VILLUPURAM: M Padmanaban had been a professional cook for the 25 years but nothing gave him a heart full of satisfaction like cooking for Covid patients during the pandemic.
“I know they are suffering in the quarantine centers with ill-health so I put out love and prayers in the food. My family members were scared of me working amidst the lockdown especially in the second wave but I went with the will of God and am extremely happy to have cooked tonnes of food for the weak and suffering,” said the 50-year-old.
Meanwhile, a senior cook M Shanmugam (63), said he wanted everyone to heal and return home safe which is why he cooked for the patients. “Covid and any other pandemic that is killing thousands of people must go away. I will cook for even a thousand people per day if that’s what it takes to help” Shanmugam said.
Shanmugam and Padmanaban are the senior cooks while they are assisted by four boys. The team of cooks and helpers from Balaji Bhavan hotel at Vikravandi have been supplying food to patients in quarantine during the lockdown.
The team of seven cooks and helpers managed to provide food to at least 25,000 patients between February and June. The two cooks would reach the hotel as early as 4 am and begin cooking for the day.
The proprietor K Venkatesh told TNIE, “We make quality food and deliver them on time. It takes six different meals during the day for the facility centre. So the six serving for a day is priced at just Rs 200 per patient by the government. It is a tight budget to work with. If the government eased a little bit more fund, we will be able to provide the best quality food.”