A restaurant suspends operation to cook free meals for landslide survivors

Feeding the survivors of the landslide, rescuers, and media persons covering the disaster turned out to be the priority of those at ‘Sanchari by Chef Pillai’, the soon-to-be-launched restaurant at Sultan Bathery in Wayanad, on the fateful Tuesday.

Feeding the survivors of the landslide, rescuers, and media persons covering the disaster turned out to be the priority of those at ‘Sanchari by Chef Pillai’, the soon-to-be-launched restaurant at Sultan Bathery in Wayanad, on the fateful Tuesday.

The management even suspended regular activities and converted the outlet into a large kitchen dedicated to feeding the hungry and those who outlived the disaster.

“As news of the mishap trickled in, staffers at the restaurant began cooking food for the survivors. The first consignment was dispatched by 11 a.m. Food packets, which included meals, snacks, and drinking water, were dispatched between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. As many as 1,600 food packets were supplied on the day,” said chef Suresh Pillai, who has set up a chain of restaurants across the State and other parts of the country.

The restaurant, which was soft-launched a few weeks ago, has been converted into a place to cook for the survivors of the disaster. Besides the 80-member-strong team of the Sultan Bathery outlet, more workers and chefs from other restaurants have been brought in to support those in distress. The restaurant will continue to serve food and water for the needy for a few more days, he said.

Earlier, a social media post by Mr. Pillai announcing the humanitarian support had gone viral. A large number of people volunteered to help the initiative by offering food grain, foodstuff, and clothes. A few others came forward to sponsor meals, while some others expressed willingness to transfer money to support the initiative. However, no external aid was collected for the drive, and the expenses were met by the group itself, said Mr. Pillai.

A three-member team, general manager Nobin Thomas, chef Sreekanth Nambiar and Aneesh Nayaranan, who owns the outlet, coordinated the aid work at the restaurant, he said.

Mr. Thomas said he received around 200 calls offering support. A large number of vehicle owners, including jeep drivers, came forward to take food to the hungry. The other two were also flooded with calls offering help. One of the callers, the owner of a pickle manufacturing unit, offered to give pickles to be supplied along with food packets, said Mr. Thomas.