By Alex Silverman
Rakesh is a young man, with a big dream, and he’s gaining the skills to do it all. Through the power of cooking, Rakesh is using what he learned from a special organization and sharing his entrepreneurial skills with others.
A Recipe to Thrive was written and directed by Christopher Scott Carpenter. It is the story of a young man called Rakesh who takes his cooking skills to the next level, thanks to an organization called Dream A Dream. Dream A Dream is an NGO based in Jayanagar, a neighborhood located in the city of Bengaluru in Karnataka, India. Its mission is to help develop valuable life skills for people who come from less fortunate backgrounds. Rakesh is one of the many people Dream A Dream has supported since their founding in 1999. Rakesh’s story is one of hardship, sustainability, and a passion to change his life for the better.
When his father suffered from a work related accident that left him unable to work and earn money for his wife and 5 children, Rakesh’s family had to find ways to create income. His mother sold flowers on the streets and in markets while Rakesh spent time cleaning tables at weddings and helping in the kitchen. It was here that Rakesh developed his love for cooking. In the meantime, he had also completed a degree in IT, hoping to find a job to support his family. It was not until he found Dream A Dream that Rakesh was able to do more with his passion for food. With Dream A Dream he developed technical, vocational, and cooking skills.
With the skills Rakesh has learned, he hopes to open his own store where he would sell chaat, a type of snack food that is served as hors d’oeuvres in India, Nepal, and other neighboring countries.
While this film does not further expand on the backstory of Rakesh’s family, it does serve as a good way for people to get familiar with the Dream A Dream organization. It could have benefited from a better explanation of some of the dishes that Rakeesh enjoys making such as chaat and pani puri. I also think audiences would have liked to know more about Rakesh’s family,including what happened to his father and how his siblings contributed.
In conclusion, this was an enjoyable and informative short film. It was very interesting to learn about Dream A Dream and what they do as well as learn about food from India. I give this film 3 out of 5 stars for its message, story, and subject matter.
Don’t Miss A Recipe to Thrive, now screening on Planet Classroom Network.
Alex is a recent graduate from Columbia College Chicago with a major in Comedic Writing & Performance and a minor in Writing for Television. Apart from his work as part of the Planet Classroom Network Film Selection team at CMRubinWorld, he serves as a screening panelist intern for the International Children’s Media Center, a sketch writer, and an on-set production assistant at the 61st Annual Chicago/Midwest Emmy Awards.
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