KOZHIKODE: With Onam festivities set to peak, restaurants are prepping for a flood of orders for the traditional sadya. Eateries are looking to cash in on the rush with some offering interesting and additional side dishes, and competitive rates, as more and more people turn to eating-out options, in the hope of cutting down on the hassle of cooking at home.
Many have even been taking advance bookings for takeaways and dine-ins from the first week of August. Online food delivery companies are being enticed with special festival commissions.
“Following the flood of requests, over 80% of hotels under the association have stopped taking bookings for Onasadya,” said Ashokan P, member of the Kozhikode chapter of the Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association.
“This is indeed a new trend, as more people now prefer to order food to spend more time with family and celebrate the festival in the best manner,” he said.
Ashokan’s restaurant has already taken over 3,000 Onasadya orders this season. This was less than 1,000 last year. “Our Onasadya is priced at Rs 2,100, excluding GST,” said the manager of one of the leading hotels in Kozhikode. We have already closed bookings for Thiruvonam (August 29), he said.
Major caterers have stopped taking orders. “We started serving Onasadha from August 20,” said Sukumaran Keloth, owner of Vijaya Catering. We have already cooked sadya for more than 2,000 people. We had predicted the huge demand and we deployed a special team in our kitchen, he said.
Prices in Ernakulam range from Rs 450 to Rs 2,000 per head. Though the trend now is mostly takeaway food, families continue to insist on having sadya at home. “Many bookings are for takeaway. Only a few customers prefer to dine-in,” said a management employee with Calicut Paragon restaurant in Kochi.
Most packages include 20 to 25 side dishes with a minimum of two payasam. Most hotels prefer pre-booking at least two days in advance to avoid shortages. “Booking for sadya on Thiruvonam day has already started. We prefer pre-bookings to avoid confusion, last-minute rush and shortage of items,” said an official with Brindhavan hotel.
Onasadya rates in Ernakulam
Holiday Inn - Rs 999+tax for 26 items, including three payasam
Taj Gateway - Rs 1,200+tax for 24 items
Le Meridien - Rs 1,500+tax for 30 items, including three payasam
Brindaavan - Rs 450+tax for 21 items with two payasam
Hotel Aryaas - Rs 495 for 24 dishes and two payasam
Paragon - Rs 499+tax for 26 items
Grand Hotel - Rs 800+tax for 27 items and two payasam
Grand Hyatt - Rs 2,000+tax for adults and Rs 1,000 for children for 38 dishes, including four payasam
Calicut Notebook - Rs 450 per person and Rs 1,100 for a family pack of 17 dishes and two payasam
Tellicherry Kitchen - Rs 499 for 22 items and two payasam
* Per head; vegetarian option
(With inputs from Kochi bureau)