In the valley, if one doesn¡¯t know cooking or is busy in the office, they can now order the healthy, hygienic and home-cooked food at their doorsteps which would be only a call away.
Rayees Ahmad, a 29-year-old youth from Srinagar, popularly known as ¡®Kashmir¡¯s Swiggy Boy¡¯ has taken a responsibility to keep you away from the junk food added with harmful condiments as he serves with fresh home-cooked food.
A former Adman, Rayees named his venture as Tiffin Aaw (Meal has come), commencing it with a promise to reach out to all those who are missing the fresh home-cooked food.
He told IndiaTimes the idea of starting this kind of service for the first time in valley struck his mind in November last year after the abrogation of Article 370. ¡°It was a foggy winter night and I got a call from one of my friends at 11 pm sayings that he had not eaten anything since morning due to the lockdown and requested if I can arrange something for him,¡± says Rayees.
¡°I entered the kitchen, packed the food in a tiffin box and left to drop the order at his office on my two-wheeler,¡± he said adding ¡°After collecting the tiffin box a few days later, it was banging in the bag and the idea clicked my mind that this something I need to do¡±.
Rayees say that they started taking orders in February and it continued till March 18. ¡°Later we have to call off everything due to the outbreak of the deadly virus,¡± he said.
¡°But recently we received a call from Kashmir-based doctor in Delhi asking to cook the food for their elderly parents and as he was out of the city. That prompted us to resume our services,¡± he says. Rayees say they were receiving an overwhelming response from the people.
Rayees said that he had a team of five people. ¡°All of them lost their jobs after the pandemic outbreak but recently we engaged back a chef who was in dire need of a job. We will accommodate others soon,¡± he said.
When asked why people call him ¡®Kashmir¡¯s Swiggy Boy¡¯, he said, ¡°I have never been inspired by the Zomato or Swiggy as this was my own idea. It is also because people here don¡¯t get services like Swiggy and others and then they may be treating my service same like them,¡± says Rayees who has also studied direction and editing.
¡°We sell our food at minimum rates which can be afforded by all. Before pandemic, we used to sell a single Thali at Rs 80 but due to the packing cost now due to COVID we charge Rs 100,¡± he said.
He said they serve both veg and non-veg depending upon customer¡¯s demand. ¡°We also serve the traditional Kashmiri dishes like Alhach Maz, Al-Yakin, Haak Maaz and others,¡± he said.??
Rayees said that his first order in February was the at the head office of the J&K Bank in Srinagar. ¡°They paid me a standing ovation for being on time and serving quality food,¡± he said.
He said that he was dropping the orders at various city hospitals, hostels, quarantine centers, and banks. ¡°I myself deliver the food in my car while wearing the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kit and following the proper COVID-19 SOPs to ensure the security of others as well,¡± he said.
A doctor at SMHS Hospital, Srinagar said that they were relishing the new home-cooked food. ¡°The food is delicious with many varieties of dishes. All the colleagues are enjoying his service,¡± he said.
Sharing about his future plan, Rayees said he wants to take his venture across India. ¡°If the spread of the pandemic remained under control, we will reach out to all the districts of J&K within six months and later move out of UT,¡± he said.
He said will hire more staff so that educated people will also get an employment opportunity. ¡°This is my dream project. Will take it to higher levels,¡± Rayees said.?
Before signing off, he added they were also working to set up the official mobile app of ¡®Tiffin Aaw¡¯ so that people can book their orders on phone instead of making calls. However, he finds it difficult to run an app in Kashmir because of frequent lockdowns. ¡°During the lockdown, all the communication lines are snapped and in that period we can¡¯t take the new orders. We will only serve the old customers,¡± he concludes.?