Remembering Chef Damu: A Life Dedicated to the Culinary Heritage of Tamil Nadu

I had planned to call him this week for a story about traditional Deepavali snacks. But it wasn’t like that.

Every year, come the holidays, the first name that comes to my mind for recipes and trends in Tamil Nadu food is Chef K. Damodaran’s. “Hello Akilo, eppidi irukeenga?” he would ask, and I would feel guilty that I only turned to him when I needed something from him. But he would reassure me by willingly broaching the subject.

The last time I spoke to him was in April this year for a story about the kambankoozh summer cooler. Many people who knew him and worked closely with him are still dealing with his passing. Chef Damu passed away in Chennai on October 25. He was 72 years old.

Culinary expert Chef Damu tastes the preparation at The Hindu Our State Our Taste cooking competition held at Hotel Atithi in Puducherry. | Photo credit: SINGARAVELOU T

From the Tamil Nadu Deepavali tradition of eating idli with mutton curry for breakfast to a recipe he documented from an 80-year-old man in a village near Palayamkottai, Chef Damu shared some gems with me over the past decade.

In October 2016, he shared his experience working with midday cooks from 25 government schools in villages in Srirangam district. He prepared vegetable biryani and masala muttai for 350 children. “On the second day, their traffic went up,” he recalled with enthusiasm. He taught the midday workers to prepare tomato biryani, chick pea pulao, vegetable biryani, bisibelabhath, keerai rice, tomatoes, masala and pepper eggs.

In 2019, he traveled to 15 cities in Tamil Nadu and tasted hundreds of dishes made by participants as part of The Hind’s Our State Our Taste cooking competition. It was a monumental task, but it seemed so easy. Chef Damu often loved food that didn’t need complicated masalas and marinating. As a TV chef, he showed how a masala base of onion, tomato, ginger and garlic, chili powder, coriander and cumin was enough to elevate anything from brinjal to chicken.

I remember watching his cooking shows and how he didn’t make a big fuss about measurements, instead following what his hands and eyes told him. He crushed the tomatoes by hand before adding them to the boiling kuzhambu and cooking them in his favorite clay pot. “This dish goes well with rasam or sambar rice,” he said as he scooped it onto a waiting banana leaf, which the camera zoomed in on. I’ve never actually tried chicken fried with sambar rice, but I’ve always wanted it as suggested by Damu.

Chef Damu demonstrates recipes at Gramathu Virundhu Food Festival held at GRT Grand Hotel in Chennai Photo Credit: RAGU R

“He has taught thousands of students,” says Sheetharam Prasaad, Executive Chef, GRT Hotels and Resorts. Chef Sheetharam has a long relationship with Damu. “He was the deputy director of the hotel management institute I studied at,” he recalls, adding that the two traveled together for more than 20 years as part of the South India Chefs Association (SICA); Damu served as president. “Together we visited several counties for competitions,” he says, adding that Damu has been an inspiration to students studying hotel management.

“He was a self-made man who made his way in life through sheer hard work,” recalls Sheetharam. “We have cooked together for several important events like the Chennai Sangamam. Sheetharam says Damu was responsible for “rebranding” the chefs. “He popularized the term ‘chef’ in the media and made it respectable as opposed to chefs,” he says.

While Damu’s work in Tamil Nadu cuisine is well-known, Sheetharam points out that as part of SICA, Damu was involved in many charitable activities. “I remember his dedication when he trained the lunch workers. He taught them safety and hygiene standards that they will surely remember for the rest of their lives,” she says.

Chef Damu showcases recipes at Gramathu Virundhu Food Festival | Photo credit: RAGU R

Chef Deena Dhayalan, a popular digital content creator and TV personality, has worked closely with Damu for over a decade during their stint on cooking shows. “He introduced my traditional Tamil Nadu menu when I was with The Residency in Chennai in 2016,” he recalls, adding that when it came to work, Damu was willing to go any distance. “If they called him tomorrow about a TV show, he’d agree to do it, even if he had a busy schedule,” he says.

In an emotional video, celebrity chef Venkatesh Bhat, who has worked with Damu for 15 years, recalled how he brought Tamil Nadu cuisine to the world stage. “He proved that it is possible for a person to go all the way to the Padma Shri in catering,” he said.

Chef Damu’s love for Chettinad food is well known, but his close friends remember his love for very specific combinations. Like the rava upma made with ghee and tempered with lots of cashews. “He would say, ‘Sita, make me nei upma’ whenever he visited,” says Sheetharam. Damu would eat upma with sugar on the side.

Published – 26 Oct 2026 18:51 IST