In 1982, Renu Arora, from Bombay and living in Japan, began her Gourmet Trips to India from here. Married and the mother of a son, she was teaching Indian home cooking to groups of interested Japanese people. Some were men, some young unmarried women, some housewives. Some of them aimed to become professional and open restaurants of their own.
Over the years, Renu tried to do something different on each trip she offered. Highlights included taking her groups to meet the maharajahs of Jodphur and Udaipur, and to stay in their palaces. The grandson of the Nizam of Hyderabad invited the students to his home, where he, an enthusiastic cook, demonstrated his Hyderabadi cuisine. Renu took her students on visits to the kitchens of five-star hotels in India. She arranged for a Japanese couple to be married in Indian style.
The students met Mother Teresa in Calcutta, and went shopping for spices in the crowded alleys of Delhi. "After each trip, I went flat for about two months," Renu said.