Annie Cherian started “The Saturday Kitchen” to give people in Chennai the weekend reprise that they most needed-no cooking!!
The Saturday Kitchen offers dishes for takeaway once a week, either to be served right away or to be refrigerated for your busy week ahead. Why Saturday? “On a weekend, busy people have enough on their hands even without cooking. And for those who don’t mind buying and stocking for the week – Saturday is a good enough day.” Annie adds that it also gives her time to take special orders during the week for parties and events.
How did it start? “ Everyone in our family cooked tasty food and so did I. Once my children left home and there was no one to cook for, it was either “use it or lose it”. I didn’t want to lose it!” Annie adds, “I chanced upon a fancy looking take away with fancy prices and mediocre food. But it was teeming with customers.” People were willing to compromise for want of a better option. And so with that option, the idea for The Saturday Kitchen came to be.
The Saturday Kitchen comes up with an interesting menu every week. “The menu is a mix of what you would normally cook at home, complicated and time consuming preparations you long for but are unable to make, and traditional old recipes cooked the way your grandma did. That is why a lot of our cooking is done in heavy ‘Urulies’ over wood fire.” At present their menu covers north Indian and south Indian dishes – especially Malayali favourites – and desserts. They cater to both vegetarians and non-vegetarians. “We set the menu for the week on Monday and its put on our facebook page. People can order till Thursday evening. We cook only on orders. People who have not ordered on time can call on Saturday and take their chances. There might be extras.”
Annie believes in the simple powers of good and tasty food, which speaks for itself. “Satisfied customers bring their family, friends, neighbors and colleagues along. With our reasonable pricing and authentic tastes we expect to have a small group of discerning regulars. Since this is an extension of my own kitchen, food will not be mass produced.” To put it simply in her words, “If the food is good, there will be enough takers.”
I am sure we can all agree to that.
The Saturday Kitchen will soon be adding continental cuisine consisting of lasagne, pies, quiches, bakes, chicken wings, casseroles etc to their menu.
Do check visit their facebook page to see what’s cooking this Saturday.
The Saturday Kitchen is located at 41, Jaganathan street, Lakshmana Nagar, Kottivakkam, Chennai 600 041.
Landmarks are Valmiki Nagar, RTO South, New Beach Road, Kottivakkam EB and Nellai Nadar School.
Collection time is between 12 noon and 2 pm on Saturdays, or by appointment the same evening or Sunday morning.
You can email Annie at thesaturdaykitchen@gmail.comor call on +9198402 55430 if you have any queries.
There is a surprise for the readers of TYT. Place your order with The Saturday Kitchen for the coming week. One random order over Rs 250/- will get a dish worth Rs 60/- for free!! Offer valid till 15-March-2015. For residents of Chennai only.
Images Courtesy Of: The Saturday Kitchen
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