Forbes India – August 4, 2017

78 | forbes india August 4, 2017

Cross Border

Compassionate kitChen

Muthalampet Mahadevan 62

CHAIRMAN, ORIENTAL CUISINES

Komala C, who is just 22 years old,

hails from a village in the southern

state of Tamil Nadu and had never

heard of croissants or muffins. But over

the past year, she was trained to bake

such goodies and now works at the chic

Swiss bakery Writer’s Café in

Chennai. It’s a new lease of life for

Komala, who tried to immolate

herself a few years ago after a fight

with her mother. That left her body

60 percent covered with burns.

Restaurateur Muthalmapet

Mahadevan started the café in 2016;

roughly a quarter of the 30-member

staff are burn victims. The profits go

to a non-profit organisation that trains

burn victims such as Komala as bakers.

He’s setting up a second cafe, at the

Spastic Society of Tamil Nadu, which

supports children with cerebral palsy.

Over the years, he’s trained and employed

namaindia

S Bhojani F

or ForBeS