Fluver Litten aka Baiju was born in Kuzhupilly, near Cherai beach in Ernakulm district in Kerala, South India. He started with textile marketing that he learnt from the textile heartlands of Kannur and Coimbatore but soon realized his real love lied in food industry. He was a good cook and wanted to be a chef.

After doing a course in cheffing at the Korattimatha Institute of Technology in Chalakudy, he worked in a few resorts in in his home state before flying to London to try his luck. For four years he worked in a Middlesex hotel near the Wembley Stadium.

Learning the nuances of multinational cuisine, he grew confident that he could make it big in South Indian dishes. He returned to Kochi to hibernate on his future plans.  Got married to Ashitha George of Pallipuram near Cherai. As a diploma holder in general nursing and midwifery, she worked in the Lourde Hospital, Ernakulam.

Litten and Ash at their Cairns Thattukada

Both passed the IELTS test for proficiency in English and flew to New Zealand. They settled in Rotorua, a beautiful small town on the lap of mountains, 272 km south of  Auckland. Ashley  studied for her Bachelor degree in Nursing and joined a hospital there. Her husband opened a specialty eatery-Coconut Café and Restaurant-and ran it successfully. It was so popular that film director Jeethu Joseph’s  2015 film ‘Life of Josutty’ with Dileep in the lead was shot at his restaurant. “I always felt the trials and tribulations of Josutty was very similar to mine,” Litten told me in a voice chat.

Receiving NZ citizenship from Rotorua Mayor Stephanie 

What is behind his unique name? He was named Fluver Litten by his educated uncle Stephen who was the leader of the Latin Catholic community in Kuzhupilly village. His parents, Arogyam Antony and Philomina Virgin, however, called him Baiju. His son’s name Leon is of Greek origin meaning lion. The other son Noel is simply the reverse form of Leon. The middle English Biblical word means Joy of Christmas.  
 
He liked Rotorua, a town sandwiched between mountains and valleys and lakes. He also liked the Maori tribe there, mostly Christians like Baptists, Methodists, St John the Evangelists, etc.  He made a study of them and learned that the tall and handsome Maoris were believed to be descendants of Bhima of Mahabharata, who arrived in New Zealand via Sri Lanka. Maybe it is just a legend. However Rotorua’s present Mayor the young and beautiful Tania Tapsell (32) is a Maori of Dutch descent, the first Maori to become Mayor.  

 Litten in London; his special-Chinese noodles mixed with Idiappam crumbs. 

Rotorua is a beautiful small town of 78,200 people in a country of 4.5 m people. Discovered by the Dutch, NZ was a British colony till 1947. After living there for about a decade, the Littens decided to apply for citizenship. When the iconic Jecinda Ardern was Prime Minister, he was sworn in as citizen before Mayor Stephanie Anne Chadwick.

Rotorua, also known as the volcanic country is a tourist place famous for its thermal fountains. However, he and his children could not cope with its extreme cold during winter and decided to relocate to a country of tropical climate. That is how they decided to apply for migration to Australia. NZ or the land of the Kiwi (national bird and national fruit), has special relations with Australia. Visa is on arrival. Any NZ citizen can stay in Aus indefinitely. 

 Rice with Goan fish curry for an Aussie patron

Cairns in Queensland, lying in the Tropics with Kerala’s temperate climate, sunshine, rains and nuts and fruits like coconut, jackfruit, mango, plantain and papaya appealed to them. They landed in Cairns in 2000. Ashitha or Ash found a job in a hospital and Litten worked at the Anglicare and Scoops Café as its food and beverage supervisor.

In July 2003 Litten opened his own eatery, the Cairns Thattukada in a city shopping mall. Tucked in the corner of Rusty’s Market on Sheridan St, it offered a “Taste of Kerala” and “Authentic South Indian Food”. Thattukada meaning street food joint, has become popular.

Along with Dileep and co-stars Jyothi and Renjini at his NZ restaurant

It functions only on three days -Friday, Saturday and Sunday when Ash and Leon join him to help. Leon, 13, is the brain behind Thattukada’s website offering different menus and special offers on festive occasions like Christmas, Easter and Vishu. Masaladosa is $12, String Hopper (Idiappam) and Beef Curry 14.50, String Hopper and Fish Curry 15.50, Chicken 65 with salad 15, Rice and chilly fish 13.50, Idli, Thenga Chutni and Sambar 8, Chettinadu fish curry and paratha (2 nos) 16 and Goan Fish Curry and Paratha (2 nos) 18.

Camaraderie-Litten, Preethy and Lalitha

Thattukada also offers spicy rice and beef curry and rice and fish curry and sells thattu dosa, uzhunnu vada, parippu vada, samosa, culet, egg puffs and banana fritters (pazham pori). The family lives in Mount Peter and Litten is ready to respond to any culinary service to the community of 1.5 lacs in Cairns considered to be the gateway to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

Simple Aussie dinner at a Cairns Malayali home

Recently Wales, UK-born Brian South, an officer of Australian police, married to  Kerala-born medical doctor Preethy George and her visiting mother Lalitha paid him a visit to savor Masaladosa. Brian a foodie himself who likes to experiment with dishes from different countries, liked Thattukada dishes and asked if Litten could cater to a group of Australian foodies gathering in his home during weekend.

Litten family’s Christmas Special

Litten was thrilled by the invitation and laid out an Indian curry dinner in style to the group called the Curry Club. They invariably liked the service and his fame is spreading. Many patrons are urging the couple to open an all-day South Indian Restaurant in Cairns. There are other joints offering Indian, Pakistani, Japanese or Chinese cuisines but not South Indian. Litten is confident that with his vast experience in catering to the English, the Kiwi and Aussie palates, he would make it.

Home away home-in coconut country Cairns

Litten sent me a clipping of an adulatory photo-feature headlined “Time for a Dosa the Good Life” that appeared in the local newspaper the Cairns Post. Written by Sandhya Ram who hails from Tamil Nadu in South India, it carries a beautiful pic of Litten and Ash at work snapped by Brenden Radke.

Litten, 51, is bidding for the right time. He dreams of a day when his sons will grow up, learn the trick of the hospitality trade with academic credentials and join him. Also dreams of a day when he establishes his own orchard or a dairy farm to spread his wings across the oceans’ curry coasts.  Not a far cry from the celebrated Curry Coast of Malabar. 
 

Flyer offering the flavors of South Indian cuisine