Things turned murkier for Ankur Tekale when he lost his job with an event management company in the lockdown. “I worked with Wizcraft International, an event company in Gurugram and work was great till Covid happened. The events and the entertainment industry got badly affected by the pandemic and our company started cutting down on the teams,” the 29-year-old reminisces.
After much thinking and researching, the Maharashtrian lad from Gurugram, decided to start a food venture called SAOJI’S- The Authentic Flavours of Maharashtra that serves saoji cuisine from his home kitchen. He launched the venture on September 1 and got an order the same day. “I had already started advertising on social media. The menu is entirely nonvegetarian.
It takes three-four hours to prepare the food, so the orders have to be placed in advance. If you need the food delivered by evening, it has to be ordered in the afternoon,” he says, adding that he gets three-four orders per day, mostly group orders. Tekale is very much a one-man army, who buys groceries, cooks and delivers the food all by himself.
“Cooking is my passion and something that I have always enjoyed doing.” With many venturing out as home chefs after sharing the same fate as Tekale in the pandemic, what makes his venture stand out, he says, is that it’s the only one to serve authentic Maharashtrian food.
“We procure all the spices from Nagpur. I am looking for a local chef to keep the taste even more authentic,” says Tekale, who wants to tie up with delivery partners to streamline service. In time, he has understood the difference of working for someone and doing something of your own, and enjoys the latter. “It is better than a regular job because here I am my own boss.
I don’t have to worry about taking any pressure from ‘seniors’.” Tekale’s kitchen is at Sector 7 and at present only delivers in Gurugram. “I am looking for a small place from where I can start a restaurant or a mobile truck to popularise Maharashtrian cuisine. I also plan to add vegetarian items in the menu,” he concludes.
TO ORDER: +91 9582582066 or @saojisgurgaon (Instagram)