MANGALURU: Mornings for these five techies is a tad different, one may call it spicy. They discard their ‘mouse’ and turn to fish! Tying an apron, these masterchefs churn out a new fish recipe or recreate their old secrets in their kitchen. At about 5 am, they begin grinding the masala with no preservatives or colour, a perfect blend for a large number of customers.
For the love of fish, Vignesh Kini, Hemanth Karkera, Sachin P K, Sachin Poojary and Shishir Samani (all in their 30s except one) got together to start an eatery — Fish Garage in Chilimbi, Urwa, in the heart of the city — where they have developed their own recipes. While their jobs at an MNC from 9 am to 6 pm provide for a comfortable living, these youths put in their resources to indulge in this new-found passion — cooking. Just nine months into the trade, this first generation (self-made) chefs, now boast of repeated customers, many from outside the city. What’s more heartening is their effort to strike at the Mangalurean tastebuds though they are from different cities.
The youths began their experiments with sea food when they stayed together in the city while working for the same firm. They hit upon the idea of cooking when they found that lack of hygiene and healthy food, especially seafood which they all relished, in some eateries were a cause for concern. “There were plenty of food joints. But, we wanted sea food, especially fish, that we could have on a regular basis —without colour or added preservatives,” they say.
They discovered their culinary skills and began experimenting with recipes. During this time, these techies began putting their skills of systematic production to good use — they kept a tab on the ingredients they put in the pan, and made scrupulous notes on the quantities needed to make a perfect dish. “We eat 365 days at our eatery. The same healthy and home quality food is served on the plates to our customers,” they say.
“Ironically, our signature dish — Fish green masala — was born accidentally,” says founder Vignesh Kini who hails from Guruwayankere. “We were trying out a chicken item and then used the masala for the fish that was stocked up.When we tasted it, we knew we were going to try it again. Our habit of measuring each ingredient helped us in improving the dishes,” he says.
Experimenting became a little affordable for these youths who would capitalise on available resources. “Vignesh’s brother, who owns a boat would send us fish, and we managed our initial days of trial and error with that,” says Hemant Karkera who hails from Puttur. They first cooked for themselves, then shared their dishes with others in office and based on the feedback, continued experimenting,” says Hemant.
While they have completed almost two years of experimenting, they can whip up a neat spread of fish items Gowda Saraswat Brahmin (GSB) style, Bunts and Keralite (polished) style.
While trying to keep the taste local, one of the main challenges for these youths is using coconut oil. “While coconut oil is used in traditional coastal dishes, fish lovers, however, may not be fans of the oil,” says Vignesh about hurdles in upscaling. However, the team is looking forward to taking the coastal cuisine to other Tier 2 cities in the state that may have a scope for growth.
During a visit to the Fish Garage, one may find one of the techies shuffling between customers and their staff. “Nine of the 11 people working at the outlet know how to make the fish dishes,” says Vignesh. The staff has undergone months of training and are still undergoing training to update their culinary skills.
The menu has an addition every two months, and the young chefs have a dozen more up their sleeve which they plan on revealing soon.They visit the outlet each day for lunch and dinner, and continue their experiments with food .And they are proving that too many cooks don’t spoil the broth!