Has the house help called in sick for the third time this week? You could twiddle your thumbs, and invite bouts of guilt after ordering in that greasy takeaway or switch to a realistic alternative — because help (and good health) in the form of home-cooked cuisines is just around the corner! Gauging the preference for ghar ka khana over a regular restaurant takeaway, the trend of having a dabbawallah on speed dial is seeing a renaissance like none other for varied cuisines. All the more because even help seems elusive. We find out more...
“As much as we all love Instagramming a fancy spread, which is inviting enough to be indulged in, the charm of eating a home-cooked food is irreplaceable.
When you order in a home-food cuisine, apart from the fact that you’re being cautious even while eating out, you’re helping a small business grow. That personally is what eggs me on. Also, I would prefer home cooked cuisine any day over restaurant food, because the native cuisines are designed as per seasonality, compatibility, taste profiles of various ingredients, and macros required as per weather conditions in the country,” opines the city entrepreneur Astha Pawar. For Nitin Hajela, a food blogger, the idea of ordering in home cooked cuisines equals a more authentic feasting experience. "When everyday people hailing from a certain region make the food, there’s literally very little adulteration. So, brownie points for those!”
Interestingly, calling in home-cooked meals aren’t restricted only to those famished lunchtime sessions – but rather, is making its way into cocktail and kitty parties in the city. Speaking of the same, Khushboo Jain, a home-cooked food caterer who conjured up Just Meals, a home food venture that specialises in vegetarian North Indian and continental cuisines priced from '150 onwards, believes, “When I started out in April 2015, the idea was to offer bachelors a taste of maa ke haath ka khaana. But then, with people having realised how neither the quality or the taste is compromised, the trend of ordering in home cooked cuisines for various occasions has risen. I get about 30 orders a month from young adults who wish to infuse a bit of wholesome health into their parties in the form of home cooked foods. From Gujarati to Rajasthani and Indian to Mexican, I rustle up a myriad variety of dishes keeping the quality in mind.”
Asserting how lifestyle modification is the way forward, Monica Suri, who runs Moncuisine, a home-based foods venture which offers well-thought out meals starting at '220, concludes by stating, “It has become convenient to call in food, owing to which a lot of people are losing touch with Indian culture and the wholesomeness and the nutrition that well-cooked food offers. Through my venture, I try to fill that gap, by offering elaborate well-curated meals that are high on nutrition and have a rustic flavour associated to it. One thing I wish for people to understand is that, when you order in from a home caterer who’s probably bringing you food from a homemaker, you can be sure of the quality of the vegetables and oil used. Even corporate events have begun to offer meals that fill one’s tummy and not merely please your palate. But, to those wanting to venture into the home-cooked food business, remember, it’s only passion for cooking and your genuine concern about the health benefits of your food which will last you in the long run. The whole idea runs on the fact that it’s home food away from home. The minute you digress from that, be prepared for a nosedive!”
