The eating out experience has been replaced by home catering pop-upsGet spoon fed

Neha Saini

Work shifted online, entertainment shifted to our smartphones and dining out has been replaced with ordering in. The year 2020 will be remembered as a game changer, especially for the food industry. And Amritsar, a foodie’s paradise, is staring at the long road ahead when it comes to normalising street food and eating out.

As the famous lassi at Ahuja or the crunchy puris at Kanha or that humble neighbourhood rehriwala that served the best tikka chaap in the world are not catering to our taste buds anymore, the city of foodies has turned to next best option—homemade food.

If the lockdown was all about ‘Mom-made’ food, the post-lockdown world seems more of homemade food business. As big restaurants and food chains are still out of business due to COVID-19, the small home delivery-based food pop-ups and take-aways are re-inventing the joys of eating restaurant jaisa khaana.

Healthy & tasty

Now, the lockdown introduced some new members of the household to the kitchen. While everyone was enjoying their 15-minutes of fame as a food vlogger or insta-chef, this family of traditional home chefs was re-inventing themselves with delivery of delicious Amritsari delights.

Arundeep Singh, known home chef in Amritsar whose mother TK Singh was one of first home bakers in the city, along with his son Karanvir Singh, came up with an idea of home cooking popular dishes and making them available on order.

“Amritsaris are passionate foodies and COVID-19 lockdown has wreaked havoc on the small and medium level food business in the city. Since dining out or street food binging is now out of question, home cooked food delivery system offers the same food experience, only healthier and safer,” says Arundeep.

Their venture, Eat-a-licious, was the idea of the young food entrepreneur Karanvir. “He was supposed to join a big food chain before the lockdown. But after the lockdown was imposed, we did not want him to leave us and so we asked him to stay back. But being a food innovator, he came up with the idea of home cooking service.”

They prepare eight to nine dishes every day, decided according to the orders they receive a day prior. “Without any domestic help, all of us have been engaged in the process of preparing the meals,” says Arundeep. That means a lot of chopping and cleaning, every day.

They do zero-touch delivery and also prepare food from fresh produce picked up every day. “We make sure that the ingredients we use are picked up by one of us personally and they are not stale,” stresses Arundeep.

It’s a cakewalk

Jyotika Vohra is another home chef, who has been running a houseful of orders, literally. Her family, including her two daughters and husband, has been busy running the kitchen and delivering orders since the lockdown was imposed.

“With the lockdown, the pop-up home cooks will replace the street food at least till things become normal again,” says Jyotika, who cooks all the food herself. With a brand, Cakewalk, that she has built over last 12 years, Jyotika makes chutneys, bakery items, jams and Indian and international cuisine. She takes orders a day prior and that makes procuring ingredients easier. “Home cooked food doesn’t compromise with taste, health and is safe and that’s the future of food industry, as of now. We offer weekend specials that includes a Kashmiri food this time with palak chicken, kashmiri khattey baigan and shahi angoori rabri,” informs Mantika Vohra, Jyotika’s daughter.

A lot of these home catering businesses are also a great family bonding exercise, as Jyotika says that her daughter Mantika, who is a law student, has been helping with her brand’s social media account and food photography. “The entire family is engaged in this business.” she shares.

Packaged delight

Sukriti Khanna, a food vlogger and freelancer, has been running a small gourmet kitchen from home since the lockdown. With a list of packaged products, including chutneys, marmalades and order-based food service, she says that the trend of hygienic, fresh, home cooked food is here to stay. “Despite the lockdown, the demand for restaurant style food is there. It’s a great opportunity for small, home-grown chefs and bakers to cater to people’s need for safe food that can also be classified as packaged fine dining experience.”