Bengal: Retd professor’s cloud kitchen, a delight for foodies; global cuisines liked & loved by all

Retirement is just a word for some. They believe a new track of life starts after retirement. The essence of it can be gathered not by sitting idle but by exploring things you didn’t do during your work life days. Either you can travel to the corner of the world, or sit at one place and explore different countries by making respective cuisines. Such is the after retirement story of Dr. Dipti Mukherjee from Kolkata.

Serving as a chemistry professor for years, she finally followed her passion after retirement. A few months ago, she opened her own cloud kitchen ‘Own Kitchen.’ However, the thought of it came to her, way back in 1999.“After the demise of my husband, I was suffering from anxiety and depression. I needed to do something that would keep me busy and diverted. Since then, I have been baking and cooking,” says Dipti Mukherjee.

“After retirement, I thought of finally exploring my passion and serve people different cuisines all across the world keeping in mind both the taste and quality of the food,” she adds.

Wide array of cuisines luring gourmets

Different out-of-box food items in her menu soon showered her with love and affection. She mastered serving an array of items starting from spiral bread rolls and patisserie to something as Bengali as a Roshogolla. Catering to public demand, what emerged as her most popular dishes are Chicken with mushroom and sauce, Chicken roulade, Chicken with capsicum and mushroom, Chicken wraps with white sauce, and many others.

“For starters, my hand-made kababs are special which includes reshmi kabab, shikh kabab, hariyali kabab, paneer kabab and many others. In the main dish, biriyani is in high demand among the public. Even I specialise in making different types of cakes like custard cake, black forest cake and many more.”

A lot of background study and research goes into before preparing a dish. Using all her expertise from work-life, cookbooks, and workshops, she has perfected the very art of mixing the right ingredients and materials to produce results that are beyond expectations.
Most of her food items are cooked in the manner followed in restaurants but what makes them exceptional is her motherly touch.
Sayan Roy, one of her customers who was invited at the inauguration ceremony of the cloud kitchen said, “Every item in her menu is restaurant-based, but has a homely touch to it. It feels like that the foods are cooked by our moms.”

She neither compromises on the quality nor the quantity of the food. Besides, Mukherjee is very specific about what goes in which item. “She has some specific rules of cooking for each item. She doesn’t experiment much, but follows the universal cooking style,” said Sayan. “What attracted me more were her sheer determination, zeal, and energy to serve us even at the age around 70 years,” he added.
However, she does not prepare special items regularly. With prior orders from the customers, she can smoothly prepare the items of your choice. She even takes huge orders while the fees are charged according to the bulk of the food to be delivered.

Dr. Dipti’s Cloud kitchen a hit for gatherings, parties

Satyajit Roy, her other faithful customer often orders food from her cloud kitchen to treat his colleagues at a small gathering or a get-together. He said, “the costs of the items are very reasonable and can cater to all classes of people.”

Reportedly, Mukherjee has also collaborated with catering services to serve authentic food items at events and occasions. Be it only for three people or 300, she will serve the food as per the demand.

A cloud kitchen is a kind of restaurant that accepts orders from its customers only through online ordering systems and offers no dine-in facilities. Popularly known as ghost kitchen, shared kitchen, or virtual kitchen, the concept started almost a decade ago, but got popularised in India during the Covid-19 imposed lockdown last year.