DJ Turns Chef, Ensures Over 100 Elderly Get The Food They Need During Lockdown

While many food delivery apps exist, is there one that caters food explicitly based on someone’s taste? To address this question, Arun S, who is from Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram, has started a service that prepares food for the elderly, in accordance with their tastes and requirements.

“We may like spicy, salty food made of rich cream, but our parents might not be able to eat it, as they could have difficulties in consuming them due to age-related illnesses,” he tells The Better India.

Arun, who runs the business with his family, has been a professional disk jockey (DJ) for a decade. He says that while he always possessed culinary skills, he never dreamed of taking them to the next level. During the lockdown, like many, he also tried out recipes at home and worked hard on his cooking skills, which proved fruitful.

From turntables to the kitchen table

“I would help my mother in the kitchen, but was never serious about my culinary skills. As the lockdown forced bars and restaurants to shut, covers were also put on turntables and speakers at these areas. But I turned to a different kind of table. As days passed, I became famous in the local area for my noodles and meat dishes. I used to distribute the recipes to my neighbours,” Arun says.

Tasting his recipes, friends and family encouraged him to take his passion for cooking seriously. The DJ, who also runs an event-management company, started preparing more dishes on his rooftop, and posted the recipes as his WhatsApp status. He began receiving over a 100 orders a week.

Arun’s Sathya Foodz was formed in June. The business has obtained FSSAI license and works as a cloud kitchen. From his WhatsApp statuses, the recipes are also shared on Sathya Foodz’s Facebook page.

“We receive individual orders as well as orders for big events like wedding parties. The first birthday order we got was for an elderly man. His daughter, who was from Bengaluru, ordered a cake and meals for her parents. The customer had certain requirements for the food, as her parents were really old,” Arun says.

He adds, “The couple urged me to join for lunch, as their kids couldn’t be there due to the pandemic. From then, I started serving the elderly couple according to their taste. Not only that, but I also ensured there was no delay in delivery, as they might need to consume medicines before eating.”

Sathya Foodz’s famous dishes include chicken fry pollichathu, kappa-kanthari chammanthi, beef ularthu, fish curries and chicken perattu. Their prices start at Rs 350.
“I get a monthly turnover of Rs 1.5 lakh from selling my homemade food,” Arun says. “In a month, I have served almost 200 family members. I also make sure to provide more quantities of food to my customers.”

A family affair

Arun’s parents, who are retired, and his wife also help him in the kitchen. “Without their support, I would have been helpless,” he says.

At 5 am, Arun goes to the market to buy vegetables and meat for the kitchen. Arun’s father helps out with cleaning mats and packing food. His mother is an expert at making sweet dishes and vegetable curries, and his wife helps in all the chopping and cleaning required around the kitchen. Arun prepares all the non-vegetarian dishes, and has hired one worker to help in the kitchen.

“As a DJ, I always had the opportunity to connect with people, and now as a chef, I get to do the same. I wish to continue these together in the future too,” he says.

(Edited by Divya Sethu)

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