When Poornima S. moved from Delhi to Chennai to work in an IT company, food was a concern. Her stomach was too weak for spicy food and eating at the canteen every day didn’t sound like a great idea. On a colleague's suggestion, she tried the caterer who served most of the employees at the office.
“For Rs.60, he gives a three-tier tiffin with dal, dry vegetables and rice. Parathas and theplas are also served on certain days. The move worked for me,” says Poornima.
In Chennai, there are several such catering service providers who supply food to corporate offices. They are either hired by the company to serve food to all the employees or by individuals who get the food delivered for them.
These food packages cost anywhere between Rs. 40 to Rs. 200, depending on what is served.
Hansraj Mandal, who is originally from Bihar worked for a wedding caterer for years. He then decided to strike out on his own and serve home food to office goers, and the entrepreneurial idea clicked. Hansraj, a Royapettah resident, now serves home-cooked lunches to offices in Mount Road, Mylapore and Royapettah.
“I supply food to people within a two to three kilometres radius from my home. If there is a bulk order, I serve in other areas too,” he says. The food is cooked at home by him and his family. They serve 60 to 70 lunch boxes every day.
“I have never advertised and it’s only by word of mouth that people have come to know of my service.”
Hansraj can be reached at 9840340322.
The need for quality lunches has inspired many home cooks to explore corporate catering. Tasneem Ayub runs a popular Facebook Page ‘Tasneem Ayub’s Ammees Kitchen’ which has around 1,900 followers. Her biriyanis have several die-hard followers and her page is filled with pictures of exotic dishes that she prepares and sells.
Tasneem’s workstation is located at Defence Colony, and she plans to serve lunch boxes to corporates. Tasneem has chosen the name Ammee’s Lunch Box for the service.
“We aim at a proper balance of carbohydrates, proteins and vitamins in every combo we offer. It will be home food cooked with health in mind. Since it’s from Ammee’s (mother’s) kitchen, hygiene will be a priority,” she says.
There are also online services that make planning impromptu office lunches easier. People just have to log onto tangybox.com to place their orders and the food will be delivered at their doorstep.
“Our kitchen is located at Velachery which is closer to most of the IT parks on the IT Corridor. There is a feature on the site that provides visitors information on the availability of home delivery services in their areas, on typing an area code,” says Praveen Chidambaram, founder of Tangy Box.
