Rekha Raghavan’s story begins at a time when catering was not looked upon as a profession suitable for women. So when Rekha expressed her desire to pursue Hotel Management, her family did not agree. “It is not the right profession for women, I was told.” Rekha, now a popular home chef, food curator and culinary entrepreneur known for bringing authentic Kerala and coastal flavours to food festivals, hotel pop-ups and private dining experiences says her journey was not easy. After spending nearly 18 years in the corporate world, she took the leap into food and began building her journey from her home kitchen. Since then, she has curated Onam Sadyas, Kashmiri and Bengali food festivals, worked with hotels and even cooked for the Indian Navy and Government events.
Rekha Raghavan’s Amma, Young Rekha and Rekha in her corporate office
“I always had the cooking ka keeda inside me”, says Rekha. “I was just three when I came from Wayanad in Kerala to Bhopal with my mother. My parents had got separated, and I was brought up largely by my maternal grandparents. My mother worked, so my Naani became my world. I call her Amma”.”My maternal grand mother was very fond of feeding people. There was always food being cooked and someone being fed. I think that is where my relationship with food really began. I wanted to pursue hotel management, but in the 1990s I was not allowed to. So I went into the corporate world instead. I worked with several companies and eventually spent nearly 18 years there.” says Rekha.Gurgaon meant starting all over againA job opportunity brought Rekha to Gurgaon. “When I came to Gurgaon, there was a lot of struggle. It was a new town and the culture was very different from what I had known in Bhopal. At one point, because of medical reasons, I had to leave my job and go back home. When I returned, I started again from the beginning. I worked with BPS and did night shifts, but they began causing health issues. I eventually took a day job, even though it meant taking a salary cut.”
Rekha Raghavan
The journey was not an easy one”My health was also not easy. I underwent three surgeries for different problems and dealt with major gynaecological issues, asthma and kidney-related problems. Then, in 2019, I took the bold decision to quit my job. I didn’t have a perfect plan. But I knew I wanted to do something with food.”Then Covid brought everything to a standstillWith lots of hopes in my heart, I quit my corporate job had partnered with someone and started a kitchen, but Covid forced us to shut it down. For almost six months, there was no work. I survived on my savings. Friends helped me through that period. After Covid, I started working from home. Then came the second wave.I got major Covid and was extremely unwell. I was alone, but people around me stepped in. “The Gurudwara Colony gave me oxygen. Because of them, I could survive.” The Gurudwara and the colony community helped me get oxygen when I desperately needed it. Friends also kept checking on me and making sure I was taken care of. Somehow, I survived. And when I recovered, I went back to cooking.
Sadya
One meal became a turning pointGradually, work started picking up. Rekha got an opportunity to do a small one-day event with Chef Gautam Kumar at Radisson, Sector 29. “I will always be thankful to him for giving me my first opportunity.” It was only one meal, but it gave her the confidence to continue. “I started doing Onam Sadyas with different hotels, including The Westin. A commercial kitchen was scary, but it was exciting. Another major opportunity came when I approached Le Méridien. I met Chef Rajesh Rai and Sanjay Gupta, the General Manager, and told them that I wanted to do a Sadya. They encouraged me. The Sadya was a huge hit. The hotel then gave me the opportunity to curate a food festival featuring different cuisines. I went on to do a Kashmiri food festival and two Bengali food festivals. For someone who had once wanted to study hotel management but had not been allowed to, those opportunities were deeply significant.From one woman in a kitchen to a group of womenAs the work grew, I also began working with other women-home chefs and women who had their own culinary specialities. I wanted to give them opportunities through pop-ups and food festivals. There are so many women who cook exceptionally well but don’t have a restaurant, commercial kitchen or the money to establish a food business. A pop-up can give them a starting point.That is how a group of women gradually became part of my journey. My corporate experience helped here too. I knew how to take an idea to a hotel and ask them to give us space.
Rekha’s culinary offerings
The reality is that work can disappearBut being a home chef is not as easy as people sometimes imagine. “Home chefs’ business is not regular.” Work can become very slow. Summer is particularly difficult because people order less and corporate events also reduce. Then work begins picking up around Sawan and the festive season. There is no fixed salary. And there is no real safety net either. “I don’t have a backup. If I fall ill, I have to work.” That is one of the hardest parts of working independently. Even when you are unwell, the business depends on you.Rekha Raghavan remains humble but she has earned a vast experience cooking in weddings, for corporates and armed forces like the Indian Navy.Miles to goKerala and coastal food remains her signature. Rekha’s food is unique because she does not believe in short cuts. “I do not substitute ingredients and as it takes away the authenticity of the food.””For me, authenticity is not just about having the right recipe. It is about the ingredients, the process and the way the food is prepared. “Khana sirf haath se nahi, pyaar se banana hai; pet se khilana bhi chahiye. Food has to be made with love. And when you feed someone, you should feed them properly, it should satisfy them.”
Rekha is known for her authentic South Indian cooking
More than a food businessAt a time when consumers are increasingly questioning what goes into their food and how much they can trust the promise of “quality”, whether from large brands, five-star hotels or small eateries, people like Rekha Raghavan are choosing to stand by something much simpler: know your food, respect your ingredients and don’t compromise. For her, that commitment to quality is not a business strategy. It comes from the way she learnt to cook and the values she inherited from her Naani. She refuses to take shortcuts or replace an ingredient simply to make the process easier. And perhaps that is why her ambition today goes far beyond building a successful food business of her own. What she wants instead is to build a platform where women with culinary talent can find opportunities, home chefs who may not have the money or infrastructure to open a restaurant but have food worth putting on a larger table. A place where they can cook, participate in pop-ups, showcase their regional cuisines and earn from what they know. She also wants to create opportunities for specially-abled children, giving them a space to learn, participate and discover their abilities.Perhaps that dream is rooted in everything she has lived through. She knows what it means to have a dream and not be allowed to pursue it. She knows what it means to begin again, lose work, live on savings, battle health problems and rebuild from nothing. But she also knows the difference one person giving you a chance can make.
Rekha with Sanjeev Kapoor
Now she wants to become that opportunity for someone elseAnd in an industry where the conversation around food is increasingly about scale, branding and commercial success, Rekha’s dream is refreshingly different- to build something where quality comes first, regional food finds a voice, women find a livelihood and every person, including a child with special needs – gets a chance to discover what they can bring to the table.
Dining and Cooking