WHITEFIELD : Friendship and a love of food have inspired three IIT-B graduates to start a delivery service in Whitefield.
Unlike the many dabba services that the city has to offer today, RedCooker makes food prepared by housewives and delicacies whipped up by chefs available at short-notice.
The venture is the brainchild of Amol Patil, Rohan Patnaik and Raghunandan B. “All three of us love street food,” says Amol Patil. “However, Rohan is the only real foodie who eats everything. I just wanted to work with my friends.”
The trio started brainstorming in February this year. The discussions led to practical research and, a month later, test runs with housewives. The dishes are priced between `100 and `200.
Initially, RedCooker was only meant to deliver home-cooked food by aggregating neighbourhood housewives.
However, after further study and one-on-one interviews with the city’s youngsters, the founders realised gourmet food was a hot favourite.
“The youth today have more dispensable cash than our generation. Relishing the best Western cuisines, food is becoming an integral and valuable part of their lives,” says Patnaik.
The service aims at satisfying the needs of the new generation, while not neglecting the connect with Indian home-cooked food.
The beta version was tested two months ago, after which it was launched this August to cater to Whitefield residents.
“The long term plan is to open in more localities. It’s an area-wise service,” explains Patnaik.
So far, the start-up has reached 300 app installations. Eight housewives are part of the team that serves home-cooked food.
“Some came forward through word of mouth. Others saw an advertisement placed in OLX,” says Patnaik.
The kitchen has two master chefs on board. With 25 years’ experience, Seethapati has worked with the Taj Group, Oberoi and even done a stint abroad.
“He chose to join us because of our innovation and diverse backgrounds,” says Patnaik.
The other expert is Rahul Bisht. After working with the Taj for five years, he made a move from the conventional kitchen to take on the challenging and changing online platform.
“Both these guys have an impressive network we draw from to procure ingredients. We have hired the best,” says Patil.
The three founders have a inclination for the novel, evident from their past work.
Raghunandan owns seven outlets of Liqourmart, a boutique liquor store in the city. Patil has experience working with Myntra and TaxiforSure. Patnaik is additionally an IIM graduate who has held top positions in Hindustan Uniliver, Red Bus and ColorPlus.
To place an order, download the app or log on to www.redcooker.com