What can be done? Ne māmā che kānā māmā. "If there is no uncle, one blind uncle is all right." So the matter is now clear.
Room Conversation -- December 12, 1976, Hyderabad:
Prabhupāda: No uninitiated person should cook. Brāhmaṇa cook.
Mahāṁśa: What about professional cooks?
Prabhupāda: Real brāhmaṇa.
Mahāṁśa: Professional cooks?
Prabhupāda: Profes...? They are brāhmaṇas.
Mahāṁśa: Yes, but they... Even though they are brāhmaṇas, they have this habit of smoking, and if we try to find a professional cook who doesn't smoke, it is very difficult.
Prabhupāda: Hm. As far as possible, our men should cook, a professional man who is in good habit, who has promised that they will not do this smoking. We have to manage somehow.
Mahāṁśa: As far as our devotees' cooking, it's practically impossible. We have tried so hard. They just can't do it. Yesterday two of the boys tried to help, and the rice was not cooked because it was not done and he burned his leg. The water fell on his leg, and he couldn't handle the pots properly and he got... Now the poor boy, he is suffering. He's got a wounded leg, one of the German boys, the one with long hair. So our devotees, they are not... This boy, Bengali boy, Divid (?), he's good. He can do it but he needs at least four or five men to help.
Tejas: He was a professional cook but he's not... He can't do it himself. He needs too much...
Mahāṁśa: He needs at least four people to help. It's a big cooking, so it's also very difficult for one man to do and nobody wants to help the cooking because it's so hot, the smoke goes in the eyes and it's very troublesome. So nobody wants to help in the cooking, devotees.
Prabhupāda: Not willing. They are not willing.
Mahāṁśa: They're not willing to help in the kitchen because it is very hot, very hard, the eyes get burned, things like that. So this one Bengali boy, he's a very good cook. He can do it very nicely but he wants help. And if no one helps, then he refuses to cook. And if you press him, then he runs away. Yesterday he tried to run away four times because we were trying to press him.
Prabhupāda: No, no, cooking alone, it is not possible. So that you have to do. Find out some men. Cooperate. Otherwise how it is possible?
Haṁsadūta: Yes, therefore I'm asking you about hired people, whether hired people are good. In my experience...
Prabhupāda: So if they are, if our men not available, then you must hire, hire people. But not these carpenters or like that.
Mahāṁśa: No, we should get professional cooks who are really good, like this man who cooked today.
Prabhupāda: Yes. And this man is coming. He can bring.
Mahāṁśa: Yes, he himself will come. But he will have the habit of smoking and I think we can at the most regulate his smoking. "If you want to smoke, you go somewhere far away and smoke and before you start cooking you must wash yourself, have a bath, and then do the cooking."
Prabhupāda: Yes. What can be done? Ne māmā che kānā māmā (?) "
If there is no uncle, one blind uncle is all right." So the matter is now clear. You do it and develop it.