The making of a home chef

HYDERABAD :  Thinking of setting a home kitchen? With the Covid-19 pandemic making dining in more popular than dining out, enthusiastic cooks in the city have opened up their kitchens to deliver homemade delicacies across cuisines and genres. In this piece, we ask a few home kitchen owners about the expenses involved, their teams and their delivery models.

Treat Your Sweet Tooth by Nyla
Nyla is a one-woman army. She not only makes the desserts, but delivers them too. “Treat Your Sweet Tooth by Nyla started on May 22 during the holy month of Ramadan this year. My specialty is phirni, which are available in different flavours like saffron, litchi and mango. It’s a traditional Hyderabadi recipe. I am open to taking huge orders for events and also only one small matka. I can supply upto 400 desserts per day,” she says.

Investment and team: I spent `4 lakh in setting up my kitchen, `2-3 lakh on my website, publicity and PR packages. I also had to buy a car to deliver the items, which cost me around `4 lakh. I make the orders myself, but if there is a big order, I have people to help me out. Delivery: I deliver my desserts all over Hyderabad in my car. On some occasions, I have used Swiggy Genie. Profits: The reason for my success is a marginal profit margin. I do it out of love and not for the profit. I want people to know where to find an authentic Hyderabadi phirni.

The Kitchen Table
Roshni Nathan, who started The Kitchen Table in July this year, says that their menu is a potpourri of their favourites from across the country. “We are also starting a sub-brand called Maikai (which means good health) where we would be serving healthy food. It will include packages for  people living with diabetes, high blood pressure, and also for elderly people,” says Roshni.

Investment and team: We started this venture with basic requirements that cost about `5 lakh. We bought extra refrigeration storage, cooking range, commercial oven etc. We also spent on packaging material, maintaining enough stock of provisions, tie-up with vendors etc. My team consists of my husband Errol Nathan, my son Ruhaan Nathan who helps between his classes, and me. We are trying our best to avoid the virus, and we don’t want anything to meddle with our service standards.

Delivery: We have not tied up with any delivery partners yet. All the tasks, including shopping, cooking, delivery etc., are done by my husband and me, as we are trying to keep all processes safe and hygienic. We are offering free delivery for a minimum order of `1,000 within five km radius of Banjara Hills, beyond which we either deliver for large orders or ask for a minimum delivery charge. We also ask the customer to pick up via Swiggy Genie and Dunzo apps.

Profits: Our venture is yet to reach the break-even point. The expenditure has been higher during this pandemic as there are fewer choices of vendors due to safety issues. We prefer high-end supermarkets to ensure top quality and freshness. We hope that this pandemic ends soon, and after that, we would like to tie up with different vendors to give wider options.

PeekNCook
Moumita Ghosh’s culinary journey started when she was asked to cater for a marriage lunch in 2018. After that, there was no looking back. “I specialise in Bengali and North-Indian cuisines. I have been getting new customers since the pandemic started. I never faced any dearth of customers as I have never compromised on the quality and quantity of food. My old patrons are still ordering from my kitchen for every special occasion,” she says.

Investment and team: 
I started with an investment capital of `50, 000. I had to buy big vessels to make biryani as Kolkata Biryani is my hot-selling item. I also had to buy a big stove top, and separate woks for vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. I run my kitchen single-handedly.

Delivery:  We deliver in Kondapur, Kukatpally, Manikonda and Nallagandla through Swiggy Genie, Dunzo, Uber Connect and Wefast.

Profits: I have been an avid food blogger. The idea of a venture took shape in my head as I I started receiving numerous offers to cook after I catered for that lunch in 2018. I have now reached 8-10 percent profit margin.

— Kakoli Mukherjee  kakoli_mukherjee@ newindianexpress.com  @KakoliMukherje2