What may presumably be widespread between a dentist, a chartered accountant and an IT skilled? Superficially, nothing a lot. But Abraham Mathew, Antony Jose and Sreejith M are certain by a ardour for meals that they quit their careers and turned restaurateurs, establishing three of Kochi’s widespread, specialty restaurants.
Abraham confesses he has not labored as a dentist for too lengthy. He labored in Chennai briefly earlier than returning dwelling in 2015-16, to Irinjalakuda, to be part of his household’s medical observe the place he labored for some time earlier than making the detour. “I come from a family of doctors, and I also went down the dentistry path. When I was in school, I did not know what I wanted to do so I just went with the flow!” says the founding father of Grana Pizzeria in Panampilly Nagar. He was within the technique of establishing a multi-cuisine restaurant, Soul Kitchen Co, in Irinjalakuda, when the pandemic struck. This turned him in direction of making pizzas, making a highway map for a pizzeria, three years down the road.
Tony’s Kitchen is understood for its pan-Asian delicacies
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
While for Antony Jose of Tony’s Kitchen, Kacheripady, the restaurant occurred ahead of he deliberate. The chartered accountant knew his path lay within the culinary arts, however his dad and mom wished him to get a ‘professional’ diploma first. This means he had his Plan B in place earlier than Plan A. Once that field was ticked, Tony flew to Le Cordon Bleu, Ottawa. A two-year stint there taught him virtually every thing about working in and operating a kitchen.
“But the plan was never to dive right into it! I wanted to work for a few years, gain some experience before I launched my own restaurant,” says Tony, who returned dwelling in 2024. Tony’s Kitchen at French Toast, Kacheripady, threw open its doorways in November 2024 and it has been an eventful 12 months of studying, he admits.
For the enjoyment of feeding
The Biryani Store tucked away in a superbly ethereal property in Kaloor, got here to be due to a mix of things — proprietor Sreejith M’s love of excellent meals inherited from his maternal grandfather, the happiness he derives from feeding individuals and a need to be an entrepreneur. Sreejith, former IT supervisor with Decathlon, has carried this dream for greater than a decade. “I would try food wherever I went, because I love food and feeding people. Having toyed with the idea, I took the plunge in 2019-20.”
Margherita pizzas at Grana Pizzeria
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
All three males communicate of the ‘joy’ they derive from meals, not simply as meals lovers but in addition, as Tony places it, “the joy of having the space to create something, get creative with cooking and serve it to people.”
Interestingly, although a enterprise in meals was a distant dream, the pandemic accelerated the method. With time available, they began cooking at dwelling first experimentally after which for buddies, household and others.
Abraham Mathew
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THULASI KAKKAT
Since work on Soul Kitchen Co stopped and he had free time, Abraham started attempting to make completely different sorts of pizzas. Not happy with the common, electrical oven he even purchased a dome oven for it. As he gained in confidence, he typically took to social media not simply to publish about his progress but in addition to announce pizza pop-ups of kinds on sure days.
People from so far as Thiruvananthapuram drove to Irinjalakuda for his pizzas. By the time the pandemic ended, Soul Kitchen Co was up and operating. Meanwhile, his pizzas gained clout and a fan following, which led to him opening Grana Pizzeria in Kochi in December 2024.
Lockdown alternative
The lockdown, for Sreejith, was a chance to determine how he wished to go about his enterprise. Research had been on for greater than a decade, each time he ate out, each place he travelled to was preparation for establishing his enterprise. In 2019-20, he began making small batches of biryani in his dwelling kitchen, supplying to small gatherings of family and friends.
Emboldened by the suggestions, he arrange a cloud kitchen in 2021 utilizing meals supply aggregators. The Biryani Store biryani climbed on the charts to be counted among the many high biryanis in Kochi. That was the ultimate push to open an eponymous restaurant in 2023. The restaurant at this time churns out 700-1000 kilograms of biryani on any given weekend.
Antony Jose in his kitchen at Tony’s Kitchen
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THULASI KAKKAT
For Antony too it was a chance to experiment with the form of meals he wished to serve. As a house chef he hosted pop-ups to showcase and hone his expertise. He began with Japanese delicacies, curating The Ramen Experience, making completely different sorts of ramen and gaining a following. Antony may properly be the explanation why there’s a lot ramen in Kochi at this time. Right now, he describes the meals at his restaurant as ‘pan-Asian within the structure of Japanese cuisine’.
The two years in Canada, beginning on the lowest rung of the ladder, geared up him for the chef’s position, however he wished to work at different kitchens to acquire expertise. “I had even applied for jobs in Dubai and Singapore, but then this space became available and there I was opening Tony’s Kitchen, last November.”
Self-taught and studying
Though, later, Antony skilled to be a chef (in French delicacies), he, like Abraham and Sreejith, can also be self-taught. Setting up the restaurant got here with a set of classes, “a steep learning curve,” as Abraham places it.
They discuss of the a number of hours they spent experimenting within the kitchen or close to the oven, discovering the candy spot of confidence to enterprise out. Rather than unfold themselves skinny by way of the menu, they’ve chosen to concentrate on meals that they love. So, for Abraham it’s pizza and for Tony, pan-Asian delicacies as a result of “I really love it… love to eat it!”
Open supply for the restaurant enterprise
Sreejith has an Instagram deal with @cookiknow the place he shares suggestions for these trying to get into the restaurant enterprise. “It is very difficult for someone, without a background in hospitality, to start a restaurant. They hit a roadblock and then quit, this way I hope to be of some help. I may not have a huge number of followers, but I get several DMs asking for tips!”
He says he doesn’t consider in gatekeeping. “I am willing to share everything I know if someone is genuinely interested in starting a business. I don’t want to hide what I have learnt along the way to setting up The Biryani Store. The only thing I refuse to share is the ratio of the masalas I use in my biryani, all else I will happily tell you!”
For Sreejith, nevertheless, it was extra about legacy. “My maternal grandfather was a huge foodie, for example, he would get cooks from Malabar to cook at his house. And he had curated a handful of recipes, which he handed down to my mother who is a fabulous cook. The origin of our biryani lay there.” The Biryani Store additionally serves donne biryani.
The biryani at The Biryani Store
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Initially Sreejith employed a prepare dinner however shortly realised it will not work and that he had to be taught extra. “The first one-and-half years were tough, but I kept fine-tuning recipes and creating an Excel spreadsheet with details from the ingredients to cook time. Blame it on the IT guy in me! Now I have perfected it, it can be scaled and duplicated. The biggest plus? I don’t need to depend on a cook, anyone here can do it if they follow the instructions.”
Antony additionally says that his coaching as a CA helps him within the operating of the restaurant, the accounting facet of operating a enterprise. “Both my training as a chartered accountant and as a chef help run the business. Though, sometimes, the accounting would keep me out of the kitchen more than I like. Now it is better! And yes, I file my GST, taxes etc on my own but I also have my former employers helping me!”
The going has not been simple, however their dialog is peppered with satisfaction, happiness, enjoyment and the very best one, “should have done it sooner!”
