Meet Home-Chefs Who Cooked Up A Storm As COVID Halted Eating Out

The Quint spoke to four home-chefs and bakers who are cooking their way through the pandemic.

(Photo: Shruti Mathur/TheQuint)

Video Editor: Deepthi Ramdas

The coronavirus lockdown has changed people’s relationship with their kitchens. Some entered it for the first time, determined to learn the basics; others baked banana bread to stave off their anxiety; across the country, women juggled full-time work, children, and the responsibility to feed every member of the family. Some grew to love the kitchen, while others began to detest theirs.

Amid the sea of changes over the last few months, ‘professional’ home-chefs turned the lockdown into an opportunity. The Quint spoke to four such home-chefs and bakers who are cooking their way through the pandemic and satiating the cravings of their customers.

Meet Karan Nagpaul – a jeweller by profession who now identifies himself as a “passionate” home-chef. While he asserts that he has always been fond of cooking and serving his near and dear ones, the idea of serving a larger section of people did not occur to him until the lockdown – that too on the insistence and encouragement of his friends.

In early May, Nagpaul started an Instagram page, where he started undertaking orders for chicken korma and rotis. Since then, both his menu and clientele have expanded.

“Initially for 40-50 days, I was just chilling, relaxing. It was all about beer, Netflix and cooking for friends and family. All thanks to my friends, they forced me into this. ‘You are really good. Why don’t you do it, this can be a second career,’ and so on. I am very much thankful to them.”

Karan Nagpaul

Ask Nagpaul about his style of cooking and he says he “simply loves making what he loves to eat”. His cuisine varies from kormas to butter chickens, rotis, burgers, pasta and pad thai.

“We try and experiment with the menu as much as possible and let people know about the same on our page. Based on the orders received and those that have to go out for delivery soon, I start my day. Before I started this, I wouldn’t call myself a morning person. Now I get up early to cook every day and it keeps me going,” said Nagpaul, speaking to The Quint.

Juggling Studies, Corporate Job & Baking

Home bakers Esha Shah and Shelendra also did not think they would start their respective baking business during the lockdown.

A BBA student from a prominent college in Chennai, Esha says her “life has changed” after starting ‘Doughlicious Batter.’ From baking one or two cakes a month, she now bakes three-four cakes every day.

“The response has been very overwhelming so far. I went from baking one or two cakes a month to making two, three or even four cakes in a day. I have learnt to calm myself down and prepare myself mentally when I have long days. Because only when I am calm and composed, I get my best work done.”

Esha

Esha has been interested in baking ever since she was a child – when she first attended a workshop conducted by a friend’s mother. Just about a year ago, she attended another workshop where she learnt to bake bread, muffins, among others. Since then, she’s been researching about baking and experimenting with what to put on her menu. The lockdown, however, accelerated the process of converting her passion into profession.

Echoing her is a Shelendra, who has a full-time corporate job in Bengaluru. Before the lockdown, he was known in the city’s circles for hosting food pop-ups through Conosh, a platform that facilitates home cooks. The idea of selling his baked goods occurred to him only when those who used to visit his pop-ups asked if he’s delivering on his Instagram handle @FullBellyBliss.

But handling a full-time job and the multitude of orders has not been easy.

“Of course, because of lockdown life has changed quite a bit, and I am working from home. I have a full-time working corporate job. Now, I am juggling between both work hours and baking. I mix the cake batter, keep it in the oven and get back to my work.”

Shelendra

‘Home Cooks Are Here to Stay’

Assurance of a home-cooked meal and the shutting down of restaurants made more people opt for and order via home-chefs during the lockdown period. But as Sharmila Sinha, a resident of Delhi-NCR and a home-chef for the last seven years, says, “There’s nothing new about it.”

“Being a home-chef has been delightful experience, something that I would say. Being a professional home-chef is more happiness because it gives you money,”  laughs Sharmila, who specialises in Bengali food with an Awadhi twist.

She says that long before the pandemic, she knew of people who would not eat restaurant food but for those from home-chefs.

“I know of some people who won’t even eat a samosa from a restaurant or shop. They would eat different cuisines from different home cooks but never from a restaurant. The pandemic has strengthened this assurance as people know that the food is being cooked in someone’s personal kitchen,” says Sinha.

But pandemic or not, thanks to their loyal customer base and the expansive varieties they have to offer, India’s home-chef culture is here to stay.