COVID-19 pandemic: 5-star chef loses job, opens roadside biriyani stall

2020 has been a year of downs with a lot of people losing their jobs and lives. Hospitality and F&B industries took a major blow with many losing their jobs. Akshay Parkar, a Mumbai-based chef, was enjoying his fancy job in international luxury cruises and five- and seven-star hotels, when pandemic hit and cost him his 8-year-long job. Without giving up, he opened a roadside stall and started selling 5-star quality biryani in Mumbai!

Akshay Parkar's heartening story came into limelight after a Facebook page called 'Being Malwani' put up a post and shared his extraordinary journey. Akshay Parkar opened a small food stall by the name of Parkar Biryani House in front of Shivaji Mandir in Dadar, Mumbai. On the menu are three varieties of biryanis - veg biryani, anda (egg) biryai and chicken biryani, costing between INR 65 for half plate and INR 140 for full plate.

Evidently, Akshay Parkar also takes home delivery orders and catering orders for parties and weddings. He also sells large quantities of biryanis in kgs for reasonable prices. (Veg Biryani - INR 800 per kg, Non-Veg Biryani - INR 900 per kg).

According to the reports, Akshay Parkar is the sole breadwinner of the family and couldn't waste time moping around after losing job. Akshay Parkar's journey of a self-sustained business has awed, touched and inspired many people. The viral post has been reshared by more than 500 people and received more than 2k likes and hundreds of comments of appreciations and good wishes.