As we enter into the New Year, and say goodbye to the old one, this is the busiest time for people across the globe and Mario Godinho and his better-half Connie are not an exception. The Saligao based Godinhos keep themselves busy in their individual businesses while supporting each other in the best possible way. Christmas brings party time business for Mario who runs a live barbeque service ‘Mario’s Pitstop’. Connie too has a bagful of gift orders as she makes Christmas decor, stuffed toys, baby apparels and several other items out of crochet designs under her brand name ‘Connie’s Hooks & Yarns’.
“Barbeques was my hobby which has now turned into a profession,” says Mario who after working in the Gulf on oil rigs for 20 years has returned to Goa for good. Honing his skills for almost 25 years Mario kept them polishing by grabbing every opportunity to make barbeques in small or big get-togethers in Goa and in the Gulf.
“I worked with an oil company in Oman for 16 years. My job was in rotation, in shifts and every shift was of 35 days, when I had to work on the oil rig in the desert away from the city life. After per shift, we had 35 days off, which I spent in Goa with my family. I continued to participate in the Saligao market, displaying my barbeque skills to the local and foreign tourists who visited the market. Then I decided to quit after my contract with the MBPS was over as I had to sign another contract for working in Saudi Arabia which I was not keen to accept. So I left the job and returned to Goa for good,” shares Mario.
‘Mario’s Pitstop’ has been a household name now as he has been setting his stall at Saligao Market regularly for the past three-and-a-half years, starting from 2021. Visitors to his stall enjoyed his barbeques and inquired whether he would set live counters at private parties in homes, gardens or restaurants. “I obliged. My childhood friend Everest Piries and I began offering this live counter service for minimum 10 persons to max 100 plus persons in parties, weddings or other occasions. In the market we offer choice – chicken kabab, sweet and spicy wings, malai kabab, french-fries, butter garlic prawn grilled, veg shaslik (mushroom, paneer, capsicum, cherry tomato etc). For private parties, we have different sets and packages – grilled king fish, pork ribs, stake etc,” he adds.
Instead of coal, Mario uses firewood for barbeques at his live counters. His prices depend upon the market prices of raw material on that day. He has no peak season as such, but winter is the most pleasant time to sit around a campfire and enjoy hot barbeques, he feels. “During family functions and get-togethers, we have to prohibit Mario from setting the barbeque pit and make him enjoy what others make. He has been serving others for decades, and he too deserves some quality time for himself,” says Connie, a business management graduate who also worked in the Gulf till 2011.
Connie could not resume her job as she met with an accident in Goa on her birthday and injured her spine badly, making her mobility restricted. She could move in the house only on wheelchair. So to keep herself busy she trained herself in crochet art which became a source of earning for her later. As she began posting her work on her Facebook page, her art was appreciated and orders poured in. An artist friend Clarice Vaz from the village encouraged her to set her shop of crochet work at the Saligao Market. Connie got a huge response and then there was no looking back. Soon she forgot her disability, and began to earn independently through her art.
Both had to leave their jobs in the Gulf. Connie in 2011 and Mario in 2021, but today, the couple lives a comfortable life earning through their individual skills like knitting and cooking. Their eagerness to learn more and better their skills has been a boon to them to cater to enthusiastic customers.
Mario recalls how he learnt to barbeque in the desert with nothing much available around. No vegetation was grown in the surrounding area, no market nearby. City market was five-six hour drive away. A goat/sheep for a small group and a camel for a large gathering was the only livestock found in the desert, he says. Using the local unique masala ‘Shuva’ he used to marinate the meat, dig a pit in the sand and put fire in the pit. When the coal was ready, he put the meat and covered from all sides so that no air penetrated in. This was kept for six hours, till the meat got cooked.
In 2021, Mario returned to Goa, and religiously began to put up his stall at the Saligao market. Locally few people make barbeques, and he had been an expert in it by now. “People also do not know what barbeque is – they think it’s like tanduri chicken. But let me tell you, it’s not the same, though they look similar. Both are completely different, when the meat is grilled in coal fire, it becomes juicy, and in tandoor it becomes dry,” explains Mario who enjoys cooking.
Apart from barbeques he also makes homemade vinegar out of fresh toddy and sells it. Vinegar is used in various dishes in Goa and many Goans take it with them abroad. He also makes reshad masala, cafreal and sorpotel masala which are wet masalas. Connie helps him in preparing these masalas. The Godinhos make pickles too – prawn balchao and fish mole. Their homemade masalas and pickles go to UK. The products are liked by many – vinegar is priced at Rs 250 a litre, has shelf life of more than a year. The longer you keep the stronger it becomes, he says. In the parties, other than barbeque – he also makes mutton xacuti, jeera rice, etc as supporting dishes. “I learnt these things too, though we don’t do them regularly, but on occasions as and when there is demand,” he says.
“Follow your passion; we all have hidden talents and must make use of them. Today, all are after jobs. Youth feel shy to do some work or business. But being your own boss gives joy, which is precious. We both have learnt it after doing jobs for decades in the Gulf. Goa is our home and we are happy earning whatever our skills can offer us. As my daughter went abroad for higher studies, Connie would face difficulty managing everything alone from a wheelchair. So I decided to stay back, making my hobby my profession. We support each other, and are content living a village life,” shares Mario.
