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It's party time, pooches!
Canine caterers are laying out classy spreads for pets that offer everything from cakes to gourmet quiches and pizzas,
says Chitra Anand Papnai
Boss, a St. Bernard, with his special treat from Doggie Dabbas, Gurgaon
A wide grin splitting his powerful jaws, Bruno trails the house-help from the gate to his waiting bowl where the contents of one box are upturned. Within minutes he greedily slurps off every morsel and then, replete, heads off for a siesta. And it's not just Bruno but also his master, Kartik Natrajan, who feels content once Bruno has eaten.
This has been Bruno's routine for seven months, ever since Natrajan started ordering home-delivered meals for his thoroughly spoilt labrador. Natrajan unflinchingly forks out about Rs 6,000 a month for Bruno's high-class, 'premium' meals (about Rs 180 per classy doggie tiffin).
Pooches like Bruno are living the high life. And it isn't just about high-class meals-on-wheels. Dogs with style are now snacking on gourmet cookies, yummy cakes, pasta, risottos, pizzas and even quiches. And relax, there's nothing unhealthy about these snacks — they are prepared with recipes specially formulated for canines with low-salt and low-sugar and everything that a healthy canine needs. Also expect donuts and dim sums made of short-grain rice flour as well as brown rice and spinach.
Mamta Sharma is currently renovating her restaurant for dogs, Bow Wow - The Barking Buddies Club ; Pic by Jagan Negi
The pampering doesn't end with just exciting menus. You could take your dog out to resorts, restaurants and give them specially formulated treats.
Cut to Gurgaon where Lucas, a golden retriever, is being treated to his favourite chicken pizza and donuts. His owner, Mahika Aggarwal, recently organised a birthday party for him complete with his canine chums from the neighbourhood. The 2-kg cake for the birthday dog came from Gurgaon's pet chef, Rashee Kachroo, who runs Doggie Dabbas, specialising in meals and baked goodies for dogs.
Kachroo got a brainwave about getting into the cuisine-for-canines business when she realised that her own three dogs preferred her cooking over branded dog food products. "I reckoned that if my dogs preferred my cooking then other dogs might just too," she smiles. Kuchroo added to her canine knowledge by taking an online course in dog and cat nutrition. She first set up business in Mumbai and kept it going when she moved to Gurgaon.
Wasiff Khan's Homecare Dog Food delivers freshly cooked regular and premium meals for dogs ; Pic by Gajanan Dudhalkar
Lucas, for one, is certainly not complaining as he loves Kuchroo's cakes. And he's not just dependent on one caterer for his goodies. On some weekdays he feasts on special doggie biscuits like banana cookies and peanut butter cookies from Bee The Baker, a Gurgaon-based bakery that has branched out from cooking treats for humans and has added canines to its customer list.
Lucas, Bruno and their kind are ensuring that canine caterers don't have a moment to spare. Bruno is one of 500 four-footed customers in the books of Homecare Dog Food in Mumbai. The company which started operations in 2004, catering hot meals for dogs, has a team of 14 perpetually on-the-move staffers who operate out of a 500sq ft kitchen in Bandra. Every day, they distribute tiffins from Colaba to Andheri and go through about 100kg of fresh meat.
Homecare Dog Food, is the brainchild of Wasiff Khan, one of the pioneers in the doggie catering field. He's now facing stiff competition as other pet chefs and bakers leap into the game.
Says Khan: "The pet food market in India is booming.
People don't have time to cook for themselves let alone for their pets. It's easier to order fresh meals for their dogs."
Taking pet care to another level is the husband-wife duo of Roshan and Priya Poduval. Their Peppy Paws Pet Resort in Pune offers pet boarding, lodging, grooming and fun activities apart from freshly cooked meals.
And if your dogs just feel like stepping out for a meal, then they should head for Bow Wow - The Barking Buddies Club, a doggie restaurant in Gurgaon. Pet lover Mamta Sharma started this exclusive restaurant for dogs in March 2004 with an extensive menu. Currently she's in the process of renovating the outdoor restaurant and giving it a complete facelift.
Bow Wow is often booked for dogs' birthday parties, and owners are spotted reading books while their pooches go through the extensive menu. "It was also a social interaction site for dog lovers who could get their dogs to interact while also fixing dates for those looking for mates," says Sharma. The pets are served by a team that's experienced at handling all breeds.
Although the restaurant is currently under renovation, it still does takeaways from the original menu.
