Kudumbashree women win hearts with their cuisines

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It is not the athletes alone who are going for gold in this year's National Games. Around 200 women working for Kudumbashree are also there to win the hearts, not on the track and field, but from within the kitchen through their culinary skills.
In their greatest achievement so far, Kudumbashree has been vested with the contract of catering food for Games officials, media persons and spectators at 15 venues in Thiruvananthapuram district.
“This work is said to their greatest achievement so far, owing to the budget of the work undertaken,” said district collector Biju Prabhakar, who also heads the district organising committee of the games. The budget of the work undertaken is nearly Rs 1 crore. Out of this, the district administration has already released a fund of Rs 90 lakh, said Biju Prabhakar.
“We will also be opening food courts at all venues so that spectators can avail the Kudumbashree food,” he said, adding that only games officials were catered the food on the first day of the event.
Members of as many as 30 Kudumbashree from all districts in the state are here as part of the work. “We have set up four messes in the district, at Attingal, Pirappancode, Vellayani and Ambalamukku considering the proximity to venues,” said Sheejo Philip, coordinator of Café Kudumbashree, a restaurant brand of Kudumbashree. The women start work from as early as 2am onwards as they have to deliver food from 7 am onwards at the venues. They are providing three meals a day besides tea and snacks in the morning and evening. The menu mainly includes various ethnic recipes across the state such as dosa, idli, idiyappam, appam and even Thalassery Dum Biriyani.
According to Biju Prabhakar, many officials in the Games committee were doubtful on giving the contract to the Kudumbashree, but he managed to gain their trust. “The risk that I took has already started paying result as we are getting positive responses from people,” he said. Besides, the food is very cheap. While a day's entire meals catered at other districts cost around Rs 1,250, our food costs only around Rs 350, he said.