PhotographPankaj
PoddarForthcoming
PoddarForthcoming
Community creator & curator
Pankaj Poddar
Pankaj wrote the note that became The Giving Kitchen: cook a little extra, share it, and return the gesture in your own time.
A community of people who cook
Cook.Share.Repeat.
Recipes we inherited from our mothers and grandmothers, and then made our own. Offered a portion at a time, to people who will offer something back.
See how it works
No money. No menus. No delivery.
Dal, bati, churmaChhole kulcheUndhiyuPuliyogareKosha mangshoLitti chokhaMalabar parotta
The idea
What really does it, on most days, is the food in our own kitchens.
Remember the food you ate last time you went to a wedding? Dal, bati, churma. Chhole kulchas. Pani puri and bhel. Biryani with saalan. You could have had a twenty-course meal and still not made it to all the counters.
But if you are being honest, what really does it is the food at home. There is a version of aloo sabzi that my mother makes that I cannot describe to you. It would be like describing the colour orange to someone who has never seen it. The only way to know is to eat it.
The real wealth of this civilisation is these recipes. We inherit them from our mothers, and over time make them our own. Sometimes it is the fathers who cook, only on Sundays. Or grandmothers, when we visit. Recipes are everywhere — and almost none of them are for sale.
How it works
Announce, call dibs, balance it out.
- 01
You announce
You are cooking anyway. Say in the group that you will make a few portions extra of whatever is on the stove that day.
- 02
Someone calls dibs
Whoever wants it says so, and sends a pickup. No payment changes hands, ever. No one delivers anything.
- 03
You balance it out
Receive food once, offer food at least once. Not the same week, not the same dish — just keep it roughly even over the months.
Plainly
What this is, and what it is not.
- People who cook, sharing recipes they inherited and made their own
- A WhatsApp group. That is the whole of it
- A food delivery service
- A marketplace, subscription, or anything you pay for
- A place to promote a cloud kitchen, café or catering business
Who we are
It began with a want.
A way to taste what is cooking in other kitchens — the recipes we inherit, alter a little, and rarely find on a menu.
Good to know
A few practical questions.
Do I have to cook every week?
No. Once or twice a month is the expectation. This should fit around the cooking you already do, not add a new obligation.
How do I join?
Someone already in the community refers you, then you fill out the form. We check with them. There is no public sign-up.
Does money ever change hands?
Never. Not for the food, not for containers, not for pickup. If money enters, the honour code stops working.
Can I promote my food business here?
No. Members agree not to market or sell anything in the group, or message other members individually to pitch them.
Joining the group
Want in on this fun?
Ask someone already in the group to refer you. Then tell us a little about yourself and what you cook.
Request an invite The form opens in a new tab.