Chennai, India – September, 2024 – Bhookle, a pioneering platform connecting home chefs with food lovers, has been honored with the Best Food Delivery App of the Year award at the Food Connoisseurs India Awards 2024. This prestigious accolade, judged by 16 veterans of the food and beverage industry, recognizes Bhookle’s unique approach to delivering authentic, homemade meals with a personal touch.
This award holds special significance for Bhookle, a young startup based in Chennai. Competing against eight national players in the food delivery industry, Bhookle stood out for its innovation, social impact, and focus on promoting home-cooked meals. With a mission to empower home chefs and connect them to a wider audience, Bhookle has redefined the food delivery landscape, creating a community-centric platform where food is more than just a menu item—it’s a story.
“This award reaffirms that what we’re doing at Bhookle is truly unique,” said Arvind Ravichandran , Co-Founder of Bhookle. “Despite being limited to Chennai while our competitors operate nationwide, this recognition shows that there is a pan-India welcome for our concept. We are thrilled that industry veterans and customers alike believe in our vision to revolutionize the food industry.”
What sets Bhookle apart from other food delivery platforms is its human-first approach. Unlike traditional apps that focus on standard menu items, Bhookle offers customers the chance to discover homemade meals with a personal story. For instance, instead of ordering “sambar,” Bhookle users can order “Vidhya aunty’s Special Arachivitta Sambar.” This approach adds a layer of love, memory, and authenticity to every meal, creating a dining experience that goes beyond convenience.
Bhookle caters to a largely unstructured segment of the food industry: home-cooked meals. Through its intuitive platform, it bridges the gap between home chefs and customers craving something unique, healthy, and nostalgic. The app emphasizes quality and safety, with each home chef vetted for FSSAI compliance and kitchen hygiene.
The award is not just a win for Bhookle but also for the home chefs who power the platform. Upon receiving the award, Bhookle dedicated the recognition to its chefs, crediting them for the platform’s success.
“Our chefs are the real stars,” Arvind added. “Their talent and passion drive Bhookle, and this award belongs to them.”
This recognition has fuelled discussions around Bhookle’s potential to become a unicorn—a startup valued at over a billion dollars. With increasing interest from top chefs, a 2X surge in app downloads, and significant investor inquiries post-award, Bhookle is poised for rapid expansion. The platform is actively exploring partnerships and gearing up to scale beyond Chennai, with plans to launch in Bangalore by 2024 and expand to three more Tier 1 cities by 2025.
Bhookle features inspiring stories like that of Chef Sujatha Sriram, who uses her earnings to feed stray dogs, and Chef Sangeetha, a single mother who supports her children’s education through her income on Bhookle. These success stories highlight the platform’s commitment to making a positive impact on local economies and fostering financial independence for home chefs.
Winning the Food Connoisseurs India Award has opened new doors for Bhookle, with increased inquiries from other cities and interest from investors. Bhookle is already planning to expand into Bangalore in 2024 and aims to be present in at least three additional Tier-1 cities by 2025.
“This award is not just a recognition of our past achievements but a validation of our future potential,” said Arvind. “We are committed to scaling Bhookle across India while maintaining the quality and soul of our platform.”
Bhookle’s team believes that this award is a proud moment for the city of Chennai.
“This is a Namma Chennai app,” Arvind said. “It’s a platform born here, and it’s a platform that we hope the people of Chennai will continue to support and love as we grow.”
To celebrate the award, Bhookle is planning an event later this quarter to recognize its chefs and share the award with them. The team is also working on enhancing its services and onboarding more home chefs from different cities across India.
About Bhookle
Launched in 2023, Bhookle is a social sharing platform that connects talented home chefs with customers looking for healthy, homemade meals. With a focus on authenticity, sustainability, and community, Bhookle provides a space where home chefs can showcase their culinary skills, gain financial independence, and deliver delicious meals to customers.
How to get Bhookle:
App: You can find Bhookle on iOS and Android phones.
Website: www.bhookle.com
Social Media: Follow Bhookle on Instagram and Facebook at @BhookleEats.
About the founders
Arvind Ravichandran
Founder & CEO
Arvind holds Master’s degree from Iowa State University with focus education from New York University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has 18+ Years of conceiving and building products for Industry leaders such as Amazon and Microsoft in the United States.. This is third entrepreneurship drive, and he is committed to help technology reach for social causes. He has two patents for innovating gadgets that are aimed at disability.
Uthra Nagaraj
Co-Founder & Head of Marketing
Uthra is the founding partner of Traffic Steer, a specialized performance and programmatic ad-tech venture with portfolio of several popular brands such as Uber , ClearTrip and FlipKart. His past experience also includes operations management of e-commerce entities in UK and Egypt. With Bhookle, he is responsible for driving the advertisement and customer acquisition strategies.
Shamala Raghu
Co-Founder & Head of Food
Shamala and her relationship with food goes back to her childhood. She grew up in a multi-cultural colony providing her with several opportunities to cook and also savor dishes from various cuisines. She is one of the most successful home chefs in Chennai with her talent showcased in several prestigious venues such as Hyatt, Mustard and Hamsa. She is also the founder of Haritham Events which is Chennai’s leading event management company. She is focused on driving more chef enrollment on Bhookle, while also ensuring enough food diversity and innovation happens on the platform
