Ashish Verma is an ex-hotelier who continues to consult with some major brands besides running the homestay. His love affair with Jilling started when he saw a picture of the hamlet in a travel magazine many years ago. “Such was the pull that I took the next opportunity to come to Jilling and never stopped coming back. At the time, Jilling was a small village with only one place to stay—the famous Jilling Estate by Steven Lall.” Lall eventually took Verma under his wing and Jilling Estate continued to be Verma’s hill home until he built his own. “It was my mentor Steve and my friend Daya (a staffer at Lall’s home) who taught me everything about the hills and gave me a home here.”
Verma now wants to give back to the place that has given him so much, whether it is by generating employment for the locals or encouraging them to revive age-old practices of sustainability. “When people see me adopting practices like lipaai (painting walls with cow dung), or run the place without any plastic, even use homegrown and foraged produce, they are encouraged to do so too,” says Verma who feels it’s his responsibility to preserve the place.
About the food
There are no set menus or fancy offerings at The Nanda Stone, yet the food is wholesome, satisfying and delicious. It could be the air, but it is also Verma’s dedication to cook with only the finest local produces. “The first meal we offer is a local Kumaoni thali which consists of seasonal local preparations like pahadi daal, linguda (fiddlehead) ka saag, gutka aloo, pahadi raita, mandua roti, laal chawal ki kheer. Guests can decide the dishes during the course of their stay. Our staff is equipped to cook almost everything from Indian to European dishes like chicken and vegetable roasts, pasta and cakes with seasonal berries like hisalu and kaphal.” For those who wish to rustle up a meal, the kitchen is open to guests . Besides Kumaoni food, the homemade bakes, herbed butter and parathas by Daya ji are most popular among guests.
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