Venu Jarugula, also known as the Dosa King of Christchurch, is the man behind Dosa Kitchen, a popular eatery in Riverside Market that serves authentic, crispy dosas made with fresh ingredients. However, Jarugula's journey to becoming a successful restaurateur wasn't easy.
After graduating with a mechanical engineering degree in India, Jarugula worked as a trainee engineer at a thermal power plant in Rajasthan. However, he found the extreme heat to be unbearable and returned to Hyderabad in search of better opportunities. It was there that he met a friend who had moved to New Zealand and encouraged him to do the same.
Jarugula moved to Christchurch in 2015 to study Business Management, but struggled to find steady work after finishing his studies. He took odd jobs, including working as a kitchen hand, and eventually moved to Ashburton to work as a forklift driver. It was there that he met his future wife, who is from Sri Lanka, and together they moved back to Christchurch.
After working in a meat processing plant in Hellers, Jarugula decided to start his own business. He noticed a gap in the market for a restaurant that offered dosa as its main food item and decided to fill that gap. He started selling dosa batter from home in 2018, which got a good response, but it was too much work for too little money.
Jarugula then decided to sell dosas, but didn't know how to make them. He spent a lot of time researching and experimenting with dosa recipes in his home kitchen until he finally perfected it in 2019. He started selling dosas at the weekend farmers market and, with practice, he perfected the recipe and sold out every day, receiving many compliments from customers.
During Covid, Jarugula had to switch to takeaways and single-handedly manned the kitchen, doing everything himself. He thinks that's the secret of his food's consistency and good quality. In September 2019, the Riverside Market opened, and Jarugula approached them to get a small food stall. In a market that has stalls from food from around the world, Dosa Kitchen is the only Indian outlet.
Jarugula's daily routine is a testament to his passion and dedication. Every morning, he prepares the essential components of his famous dosas - the batter, chutneys, and sambar - using fresh and high-quality ingredients. After hours of meticulous preparation, he brings everything to the Riverside Market in Christchurch and opens his stall at 11 am.
Jarugula now has plans to expand his Riverside Market outlet by adding more space and offering vegan and non-veg thali, street food, and Indo-Chinese with Indian beverages like masala chai. He is getting two chefs from India and is also adding Sri Lankan cuisine to the portfolio.
Jarugula's journey has been one of hard work and determination. He had to learn everything about running a business, like costing, procurement, and marketing, on the job. "While I had some interest in cooking, I never thought I would be making dosas for a living. Besides learning in the kitchen, I also learnt everything about running a business, like costing, procurement, and marketing, on the job. I am still learning something new every day."
Jarugula has truly become a shining example of what can be achieved with passion and dedication. He has worked hard to create a cult following for his delicious dosas, and his future plans for Dosa Kitchen show that he is determined to keep growing his business and sharing his love of Indian and Sri Lankan cuisine with the people of Christchurch.
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