Community Service using power of Social Media
I first liked the idea of a chef when Richard Gere, tells Winona Ryder in “Autumn in New York”
“Food is the only art that nurtures from within”
or something similar for my memory is not what it used to be. Anyways if you are still here or back from searching for Winona Ryder let us get back to the blog post about “Home Chefs of Gurgaon” and the good work they are doing in more ways than one.
So ever since that unforgettable dialogue in the totally forgettable movie,” Autumn In New York”, I have never been able to look at food as something to be gobbled , between two conference calls in the office or an adjunct to a tasteless TV program at home.
The food my friends is to be cherished for every morsel represents hard work of a chain of people starting from the farmer who toiled in fields to produce the grains to the Chef who silently whispered “ Abracadabra” to diverse ingredients that had nothing in common but when put together they simply produce magic. A magic that makes you forget everything around you, a magic that plays an orchestra of flavors, making your taste buds waltz with closed eyes for you don’t want to.
Needless to say, a skilled Chef can make a meal memorable for days to come, with the aromas of the meal lingering in your subconscious every time the meal is talked about.
But today let me talk about a special evening I spent with the Home Chefs of Gurgaon, who went a step further by not only prepared the wonderful meal for members of Gurgaon Food Freak but also helped in raising money for a good cause.
Organised by the one of the most active and respected online foodie’s group in Delhi NCR the Gurgaon Food Freak, the event was called “ Home Is Where The Heart Is !” Some of the best Home Chefs of Gurgaon participated in the event and prepared their signature dishes ranging from Rajasthani Food to Italian and Thai curries.
The best part? The Home Chefs decide not to charge any money for the mouth-watering food they served and all the money collected from the event went to a good cause of distributing food among the needy at a later date. For most of us liking an image on Facebook is all we do as part of our social responsibility as if by liking an image of starving orphans in Somalia will somehow feed them. I once read somewhere, ” The smallest good deed is better than the grandest intention”
The guests who joined to enjoy the delicacies (including yours truly) paid a small sum of Rs 600 to join the event and contribute towards the cost. Another day this kind of meal will easily cost one more than double of the price we paid, but as it was for a good cause the price was kept at a nominal for the members of Gurgaon Food Freak community, conceptualized and grown into a force to reckon with by Pawan Soni, also the brain behind the highly commended “The Big F Awards”, that celebrates the experiences of eating out and cooking in!
I also joined the dinner hosted by the Home Chefs of Gurgaon and as my part of saluting these wonderful chefs requested them to allow me to click them. Most of them agreed but unfortunately as the event was in the evening I clicked them in natural light as much as possible. So dear reader I am giving here pictures of the Home Chefs of Gurgaon along with their contact details so that you can contact them in case you want to try some of the best home cooked food in Gurgaon. Most of them deliver within Gurgaon but if the order is large they will be happy to discuss the possibilities of working with you.
One thing I would like to add here is that this list of the Home Chefs of Gurgaon is only partial as when I joined the event I had no plans to write this post, but today morning when I saw Pawan, Rohini, Avni and Himanshu actually going out and distributing food to the needy I decided to blog about it. For if you remember my earlier posts about Rang De and Canon, you will know that I am all for Individual as well as Corporate Social Responsibility, and in this particular case the Home Chefs have shown that there is also something called “ Community Social Responsibility” even if the community is online but it can have an impact on real people who are not as fortunate as we are. I think this event is one of the finest examples of actual action emerging out of the power of connecting on social media for a common cause.
So in alphabetical order, I give you’re the most celebrated Home Chefs Of Gurgaon who joined the “Home Is Where Heart Is” event organized by Gurgaon Food Freak.
- Abhilasha Jain : Specialises in “Marwadi Khana” from Rajasthan. You can place order via WhatsApp number 9958983606 or email at [email protected] , Check more on Facebook Page of Marwadi Khana
- Aditti Ahluwalia: Aditti started with Punjabi food, that she started learning to make as a kid from her grandmother and continued to hone her skills till almost everybody told here that she is a great cook. Today Aditti has a diversified menu from Punjabi, Awadhi to International food that you can check here: Catering By Aditti Contact details: [email protected] , Phone :+919810543699 .
