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Common kitchens – what’s cooking in Kerala? -Chithra Ajith

-VillageSquare.in

Work and other commitments vying for time, one cannot spare time to cook. What started out of necessity for two couples is making "common kitchens' spring up across Kerala.

Common kitchen?

“Think of it as a kitchen where you’re cooking for a big family,” said Sundaran, the cook in Kerala’s first common kitchen.

The ‘family’ here is generally a group of families in a neighbourhood.

“This is not like your regular catering service, because that’s a commercial business,” Sundaran added.

Home-grown cooks like Sundaran prepare food in their own kitchen for a lot of people who are pressed for time to cook.

‘Adukkala ozhivakku, adukkala thozhilakku,’ quit the kitchen and make cooking a paid job, is a win-win for those running the common kitchens as well as the families receiving the food.  And it is a growing trend across Kerala.

How it all began

Out of necessity Ramesan, a bank employee in Ponnani in the Malappuram district, wanted to outsource his meals.

His friends, advocate couple Kaleemudheen and Majida, also wanted someone to cook for them.

“Working on case files, chores, taking care of the kid, cooking – all takes time,” said Majida. “It was a daily tug-of-war between me and the clock.”

Their search ended when Sundaran agreed to cook for them.

Concept of common kitchen

Ramesan and Kaleemudheen wanted to outsource their meals for many reasons.

For one, it is not easy to get a person to come home and cook. It is also expensive.

Even if a person was willing, he or she will need to come very early. Because breakfast and lunch will have to be prepared before everyone left for work or school.

“My wife used to wake up at 3:30 in the morning to complete all the cooking and washing of vessels before rushing to her workplace which is 40km away,” said Sivadasan K, a treasury officer. “I couldn’t help because of health issues.”

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