Foodies everywhere

As Kerala’s largest food-loving community Eat Kochi Eat crosses three lakh members, founder Karthik Murali talks about its genesis and flowering

Murali Karthik pic by A Sanesh 

By Shevlin Sebastian 

One day when Murali Karthik, founder of the food group, Eat Kochi Eat (EKE), put up a post of a dosa on Instagram, chef Gaggan Anand sent a message, ‘I hate you. I am so dosa hungry.’

Murali replied, “Ha Ha come straight to Kochi. Will get you the best dosa and maybe some puttu with mutta (egg) curry also.”

Gaggan sent a laughing emoji. The Thailand-based Gagan had studied at the Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology in Kovalam. He was the first Indian chef to be featured on the Netflix show, ‘Chef’s Table’, won a Michelin Two-star and was voted Asia’s No 1 chef in The World’s Best Fifty. “He likes Kerala cuisine a lot,” says Karthik. 

Apart from Karthik, many people like Eat Kochi Eat: recently, the group crossed more than three lakh followers on Facebook and Instagram. “It has been very gratifying,” says Karthik, who started the group on September 15, 2015 with a Facebook post. 

“I am a foodie and was looking for like-minded people,” he says. And he has attracted a wide range of people. There are college students, couples, career professionals, and elderly people. “When the topic of food comes up, people forgot their differences and have animated discussions,” says Karthik. “I realised there was magic regarding food. We have conducted 35 events in the past four years.”  

One such event which took place recently was during Diwali. About 45 people, who paid the registration fee of Rs 100, gathered one afternoon at Bikash Babu Sweets near the Kathrikadavu Railway Overbridge. There is an eating space at the back. “We told the participants they could eat whatever they wanted,” says Karthik. And they did. The bill, for such events, usually comes with a 20 percent discount. But this time, the participants got a surprise. Owner Amit Sarkar gave the savouries for free. 

The group has also gone on road trips to Kottayam, Palakkad, Thalassery, Kozhikode and Coimbatore. In Coimbatore, they covered 12 restaurants. “We had two breakfasts, two lunches, and three dinners,” says Karthik, with a smile.

Meanwhile, a lot of material is put online. So, on Facebook, member Shoba Mathew writes about the French Toast with Strawberries. “I cannot even begin to describe how good this tasted,” she said. “The brioche, fluffy and moist, soaked in the strawberry crush, and drenched in a healthy portion of cream, came together to create fireworks in my mouth. This is a dish to be tried once in your lifetime.” 

Karthik says a small group vet the posts. “We try to encourage positive reviews,” he says. “But if they are constructive negative reviews, we put that up also. We came to know of people who went to restaurants and said they would put up a negative review in EKE, but would not do so if they got a discount. So we are careful about negative statements. I tell members, ‘Please put up information which is helpful.”

Asked about the future, he says, “Today we are the largest foodie group in Kerala. We want to maintain that position.” 

(The New Indian Express, Kochi)