- Amita Garg : Amita’s Kitchen offers the most authentic north Indian vegetarian food to please every taste bud. Call her day in advance and enjoy a feast in the comfort of your home. Contact Amita for most authentic North Indian food customised to suit every taste bud. Here is the Facebook page to contact her and place an order : Amita’s Kitchen Phone : 085878 77760
- Arunima Khanna : Runs the Aarush, specialising in Mediterranean cuisine. Contact number: 099536 46186
- Anandna B Nangia : Bedazzled caters to birthday dinners/lunches, tea soirees, brunch etc, with a wide variety of authentic Thai, Chinese and Lebanese cuisines. Facebook: Bedazzled , contact number: 098182 73939 Email :[email protected]
Using fresh ingredients, bedazzled aims to cater scrumptious food right from 8 to 50 persons. - Gul Ali : Multiple awards winning Gul Ali, is the founder and CEO of Gul’s Kitchen specialising in Biryanis, Korma, and other Awadhi delicacies. I can have myself wolfed down countless of bowls of her fragrant Zafrani Kheer. Contact number: 098718 97268
- Nalin Jha : Nalin is the man behind the venture: Meat4U making Gurgaon walas fall in love with mutton once again. You can reach out to him on 096549 85335
- Parina Chugh : Caters under her own brand name: Let’s Meat and needless to say specialises in various non-vegetarian dishes. Please contact here on phone number 9643651516 to place an order.
- Shirin Sabharwal : Chef Shirin runs Dine Divine and she and her team where she organizes European Continental lunches, dinner, brunches, kitty parties, kids birthday’s up to 20-30 people. She can be reached on Mobile No: – +919654186691 , Email: – [email protected]
- Smita Sabharwal : For some of the best Biryani’s in Gurgaon you should keep Smita’s number on speed dial on your phone. As a vegetarian I just loved the Jack Fruit Biryani she served, while others were queuing for the aromatic mutton biryani she served in the evening. Get in touch with her via Facebook : Biryanis From My Kitchen or call : 098719 01629 ( 8:30 am to 6 pm )
Before we go further let me also share a picture I clicked of Mr & Mrs. Soni, in-spite of being very busy with the event they were kind enough to spare a moment and pose for me.
The venue of the event was Stately Suits on NH 8, in DLF Phase 2 which has both indoor and outdoor areas to host parties and corporate events along with well done rooms and suites.
Here is a group photo of the event shared by Pawan in which you can see the Chefs and some of the guests all enjoying after the dinner.
As I mentioned, in the beginning, this event was a charity event and the money collected was used to serve food to the needy kids and their families in Gurgaon. Today morning Pawan Soni, Himanshu Arora, Rohini Ghosh & Avni Bhatnagar the Admins of the Gurgaon Food Freak group along with some other members and chefs personally went and served food. I think this is a very big gesture even bigger than organising a charity event and collecting money. Anybody can donate money, but in today’s busy life where people do not have time even to breathe or talk to their family to take time out and serve the needy on a Sunday speaks volumes about the kind-hearted folks we have in Gurgaon Food Freak. Salute to them. For most of us liking an image on Facebook is all we do as part of our social responsibility as if by liking an image of starving orphans in Somalia will somehow feed them. I once read somewhere, “ The smallest good deed is better than the grandest intention” With this, I would like to invite comments from readers and pray for more power to Gurgaon Food Freak, and Home Chefs of Gurgaon.
If you are a foodie, you can join the GFF community here on Facebook: Gurgaon Food Freak, subject to admin approval
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nice post
Wow you have shared some profound thoughts about food at the beginning of the post! And great to know so many home chef options available!
Gurgaon is the new Foodie capital of India… 🙂
//make a meal memorable for days to come// that is absolutely true. So nice to know about them. And I loved the idea of charity event. That’s a beautiful gesture 🙂
Thanks Rajlakshmi