“Oru paneer paratha line-ku varanum,” announces K Venugopal (70), as he quickly jots down the orders on his notepad. Walk into his home-cum-dinning hall and you are greeted with a strong hint of toasting parathas — a signature dish for which customers throng his shop regularly. Venugopal is a name to reckon with in Velachery. For, his home mess — popularly known as Arun Caterers — has been providing tasty yet healthy meals and snacks for over 20 years now.
“Most of my dishes are oil-free and I use very little masala. Today, people prefer homemade food to dining at fancy restaurants for reasons of health. Which is why, the shop is a hit among senior citizens and kids,” says Venugopal, while sipping his evening chai and answering phone calls from Zomato.
With over 35 years of experience as an executive chef in star hotels, Venugopal was contemplating his retirement sometime in the early 2000s. By his own admission, he could have settled and had a comfortable life. But he chose not to, when he met a bunch of IT employees, who requested him to cook meals for them. That prompted Venugopal to establish his own little mess, in an attempt to provide home-cooked and healthy food. “I started out with a simple buffet lunch — chapati with side, sambar rice, curd rice, koottu, poriyal and dessert — for ₹20. Mine’s a limited business and not many people know about us. But the response from customers has been heartening,” he says, adding, “Most of my customers are regulars who have been visiting the shop for years.”
Venugopal’s shop is popularly known as Arun Caterers | Photo Credit: M_Karunakaran
Till date, Venugopal cooks all the dishes. His wife V Kalpana, manages the space along with him. At any given day, the couple wakes up at 5 am and makes the necessary arrangements for the day, after which breakfast is served from 8 am to 10 am. The routine is followed with lunch and dinner. Their association has given ‘#couplegoals’ to customers and Venugopal jokes that his wife is the stakeholder.
“Even in the document, it’s written that she’s the proprietor and I’m the supervisor,” he laughs. Apart from dealing with her husband’s temperament, Kalpana takes care of the parcels and helps with cooking. “I would love to cook more often, but my age has become an issue,” says Venugopal, who has employed over 10 women from economically-disadvantaged backgrounds. Very recently, Venugopal revamped his menu with attractive dishes. His glass pudding — made of leftover coconut milk — is easily the best of the lot. The menu ranges from appalam samosa, cream caramel to palakottai vadai — all under ₹100.
He constantly receives good feedback from his regulars. But one that he dearly remembers is this: “One of the customers said, ‘I came to your shop when I was a student; then as a married man and now, as a grandad.’ That really made my day.”
Venugopal isn’t aware of Google reviews, although he frequently gets orders on Zomato and Swiggy. “Everyone’s ordering online these days and yes, we too need to catch up with the trend. The food ordering services have affected my everyday footfall,” he rues, adding, “But if there’s one shop that survives primarily on word of mouth, it has to be mine.”
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