Two Chennai foodie start-ups have taken the very concept of home delivery to new levels. They have garnered brownie points for their innovativeness and efficiency, and all within a few months of the inception of their idea. `World of Vegetarian' (WoV) and `Yo! Potato,' are the two additions to the food world in question, and are hitting it off, especially with their online customers, thanks to their unique service and smart marketing.

WoV , the brain-child of Chef, Anand Krishnamoorthy, caters to those wanting an affordable fine-dining solution with ready-to-eat retail products, as well as an inspired global menu to order from. “I travelled extensively around the US, Europe and Middle-East. I was influenced by Michelin Star Chefs in the UK; this led me to start `WoV .' The specialties in the retail market are the Teppan Noodles (Japanese cuisine style), Baby Corn Burritos (Mexican wheat flour tortilla wrapped around a filling), Falafel (deep-fried ball with ground chickpeas and fava beans, garnished with tzatziki) and roasted lasagna.“

He adds, “Our online menu that will be active in the near future can be used for a range of options -posh dinner parties, gifts to friends, picnic hampers and even romantic lunch dates for couples! We hope to give people here a quality and standard hitherto unavailable.“

Yo! Potato, on the other hand, offers people the freedom to order from ANY restaurant in town, even mix and match dishes from different eateries and delivers the food on time, free of service charge. Founded by two friends, Showkath Jamal and Krishna Chidambaresh, the advent takes up orders with no minimum price tag attached -from a single cup of coffee from Café Day to planning a party for 50! “It all happened when my wife and I couldn't reach a decision on where to order from, as we wanted different cuisines.

Krishna suggested this plan to clear the mess from the delivery scene. Since there are no conditions, we've had people clubbing orders like hot lemon tea, butter naan with daal and pizza! A memorable incident was when we brought food from various outlets for a surprise b'day party at Besant Nagar Beach -no else delivers to the beach, do they?!“ smiles Showkath.

Krishna adds, “We have a really cool idea in store to bring all of these delicacies culturally embedded in Chennai to the fore; such as the famous masala vadai in the Mylapore Meesakara Theru, the basha halwa popular in Triplicane, etc. --we have connections with these forgotten but legendary joints too! During festivals we open at 2.30 am and deliver the specifically asked-for biryani to Muslim people before they go on their fast for the day .

Our latest venture is a three day free halwa service; you can give us a friend's name and address, and we'll give them halwa from you! Get it?“ So all you couch potatoes out there; go `Yo!' already!

-dc chn