Looking back at the culinary legacy of Anandam Home Caterers in Thiruvananthapuram as it turns 50

Anandam Home Caterers in Thiruvananthapuram started by Anandam G Nair 50 years ago is carrying forward the culinary legacy with the third generation also involved in running it

A legacy built on trust and goodwill. That is how Raji Gopalakrishnan summarises the 50-year-old journey of Anandam Home Caterers in Thiruvananthapuram, started by her late mother, L Anandavalli or Anandam G Nair. The golden jubilee year is special for 60-year-old Raji in that the third generation, her children Lakshmy R Suresh and Vishnu R Suresh, is helping her run the business.

“Amma was a remarkable person in many ways. She was socially very active; she loved making food for anyone who came home, at any time of the day. The starting point of the catering unit was perhaps the Monday meetings of Lions Club of which she was a member. She and her two friends, Ramla Lathif and Rajalakshmy Madhavan Nair, used to make snacks and eats for the members. Amma also prepared sadya for our family friends, during festivals such as Onam and Vishu,” Raji recalls.

However, a catering unit was never part of the plan. But as word got around, orders started coming in and Anandam took off. “It was as if all elements to run it fell in place — a space to start the unit, an efficient cook and trusted staff. She used to run it with her friend, Rajalakshmy, initially,” Raji says. It was late poet Sugathakumari who came up with the tagline of the brand, Aagoshangalkku Anandam, Raji adds.

Sadya topped the list of orders, followed by catering for small functions. “Her first solo assignment was a church wedding with a non-vegetarian menu. That was a time when the number of guests was not large; the menu was also not elaborate. It was a sit-down lunch instead of buffet,” she adds.

Raji had no plans to take up the business but for her mother’s sudden demise in 2001. “I had not even thought about it till then. I was busy with my family and it was my younger sister, Janaki, who often used to help Amma. But everyone around encouraged me to try running it for a year. Thanks to the goodwill Amma had built, I didn’t have to look back,” says Raji, a graduate in music and a trained classical dancer. The central kitchen of Anandam is near Karamana.

Lakshmy and Vishnu joined her three years ago. Lakshmy, who runs the boutique, Yarn, at Vazhuthacaud, says, “It was one Onam when Amma had too much to handle.” While Lakshmy is a post graduate in industrial psychology, Vishnu is an engineer. Raji says that her husband, Suresh Balaraman, helps with managing the accounts.

In 2018, they opened Anandam Takeaway and Payasakkada, a take-away counter, mainly for payasams and curries. “Paal payasam was Amma’s speciality and it was my dream to start a payasam shop to make it popular,” says Raji.