P.E.I. woman cooking up Bangladeshi food raising money for medical recovery

A P.E.I. woman is hoping to familiarize other Islanders with Bangladeshi dishes — and possibly help herself raise money to recover from medical treatments.

Moumita Sarker grew up in Bangladesh and says watching her mother make food for her family created a passion for cooking.

Sarker moved to P.E.I. in 2019.

Shortly after arriving, Sarker was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease — she was taking computer science at Holland College, but said the course load was too difficult to manage with her medical issues.

"It's really hard to maintain your study," she said. "My doctor recommended me to switch to another course. And also, I missed some of my exams because of my health. I had my two kidney biopsies."

Right now, she is studying business administration at Holland College and working retail — and she is expected to start dialysis in June.

"If I go on my dialysis I need to save money because I can't work," she said. "One month or more than one month because I have to do surgery."

Sarker said the province is paying for her dialysis — but she is hoping to raise money with her cooking so she doesn't have to worry about expenses piling up while she is off work.

She said she saw an ad for Tenchef, a Charlottetown company that invites amateur chefs to test their skills at restaurant cooking. 

The chefs cook meals in the commercial kitchen at BioFoodTech at UPEI, and the company takes care of sales and home delivery, said co-owner Vaughn Murphy.

It didn't take long for him to take note of Sarker's ability.

"We invited her over, tried some of her food and we were pretty much sold immediately," Murphy said.

Friday was Sarker's first night cooking meals for Tenchef, and Murphy said he's happy the company can help someone through a tough time.

"When we started this project I really didn't envision circumstances like this where we'd be able to contribute to a life-changing experience for someone," Murphy said.

Sarker said it was also an opportunity to share some traditional Bangladeshi cuisine on the Island.

"After coming to P.E.I. I have found there is no Bangledeshi restaurants or cuisine," she said. "I thought that why not, I can make some food and like I can spread my home country's food."

Friday Sarker was serving up two dishes.

Chicken kosha, "A slow cooked chicken curry with lots of spices," Sarker said.

And a vegetarian meal called malai kofta.

The creamy dish is made with items like cottage cheese, chickpea powder and spices.

"My mom helped me to learn this, because in my country we used to make this meal when we would invite some people into our home, or any special occasion," Sarker said.

While Friday was her first time cooking for the company, she said she plans to come back again to cook different dishes and raise money for recovering from her treatments.

Sarker is hoping to get a kidney replacement next year. 

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