11-Year-Old Shrirang Rahalkar Is Cooking Up A Storm By Starting His Own Cloud Kitchen

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Come summer vacations, usually most eleven-year-olds would be busy playing and having fun, or enjoying their holidays travelling. However, 11-year-old Shrirang Rahalkar, from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, has started a cloud kitchen. Shrirang, a sixth-grade student, resides in the Garkheda area. He has become the talk of the town due to his cloud kitchen.

For Shrirang, working in his kitchen too is like enjoying his holidays, before his school resumes. He prefers to work hard in something he loves doing the most, cooking.

Shrirang has recently captured the public's attention through a remarkable initiative by launching his own catering business. Such is the word of mouth publicity, the demand for his dishes appears to be on the rise, as customers seem to have taken a fancy to the delicious taste.

Shirang Rahalkar has started his own cloud kitchen (ETV Bharaat)

Another unique feature Shrirang provides, he personally prepares all the spices required for his dishes. He incorporates nutritious ingredients, thereby giving the food a truly distinct taste. Shrirang has stated that once school reopens, he intends to manage both his education and his business simultaneously.

He told ETV Bharat, "I absolutely love cooking, and I will not stop experimenting with different recipes, even though my school resumes. Once I return from school and finish my homework, I plan to prepare dishes in the evening. I aspire to become a chef and satiate people's hunger. It brings me immense joy when people express their satisfaction after eating food I have prepared personally."

Unique pricing strategy

Shrirang has used Artificial Intelligence (AI) to calculate the rates for his food. He has factored in the cost of all the ingredients, along with the commissions payable for online sales.

He prepares items like pasta, garlic bread, and Chinese cuisine, all of which are typically loved by children. His customers are happy as they love the taste and high-quality food, which they believe could easily rival that of professional chefs.

Shirang Rahalkar has started his own cloud kitchen (ETV Bharat)

According to Mayur Ratnaparkhi, a student of the hospitality industry, "The dishes Shrirang prepares are both delicious and innovative. Since all the spices used in his food are derived from his own original concepts, his creations are winning the hearts of everyone."

"Typically, when launching a hotel business, a significant amount of time is spent gathering ideas and resources through the internet. In his case, though, since Shrirang creates dishes entirely from his own imagination, the demand for his food is steadily on the rise," quipped Ratnaparkhi.

Over the past few months, Shrirang has conducted various culinary experiments of his own. After having his family and friends taste-test his creations, he began selling them commercially. Shrirang revealed, "I complete on average 10 orders through online food delivery platforms, on a daily basis."

Loved Cooking Since Childhood

Shrirang's mother, Bageshree, said, "He has possessed a keen interest in learning how to cook since he was a very young child. First, he would prepare tea, which was aromatic. Subsequently, he began helping me in the kitchen and would also assist his grandmother with our cooking chores. He took the time to understand various spices, their distinct flavours, and their inherent properties."

After gaining the basic understanding, he began incorporating the various spices in his cooking and developed his own unique style. Notably, he personally handles all the preparatory work for the dishes he intends to create, which includes chopping vegetables, grinding ingredients in a mixer, and seasoning the food with salt or chilli powder to taste.

Shirang Rahalkar has started his own cloud kitchen (ETV Bharat)

Bageshree added, "If any one of us family members craves to eat a bite even in the middle of the night, this young boy promptly whips up a dish and serves it to us."

Shrirang hasn't allowed his inexperience to prevent him from engaging in commercial transactions. He handles every task with ease and competence like a seasoned adult. Since his age precluded him from obtaining the necessary licenses to launch a full-fledged restaurant business, he took matters into his own hands without seeking assistance from anyone, he applied online. He has used his mother's name and successfully secured the required permits.

Subsequently, he turned to AI to determine the appropriate selling price for each of his dishes. He fed the detailed specifications, including the precise quantity (in grams) of each spice required for a specific dish, as well as the total volume of food he intended to prepare in AI.

Based on this input, the system calculated a cost breakdown down to the very last gram. Shrirang explained, "The final selling prices for all my dishes were determined by carefully balancing various factors like commissions charged by online food delivery platforms, operational costs, and the labour involved, resulting in prices that are slightly lower than those charged by other commercial vendors in the market."

Dream come true

Shrirang is currently studying in the seventh class. Initially, he completed his primary education from the first through the fourth grade from a Marathi medium school. Later, his family enrolled him in an English school. Despite this transition, he maintains an excellent track record in his studies and has consistently passed his examinations with high marks every year.

Bageshree shared, "We all are helping him to formulate a plan to ensure he completes his studies on time, once school resumes, which would help him to pursue his business on the side."

A Habit of Studying Food

His family says Shrirang has possessed a passion for studying food since he was a child. He constantly watches various cooking videos and reads numerous books on the subject. While many people can prepare a standard dish, Shrirang constantly strives to infuse his creations with a unique element of novelty. After successfully conducting continuous experiments to create nutritious and delicious dishes, he makes his family and friends taste them. He takes their feedback before he cooks it for his customers.

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