New app to satisfy your craving for home-cooked food in Kochi

PinStove, an app that links home kitchens with hungry customers, is for those who love homely food.
Aneesh V K  and R S Jayamohan, who run the India operations of  PinStove  app
Aneesh V K and R S Jayamohan, who run the India operations of PinStove app

KOCHI: Thanks to the ever-increasing army of foodies, revolutions are a day-to-day business in culinary sector. With technology to spice up the mix, everyday has something exciting in store, be it a home-delivery app or a recipe  website. And, latest to join the bandwagon is PinStove, an app-based home food delivery service.

The motto of PinStove App, based in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, is  simple enough, to satiate our urge for home-cooked food. The easy-to-use app  links home kitchens in the city to hungry customers.

“It is fully automated. Home chefs or PinChefs, who register with us can  post the menu with the details. The customers or PinDiners can place the order from this list and pay for it via credit or debit card. The food will be delivered quickly and reliably to any local address by a PinStove driver,” says Shameer Nazeer, operations manager, PinStove.

The app was launched in Thiruvananthapuram in January. It began operations in Kochi by February and will expand to Bengaluru by May.
The makers of PinStove are UK-based Baiju Mohammed, Bhagavan Das and Harry Croydon. The operations for the app in India are helmed by Aneesh V K and  Jayamohan R S.

According to the makers, the app is primarily aimed at providing a platform  for women who have a passion and talent for cooking with spare time in hand. The flexibility of working from their homes and earning for that is a way to empower them, says Shameer.

Those who are interested in cooking can register with PinStove app. Once they are logged into the app, the executives from PinStove reach their homes for quality inspection. Once that is cleared, the team seek details from the chef to apply for FSSAI license. There, however, is no such contract that binds these chefs to the company. The PinChefs can opt to be active or passive whenever they want to.

As of now, there are over 200 PinChefs registered in Thiruvananthapuram and over 77 in Kochi. However every chef will be subjected to a rating system. A chef with more than three bad rating will be warned and subsequently removed.

However, for PinChefs like Deepika Kamnani, this is a wonderful opportunity. “The best part is the I can take a call. There is no compulsion and I can cook with passion. They give us the time and the pick up is prompt too. It is a good revenue source for me,” says Deepika, based in Thiruvananthapuram.

As of now, anybody within seven kilometres of Panampilly Nagar in Kochi can place an order in PinStove for their favourite dish. “In Thiruvananthapuram, we cover the entire city while in Kochi, we are planning to launch another  point at Kakkanad,” says Shameer.
The delivery guys of PinStove, or the PinPilots will be alerted once the order has been placed. The delivery will be made to the customer within the stipulated time.

The makers say their service is welcomed by many elders too. Says Raghu Narayanan: “My parents are old and they can’t always cook. Initially, we used to opt for hotel food, but it lacked quality. PinStove, however, is tasty since its home cooked. It is economical and prompt too.”

As of now, PinStove has snacks, breakfast, lunch and dinner items on its menu. Liquids, including beverages, are not supplied now due to lack of proper containers. At present, PinStove takes over 100 orders on a daily basis in Thiruvananthapuram and over 70 in Kochi, including both corporate and personal orders.

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The New Indian Express
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