CHENNAI: For the past two years, there has been a buzz during the Margazhi season. One made by the flavourful thanga thambalam that has had many a foodie throng the sabha canteen where Arusuvai Arasu caterers have set shop. With this offering, the famed catering service from Chennai has been giving potential clients a taste of what’s hot on their menu.
The fame and appreciation have been building over the past 75 years. Known for its filter coffee and traditional South Indian dishes, Arusuvai Arasu Pvt Ltd has carved a niche for itself, garnering clients from across India. Recently, they were invited by businessman Mukesh Ambani to serve idlis, dosais, and vadais at the pre-wedding function of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant. At the grand affair held in Jamnagar, several celebrities from across industries savoured their sumptuous servings.
Riding high on the feat, S Kamesh, director of the venture, walks us through 75 years of dealing with luxury and corporate events, big-scale weddings, and sabha canteens by prioritising guests’ preferences and how they have become experts in crisis management.
“Crisis management is the biggest challenge in the catering industry. You have to satisfy your customer and their guests. Each guest is different. We have to understand what they want and provide that in the best way possible,” says Kamesh, adding that he learnt the skills from his grandfather N Natarajan and father N Sridhar.
Creating a legacy
The catering services gained its name when former president VV Giri at his daughter’s wedding bestowed the founder N Natarajan with the title. Describing the origins of the business Kamesh says, “Arusuvai Arasu was started by my grandfather, N Natarajan, who is from a small town near Kumbakonam. He moved to Chennai from Kumbakonam and worked at the Geeta Cafe on Mount Road. He met former President VV Giri while working there when he was planning his daughter’s wedding. His motivation and well wishes prompted the formation of Arusuvai Arasu. When my grandfather started the business, it was a total of just six-eight employees. They were family members, brothers, and cousins coming together to do the business. The industry was unorganised.”
Now, they have 250-300 employees. Gradually, Natarajan’s elder son, N Kumar, joined the business and introduced North Indian cuisine to the general catering business and South Indian marriage ceremonies in Tamil Nadu. When Natarajan’s second son joined the business, they opted for bigger events including destination weddings and in 2016 Kamesh took over the family legacy. Over the years, Kamesh says, Arusuvai evolved as a brand. “We have done events in Dubai, France, a sit-down leaf service in Bali for a destination wedding, and so on. We have been catering for the Ambani family for almost six-seven years. We are their official catering brand from south India. The association began when we catered for Mukesh Ambani sir’s sister Nina Kothari’s daughter’s wedding,” he shares.
Keeping up with the game
A steaming bowl of rasam, flavoursome sambhar, along with rice, and hot brewed filter coffee are their must-have signature dishes, according to Kamesh. “We also experiment with world cuisine and everything is purely vegetarian. To ensure the authenticity of the dishes, we find chefs from the region and assign them the duty of cooking. Thus, authenticity is guaranteed and innovations can also happen through dishes.”
In large-scale weddings, there is also a huge possibility of food going to waste. Focusing on that, Kamesh and his team consciously brought in a solution — to do production every two to three hours according to the guests. “We also tie up with orphanages and other organisations to ensure that the food doesn’t go to waste,” he adds.
Though it has just been seven years since Kamesh took over the role as a director, he has been in the industry since childhood as he grew up watching his family serving people good food. Sharing the takeaways from his father and grandfather, he says, “I learnt the dedication towards the work and clients from them. They understand their customers and have a good bond with the guests. Explaining the dishes to the guests and understanding their culture helps improve ourselves. We have constantly tried to bring innovations be it in the dishes menu or in the way of presentation while taking feedback from people.”
Over the years, Kamesh says that the competition in the industry has become stronger while asserting that it is also healthy. “I have seen young engineering graduates making it into the catering industry and a lot of people also seek our advice and help on how to better their business. The key is to keep understanding people, experimenting with dishes, and staying authentic to your core,” he signs off.