Cooking and serving food is an art. Only good artists can make a mark in it. Coimbatore Mathapatti Thangavelu Catering Company are those who have been making their mark for more than three decades. Starting from the family program of actors Suriya, Karthi and director Rajamouli to the home programs of VVIPs in various fields, Matapati is the meal. Kamal, Lokesh Kanagaraj, Anirudh and others were treated to a special treat at the Vikram film success meet called ‘Inniku Oru Pudi’. That too is the handiwork of Mathapatti Thangavelu Catering.
In the midst of complaints about the lack of quality food in most hospitals in Tamil Nadu during the Corona period, the quality of food served at ESI Hospital in Coimbatore has been widely appreciated. That pride also belongs to them. Like this, Mathapatti Catering is a family business that is appreciated by everyone from the common man to the high achievers.
I went to their corporate office in Water Pandal area and spoke to the founder Mathapatti Thangavelu. “1968. I was working in GT Naidu Bungalow. I worked serving food to the VIPs who came there. Then I got an opportunity to work as a cook in a house in Balathurai. That’s where I improved myself. After that I joined a restaurant in Bangalore as an assistant to the master. After that I joined a non-vegetarian restaurant there. There I get daily Rs. 20 salary. At one point the restaurant owner was earning Rs. 600 and said ‘take care of the hotel yourself’. I couldn’t hold it for more than a year. I came back to Coimbatore and was working as a cook. After marriage I tried to do something. Nothing is set.
There was a cook named Arthanari at Madhapatti. He cooks for big parties. I worked with him. He is my guru. During the period when he reduced his cooking due to his old age, I started taking up work on my own. The shooting of “Chinnathambi – Periyathambi” took place in Madhapatti. Initially the food that went to the unit was not good. So we got a chance to cook for them. We then cooked for the shooting units there. My brother and I bought a house for that. A lot of orders came in. That is the turning point of life. We grew up under the name Lakshmi Catering. Even then, we have cooked for 60,000 people with the biggest team. When they eat our pumpkin alva, sambar and rasam, they ask ‘Madhampatti thangavelu samayala’.
We had a kitchen set up at the back of our house. When the sons came, they raised it as a corporate company as Mathapatti Thangavel Hospitality. Now the master has come separately for everything,” he said.
Krishnakumar, Thangavelu’s son and managing director of the company, says, “This is our family business. We are running this business together with father, brother Rangaraj, stepfather Ravichandran and our other stepfather’s son Vimal. I was in the IT department. Then I quit my job and joined it. Father had already made a big name in the Kongu region. After we arrived, we made changes to suit the times and grew. We took responsibility for each section. We have made this possible by having experienced people in all departments,” he said.
Vimal, who coordinated the Vikram Success meet party and is the director of the company, said, “After completing my studies, I was in the automobile industry. Initially I was not interested in it. Over time, I fell in love with this industry. They entrust me with any important task. That’s how Vikram Success Meet came about. We took two trucks from Coimbatore and started the work. Kamal did nothing alone for sir. He also ate what everyone else did. He said biryani and parotta were delicious and ate them with relish. He wasted nothing. He quipped, ‘We start the film with biryani and end with biryani.’ Lokesh Kanagaraj Anna liked Idiyappam Autkal Paya very much. As much as ‘Vikram’ was a big hit for Kamal sir, Vikram Success Meet is a big hit for us too.
After showing around the office and kitchen, Rangaraj, the head of the company, said, “In the beginning, we experienced all the difficulties. Today our company has around 3,000 people. On that day Dad would do everything as a one man army. You cannot wear slippers while cooking in the hall. Dad’s feet are all charcoal when he comes home from work. Hand protection is brewed.
Chefs have a certain vision. In some places, they don’t allow you to enter the house, but they make you stand nearby and talk to them. I wanted to change that. We have built a large team of top chefs and professionals who excel in their respective fields. It surrendered. Recently, actor Vijay called Anna and praised him. I never expected that. We cooked for director Shankar sir’s birthday. He called his assistants and introduced us and praised us. Marriage is our priority. Similarly, we are making 18,000 meals daily for IT companies. Next we are going to open a cloud kitchen, restaurant. We have around 3,000 recipes. It has over 1,000 great recipes. To take Madhapatti group all over the world. Similarly, he should continue to be a good actor in cinema. I am acting in films of our own production. Next, I will act in a film directed by Seenu Ramaswamy Anna,” he said.
Thangavelu continued, “The only relief is when the people who come say “the cooking was good” after the mugurtha is over. The brides and grooms we cook for their weddings invite us for their heirloom specials. Making money is not the goal. I was aiming to grow the business with customer satisfaction. That is the reason for the success,” he said.
Cheers to more and more parties!