Canine caterers are laying out classy spreads for pets that offer everything from cakes to gourmet quiches and pizzas,
says Chitra Anand Papnai
Boss, a St. Bernard, with his special treat from Doggie Dabbas, Gurgaon
A wide grin splitting his powerful jaws, Bruno trails the house-help from the gate to his waiting bowl where the contents of one box are upturned. Within minutes he greedily slurps off every morsel and then, replete, heads off for a siesta. And it's not just Bruno but also his master, Kartik Natrajan, who feels content once Bruno has eaten.
This has been Bruno's routine for seven months, ever since Natrajan started ordering home-delivered meals for his thoroughly spoilt labrador. Natrajan unflinchingly forks out about Rs 6,000 a month for Bruno's high-class, 'premium' meals (about Rs 180 per classy doggie tiffin).
Pooches like Bruno are living the high life. And it isn't just about high-class meals-on-wheels. Dogs with style are now snacking on gourmet cookies, yummy cakes, pasta, risottos, pizzas and even quiches. And relax, there's nothing unhealthy about these snacks — they are prepared with recipes specially formulated for canines with low-salt and low-sugar and everything that a healthy canine needs. Also expect donuts and dim sums made of short-grain rice flour as well as brown rice and spinach.
Mamta Sharma is currently renovating her restaurant for dogs, Bow Wow - The Barking Buddies Club ; Pic by Jagan Negi
The pampering doesn't end with just exciting menus. You could take your dog out to resorts, restaurants and give them specially formulated treats.
Cut to Gurgaon where Lucas, a golden retriever, is being treated to his favourite chicken pizza and donuts. His owner, Mahika Aggarwal, recently organised a birthday party for him complete with his canine chums from the neighbourhood. The 2-kg cake for the birthday dog came from Gurgaon's pet chef, Rashee Kachroo, who runs Doggie Dabbas, specialising in meals and baked goodies for dogs.
Kachroo got a brainwave about getting into the cuisine-for-canines business when she realised that her own three dogs preferred her cooking over branded dog food products. "I reckoned that if my dogs preferred my cooking then other dogs might just too," she smiles. Kuchroo added to her canine knowledge by taking an online course in dog and cat nutrition. She first set up business in Mumbai and kept it going when she moved to Gurgaon.
Wasiff Khan's Homecare Dog Food delivers freshly cooked regular and premium meals for dogs ; Pic by Gajanan Dudhalkar
Lucas, for one, is certainly not complaining as he loves Kuchroo's cakes. And he's not just dependent on one caterer for his goodies. On some weekdays he feasts on special doggie biscuits like banana cookies and peanut butter cookies from Bee The Baker, a Gurgaon-based bakery that has branched out from cooking treats for humans and has added canines to its customer list.
Lucas, Bruno and their kind are ensuring that canine caterers don't have a moment to spare. Bruno is one of 500 four-footed customers in the books of Homecare Dog Food in Mumbai. The company which started operations in 2004, catering hot meals for dogs, has a team of 14 perpetually on-the-move staffers who operate out of a 500sq ft kitchen in Bandra. Every day, they distribute tiffins from Colaba to Andheri and go through about 100kg of fresh meat.
Homecare Dog Food, is the brainchild of Wasiff Khan, one of the pioneers in the doggie catering field. He's now facing stiff competition as other pet chefs and bakers leap into the game.
Says Khan: "The pet food market in India is booming.
People don't have time to cook for themselves let alone for their pets. It's easier to order fresh meals for their dogs."
Taking pet care to another level is the husband-wife duo of Roshan and Priya Poduval. Their Peppy Paws Pet Resort in Pune offers pet boarding, lodging, grooming and fun activities apart from freshly cooked meals.
And if your dogs just feel like stepping out for a meal, then they should head for Bow Wow - The Barking Buddies Club, a doggie restaurant in Gurgaon. Pet lover Mamta Sharma started this exclusive restaurant for dogs in March 2004 with an extensive menu. Currently she's in the process of renovating the outdoor restaurant and giving it a complete facelift.
Bow Wow is often booked for dogs' birthday parties, and owners are spotted reading books while their pooches go through the extensive menu. "It was also a social interaction site for dog lovers who could get their dogs to interact while also fixing dates for those looking for mates," says Sharma. The pets are served by a team that's experienced at handling all breeds.
Although the restaurant is currently under renovation, it still does takeaways from the original menu.