have to bring in my allegedly rejected Yumreeki visa, call me a Sanathannna Dharma hater – despite swearing on bended knees that you are an atheist (who ONLY happens to believe), Abru’s Biryani packets and those blessed statues at Murudeshwara and wind-up with ‘RIP Germany/Europe’. 🙂 And then you HAVE this obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) to pat yourself on the back all over again!

      Gosh! Man…. Rampa… you ARE THE MAN! 🙂

  4. The Pope talks one thing, the religious here talk the opposite. That’s the last thing we want to hear from the Bishop and other politicians from Mangalore. Keep religion and politics away from food catering and preferences. Leave it to the people to choose their caterers since they take into consideration factors like cost, variety, taste, service and convenience and definitely not religion while deciding on their catering requirements. For starters, do the economically weaker, truly meritorious and deserving Catholic students get admissions in Catholic institutions offering medical and engineering courses in Mangalore? Its only money that matters, nothing else does! Must practise before preaching!

  5. If truth be told, I don’t mind hiring Osama Caterers Or PyareLallu Original Rampanna Caterers as long as they know how to make a proper Pork ‘Indad’ or Pork chilly.

    Daane panpar O’Rampannere?

  6. I agree with Anand and Allen and Dominic.

    We need to keep our language, religion at home.

    lets all think that we all are Indians first(Catholic, christian, Konkani etc later).

    We need statements to unite us not to divide.

    Leaders,need to wake up and stop discriminating.

    If someone does a good service,appreciate and support whether he is a Hindu,Muslim, Christian.

    Look at USA. It is written in the Constitution.
    ” you can practice any religion or you can practice no religion”.

    That is true freedom.

  7. “I don’t mind hiring Osama…” writes Saudi-returned Praveena Pinto.

    Osama? I thought he was your supervisor back in Saudi. Yea, sure – you don’t mind hiring him!! ‘Hahalu kanasu’ is always better than ‘bhagna kanasu’!!! Keep on dreaming! smiles…

    • Lol! Stick to the CONTEXT ya Rampai. I said, I don’t mind hiring them as long as they can whip-up some proper Pork Chilly. For that matter, I don’t hiring their services of EVEN Srimaana RamPai Caterers provided their Buffalo steaks are done the right way.

  8. “Stick to the CONTEXT ya…” writes Joker Praveena Pinto.

    Look, who is talking about ‘context’ now!! This is the same guy who struggled for almost month to understand ‘biriyaani’ analogy back in 2014. LOL

  9. “Biryani analogy” – goes on and on. our beloved Rampai

    Were you pass that silly “biryani analogy” as an IDIOM and couldn’t find the right English term for it?

    Anyway, I’m glad to help a struggling drover whose only job is to drive cattle across the range for his overseer – Buffalo Bill. And if poor Rampa fails to comprehend it even for the umpteenth dozen time, no probs. I will continue to educate him until he learns. 🙂

    So, hang on to your saddle, dear Rampa. Pata # 1 on IDOMS is coming up.

    Let us take a well known idiom – ‘It’s raining cats and dogs’. Well, what does that mean? It just something you say when it is raining very heavily. he point here is – NOBODY in his right mind says something like – “It’s raining 5 cats and 4 dogs”.

    One NEVER puts a figure to an idiom (like our blessed TJ Abru did when he referred to some 200 Biryani packets for community X and some 20 or 100 packets for community Y).

    Artha aitheno, Rampa? Let me REPEAT – one NEVER puts a figure on an idiom in the hope of qualifying it. Only an IDIOT does! And ONLY one from the same flock BELIEVES such stuff and keeps repeating it.

    Allige, pata # 1 mukthaya aithu.

    • Btw, herr Rampa… do excuse the spelling of ‘IDIOM’ in line 6.

      And line 1 should have been – ‘Were you trying to pass …”

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