I was planning on calling him for a story on traditional Deepavali snacks this week. But it was not meant to be.Every year, come festive season, Chef K Damodaran’s is the first name that comes to my mind for recipes and Tamil Nadu food trends. ‘Hello Akila, eppidi irukeenga?’ he would ask, and I would feel a pang of guilt for reaching out only when I needed something from him.
But he would put me at ease by readily launching forth into the subject.I spoke to him last in April this year for a story on the summer cooler kambankoozh. A lot of people who knew him and worked closely with him, are still processing his passing.
Chef Damu passed away in Chennai on October 25. He was 72.
Culinary expert Chef Damu tasting a preparation at The Hindu Our State Our Taste cookery competition held at Hotel Atithi in Puducherry. | Photo Credit: SINGARAVELOU T From the Tamil Nadu Deepavali tradition of eating idli with mutton curry for breakfast to a recipe he documented from an 80-year-old in a village near Palayamkottai, Chef Damu has shared several gems with me over the past decade.In October 2016, he shared his experiences working with noon meal cooks from 25 Government schools in villages in Srirangam district. He made vegetable biryani and masala muttai for 350 children. “There was an increase in their attendance the next day,” he recalled with enthusiasm.
He taught noon meal workers to make tomato biryani, chickpea pulao, vegetable biryani, bisibelabhath, keerai rice, tomato, masala and pepper egg.In 2019, he travelled to 15 cities in Tamil Nadu, tasting hundreds of dishes that participants made as part of The Hindu ’s Our State Our Taste cookery competition. It was a monumental task, but he made it seem so easy.
Chef Damu loved food, often, the kind that did not need elaborate masalas and marination. As a TV chef, he showed how a masala base of onion, tomato, ginger and garlic, chilli powder, coriander and cumin powder, was enough to elevate anything from brinjal to chicken.I remember seeing his cooking shows and how he would not make a big fuss about measurements, instead going by what his hands and eyes told him.
He would crush tomatoes by hand before adding them to the simmering kuzhambu, cooking in his favourite clay tawa. “This dish will go well with rasam or sambar rice,” he would say as he scooped it onto a waiting banana leaf that the camera would zoom into. I have never actually tried chicken fry with sambar rice, but have always wanted to, like Damu had suggested.
Chef Damu demonstrating recipes at Gramathu Virundhu Food Festival held at GRTGrand Hotel in Chennai | Photo Credit: RAGU R “He has mentored lakhs of students,” says Sheetharam Prasad, corporate executive chef with GRT Hotels and Resorts. Chef Sheetharam has had a long association with Damu. “He was the vice-principal of the hotel management institute I studied in,” he recalls, adding that the two of them have travelled together for over 20 years as part of South India Chefs Association (SICA); Damu served as the president. “Together, we visited several counties for competitions,” he says, adding that Damu was an inspiration to students pursuing hotel management studies.“He was a self-made man who came up in life through sheer hard work,” recalls Sheetharam. “We’ve cooked together for several important events such as the Chennai Sangamam.” Sheetharam says that Damu was responsible for “rebranding” cooks. “He popularised the term ‘chef’ in the media, made it respectful as opposed to cooks,” he says.While Damu’s work in Tamil Nadu cuisine is well-known, Sheetharam points out that as part of SICA, Damu was involved in a lot of charity work. “I remember his dedication when he was training noon meal workers.
He taught them safety and hygiene standards they are sure to remember for life,” he says. Chef Damu demonstrating recipes at Gramathu Virundhu Food Festival | Photo Credit: RAGU R Chef Deena Dhayalan, a popular digital content creator and television personality, worked closely with Damu for over ten years during their stints in cooking shows. “He launched my traditional Tamil Nadu menu when I was with The Residency in Chennai in 2016,” he recalls, adding how when it came to work, Damu was willing to go any distance. “If he got a call about a TV show tomorrow, he would agree to it even if he had a busy schedule,” he says.In an emotional video, celebrity chef Venkatesh Bhat, who has worked with Damu for 15 years, recalled how he took Tamil Nadu cuisine to the world stage. “He proved it was possible for one to go as far as the Padma Shri in the catering field,” he said.Chef Damu’s love for Chettinad food is well known, but his close friends remember his love for very specific combinations.
Such as rava upma made with ghee and tempered with plenty of cashews. “He would say, ‘Sita, make me nei upma,’ whenever he was visiting,” says Sheetharam. Damu would eat the upma with sugar on the side.