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After the evening program, a feast was served in "Parampara Hall". One of the items cooked -- apple crumble -- had become the centre of an on-going controversy. Apple crumble consisted of a layer of thinly sliced apples sprinkled with cinnamon and raisins, topped with a mixture of oats and brown sugar combined with melted butter. The whole thing was baked until the apples were soft and the topping crisp and golden. It was the oats that were the object of critical scrutiny. Some devotees thought that oats were "meant for horses" and thus were a "low-class" grain, not fit to be offered to the Deity or Srila Prabhupada. Despite the divergent opinions, Dvaipayana continued to cook apple crumble regularly.

This night, Dvaipayana had set aside a portion of each preparation cooked to offer to Srila Prabhupada. Srutakirti came down to the kitchen, collected the prasadam and brought it upstairs along with some hot milk. Not long after Srila Prabhupada had started eating, Srutakirti came rushing back down to the kitchen. "Prabhupada really likes that apple stuff," he said. "He just said to me, 'Bring me more of that crispy apples.'" Thus ended the oats controversy; apple crumble was on its way to stardom.


- From "The Great Transcendental Adventure" by HG Kurma Prabhu