Grooms who arrive late at weddings may miss dinner: In Kashmir, chefs set 10 pm deadline for serving food, refuse to wait for delayed ceremonies

Grooms who turn up late for their weddings in Kashmir may now have to rethink their schedules. Traditional wedding chefs, known as 'waza', have announced a 10 pm deadline for serving wazwan, saying they will no longer wait indefinitely for delayed ceremonies and wedding parties. The move follows growing frustration among chefs over wedding functions that stretch late into the night, sometimes keeping them waiting until after midnight to serve the traditional feast.

The decision was unanimously adopted at a meeting organised at a marriage hall in Srinagar's Rajouri Kadal area. Members of the community said the new deadline was necessary to ensure more reasonable working hours and better treatment at wedding venues.

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Why Kashmir's wedding chefs have imposed a 10 pm deadline

The president of the Kashmir Waza Association, Ghulam Nabi Waza, said chefs spend several hours preparing wazwan and are often made to work late into the night, resulting in exhausting schedules on wedding days.

"It takes several hours to prepare the dishes, and usually we work late into the night. Then we are expected to start serving lunch from around 1 pm till 6 pm, which is followed by dinner, which starts well into the night," Waza told news agency PTI.

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He said chefs working at the bride's residence face an additional challenge because serving often depends on the arrival of the groom and his relatives. When the wedding party arrives late, chefs have little choice but to extend their shifts.

Waza recalled instances when wedding ceremonies were delayed so much that even the religious solemnisation of the marriage was affected.

"There have been incidents where the maulvi left without solemnising the nikah because the groom did not turn up till 1 am. We are also humans. So we now set the 10 pm deadline," he said.

Waza association flags late arrivals at Kashmiri weddings

The association has also appealed to families and wedding guests to be punctual, arguing that late arrivals have become a recurring problem at celebrations.

"There are so many people attached with the wazwan, and they too have the right to dignified working hours," Waza said.

The chefs want wedding hosts to recognise that preparing the traditional feast involves an entire team, rather than just the person overseeing the cooking. Delayed ceremonies affect everyone involved in preparing and serving the food.

Chefs seek better facilities and rest at wedding venues

The 10 pm cut-off is not the only concern raised by the waza community. Chefs also complained that wedding hosts often overlook their basic requirements, particularly arrangements for sleeping and resting between demanding shifts.

One of the chefs said they are expected to resume work after long hours without being provided adequate space to recover.

"For example, we are not provided a proper place to sleep. We work long hours and need some time to rest before we prepare ourselves for the next day's gruelling routine. The hosts should take care of that aspect," the chef said.


Inputs from TOI