‘I want people to learn about regional cultures’
WHAT: Samaas delivers home-cooked regional cuisine. Right now, it uses
chefs who cook Malvani and Bengali food in the traditional style at
their homes. It plans to add Puneri vegetarian Maharashtrian cuisine to
its menu. It delivers free of charge to customers from Bandra to Vile
Parle, charging a fee for other areas in the city. People can call in to
order.
Tanmay
Degwekar wants to make home-cooked traditional food, such as the
Malvani bombil fry (right), more accessible to Mumbaiites.
Tanmay
Degwekar wants to make home-cooked traditional food, such as the
Malvani bombil fry (right), more accessible to Mumbaiites.
WHO: Tanmay Degwekar, 29, founded the company. He worked with a
management consulting firm for four years before quitting to start his
venture. Degwekar holds an engineering degree from the University of
Mumbai and an MBA from Symbiosis, Pune.
WHEN: He started the service last month.
HOW: Degwekar was always interested in food. At his previous job, he had worked with a few clients in the food sector, and through this, he got some idea of how things worked. Before setting Samaas up, he conducted market research to see if his idea had takers.
WHEN: He started the service last month.
HOW: Degwekar was always interested in food. At his previous job, he had worked with a few clients in the food sector, and through this, he got some idea of how things worked. Before setting Samaas up, he conducted market research to see if his idea had takers.
After deciding it did, Degwekar made a detailed business plan,
tested many home cooks before zeroing in on the two he has on board. He
tried their food on friends and family before launching the service.
WHY: Degwekar found that while there are many home chefs who cook authentic dishes, the city appeared to not have an umbrella service for a variety of ■ regional fare. “You always remember that superb mustard-rich fish you ate at your Bengali neighbour’s house or that patrani macchi your Parsi friend’s mother cooked for you,” he says. “You may scour restaurants to find those tastes again, but mostly the food isn’t as authentic as what someone who has grown up eating and cooking that dish can make.”
Degwekar says he makes absolutely no changes to the original recipes in a bid to cater to local taste buds. For instance, restaurants usually serve a sweet version of the Begali chingri
malaikari, a prawn curry, while the traditional recipe, which Samaas serves, is pungent. He also wants to keep the food fresh, so nothing is pre-cooked.
Degwekar wants to use food as a way help people learn about different cultures. Samaas has one menu that changes weekly, and a daily one that he uploads, depending on the ingredients that the cooks can buy fresh on that day.
WHY: Degwekar found that while there are many home chefs who cook authentic dishes, the city appeared to not have an umbrella service for a variety of ■ regional fare. “You always remember that superb mustard-rich fish you ate at your Bengali neighbour’s house or that patrani macchi your Parsi friend’s mother cooked for you,” he says. “You may scour restaurants to find those tastes again, but mostly the food isn’t as authentic as what someone who has grown up eating and cooking that dish can make.”
Degwekar says he makes absolutely no changes to the original recipes in a bid to cater to local taste buds. For instance, restaurants usually serve a sweet version of the Begali chingri
malaikari, a prawn curry, while the traditional recipe, which Samaas serves, is pungent. He also wants to keep the food fresh, so nothing is pre-cooked.
Degwekar wants to use food as a way help people learn about different cultures. Samaas has one menu that changes weekly, and a daily one that he uploads, depending on the ingredients that the cooks can buy fresh on that day.
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