Muslim Alfe-Rauz Khan, a chef at Riverside Cafe in the Whangārei Town Basin, cannot taste food he cooks and smells as he is fasting for Ramadan. Photos / Michael Cunningham
Muslim Alfe-Rauz Khan, a chef at Riverside Cafe in the Whangārei Town Basin, cannot taste food he cooks and smells as he is fasting for Ramadan. Photos / Michael Cunningham
It's that time of the year when for one month, chef Alfe-Rauz Khan can't taste the food he cooks and smells.
The Muslim holy month of Ramadan doesn't prohibit followers of Islam from working, but eating and drinking are among some of the otherwise daily routine that's strictly a no-gozone.
This is his first Ramadan in Whangārei for the the 31-year-old, originally from Fiji, who moved north from New Plymouth about an year ago.
Arguably the only Muslim chef in Northland, he works at the Riverside Cafe in the Town Basin and works in an array of food production, including pastry and bakery.
He worked for less than a year at Franz Josef — one of only two Muslims in the small town— then cooked for the Novotel in New Plymouth where he had more opportunities to pray.
A chef friend who he worked with in the South Island found work in Whangārei and enticed Khan up north.
He doesn't mind the fact he cannot taste the food he cooks and smells, but gets exhausted at the end of his shift.
"The first few days when I started work in Fiji about 10 years ago was hard during Ramadan. I'd drink a glass of water by accident then realise it was Ramadan," he recalled.
"Now I guess I am used to it. Here in Whangārei, I get my colleagues to taste the food I cook. It's complicated, but so far, so good. Most of the time, you know from experience and without tasting food that it's all right but it's good to taste it yourself.
"It's not just cooking but the environment you work in as well. I stand in front of open ovens, grill, hot plates and you can get dehydrated.
"Normally, I'd keep drinking water but since I can't do that, we rotate so I move to doing dishes and other tasks to keep myself away from the heat," he said.
Muslim chef Alfe-Rauz Khan gets colleagues to taste the food he cooks during Ramadan.
Khan said his management and work colleagues have been supportive and gave him a hand during Ramadan.
He enjoys working in Whangārei and everything the town has to offer, especially the Islamic Centre on Porowini Ave where he goes for his prayers.
"I think I won't move from here," he said.
What is Ramadan?
Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan and refrain from all food, drink, tobacco use and sexual contact. Those excused from fasting include the elderly, children, the ill, travellers, pregnant women, nursing mothers and those menstruating.
Muslims are also expected to avoid gossiping, lying, envy, greed and other bad character traits during the month-long fast.
Muslims in New Zealand fast for about 12 hours during shorter winter days compared to more than 19 hours in Europe or about 15 hours in the Middle East.
There are about 60 mosques and Islamic Centres in New Zealand that cater for about 50,000 Muslims.
Ramadan is the Arabic word for the ninth month in the Islamic calendar, sometimes rendered as Ramazan in other languages.
As the Islamic calendar is lunar (organised by the cycles of the moon) and the Gregorian calendar used by most Western countries is solar, Ramadan's timing in the Gregorian year shifts by roughly 11 days each year.
This year, Ramadan falls across the Gregorian months from early May to early June. Last year, it fell 11 days later - from mid-May to mid-June.
