INUVIK
Inuvik residents are hungry for more food options, and they can smell what Aru Vashisht is cooking.

Aru Vashisht's enthusiasm for Indian cuisine has launched a part-time job that is winning raves around Inuvik. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo

After two years of cooking on the side, Vashisht has parlayed her passion for Indian cuisine into a thriving sideline business.

Vashisht has recently begun offering her menu of Indian-based cuisine out of the Cafe on Mackenzie on weekends. The move has shown that the path to the hearts of Inuvikmiuts does involve their stomachs.

It's turning into a part-time venture for Vashisht, who is a familiar face at the Northern Property Real Estate Investment Trust office in town.

"I just love food," she said.

"I love cooking. This what I love to do. I love to promote my culture. For me, the motivation is that we are not close to an Indian restaurant, and I know a lot of people love Indian food. "

She started dabbling in cooking simply by making Indian food for friends. That gradually expanded by word of mouth as her friends raved about her offerings, she said.

''They would say, 'This is really, really good,''' she recalled.

She was living in Toronto at that time, and often received encouragement to open up a food truck – something she wasn't interested in pursuing at the time.

"My kids were very young at the time," she said.

She has no formal cooking background whatsoever, just a passion for the kitchen.

"I learned the basic stuff from my family, and I've just kept on trying and trying. I've been to India and learned some things there. Basically, I just do a lot of research and I cook a lot."

Vashisht said she's constantly experimenting with and refining her recipes, some of which get written down, while others don't.

"I started this roughly two years ago," she said. "At that time, I was in an apartment, and I was told I couldn't do it from there."

So she went out and found a house to work out of, in which she is now living.

"I've been doing it out of the cafe for about two months, and it's been good so far."

She's in discussions with cafe management to possibly move to a buffet system at some point in the near future.

Vashisht said one of the keys to her success lies in the strong and thriving multiculturalism of the Inuvik population, along with a relative dearth of restaurants offering un-diversified menus.

"We do a culture night once a week," she said.

"Who wouldn't want to go out once in a while for some Arab food or some Chinese food? People will try almost anything here."

Vashisht said she'd be interested in making the business full-time, although she's resisted that idea for years due to some of the inherent problems and headaches of the food industry.

Eventually, Vashisht said, she would like to open a "very small" takeout operation here.

"Of course, you won't get everybody liking your food, but you want to do the best you can."