From famous South Asian dishes such a Biryani, Chicken Tikka, Lamb Curry, and Palak Paneer to Chinese and Italian cuisines, small food businesses are serving the palettes of their multicultural customers.
“Mother’s touch is what l look for in the taste,” says Ahmed Ali who has been studying in Australia for the past year.
“When I came to Australia for studies one of my concerns was missing my mum’s favourite dish, biryani.”
Highlight:
- Food takeaway businesses are targeting international students and new migrants looking for home-cooked meals
- The COVID-19 pandemic has hit small businesses financially and affected their customer base
- The continuous demand for home-cooked food has helped small businesses grow
Source: Facebook/Delhi Kitchen Sydney
“Through friends, I found out about a food business that makes meals and everyone said it tastes like home-cooked food. I tried and loved it. It has been a year now and I am still enjoying these meals.”
"I don't have to think about buying vegetables or meat and preparing meals and can focus on my studies."
Many students like Ahmed order food from these small businesses that cater to this consumer market.
SBS Urdu spoke to a few food catering businesses who are selling food from their homes.
South Asian dish, Haleem. Source: Facebook/Nida's catering and takeaway
Yousuf Jami and Quratulain Khan started their food business ‘Delhi Kitchen Sydney’ around five years ago.
“We felt that there was a demand for Pakistani food in Australia especially for international students or new migrants,” says Yousuf.
The family started the business from home and initially cooked for a small number of customers.
“It takes a while to set up a sustainable business with proper documentation, dealing with the council etc. But we managed it well.”
Their business took off and now they have a dine-in area as well to cater for customers.
Various South Asian dishes in the menu. Source: Facebook/Delhi Kitchen Sydney
How does online food business work?
The food business puts online a menu of food items on its Facebook page stating what they will prepare throughout the week. Anyone who wants to buy the meals, orders them via phone or email and picks it up that day.
With dishes ranging in price from $10 to $15, meals are usually in the form of a main dish, a side dish and a sweet dish, thus creating a complete meal experience for the customer.
Nida’s Catering and Takeaway also started as a home-cooked food takeaway service and now sells food in three locations in Sydney.
Carrot sweet dish, Gajar ka halwa. Source: Facebook/Nida's catering and takeaway
“What our customers love about us is that they say that when we eat your food, it tastes like my mum’s food,” says Nida who supervises the cooking.
“Keeping the taste the same is also a challenge but we want to provide authentic tastes to our customers. Therefore, we always get fresh produce and take time to prepare quality food.”
COVID-19 pandemic challenge
Piles of takeaway food ready for the customers. Source: Facebook/Nida's catering and takeaway
Yousuf Jaami says that being a small business it is financially challenging.
“Many of our customers were not able to afford food anymore. So, we started giving free food on Fridays, just to keep the business going.
“We did suffer losses but took care of our customers in challenging times.”
Ahmed plans to order home-cooked takeaway food until his degree ends next year.
"I don't mind eating food that makes me happy, just like my mum's food."
