Who Are We

Vatsala’s Kitchen is the labor of love of the founder couple – The Rajans, and is a dedication to Rajan’s mother, Vatsala, who is an accomplished cook herself. Vatsala Rajan remains the torch bearer of the family tradition, that anyone who comes home will not leave the house without partaking in a sumptuous and delicious meal.

Vatsala often told this story to the children;

The table was set. Delicious aromas rose into the air. The sight of yummy-looking dishes got everyone’s taste buds going. The host asked the guests – “Do you eat to live or live to eat?” One of the guests grabbed a plate, loaded it with food, and started eating. He paused for a breathless moment and replied, “I don’t know the answer, but one thing I do know. When there’s a great food to be eaten, it is best not to waste time – start eating!

As passionate cooks themselves, the Rajans started their journey as Home Chefs in 2014 and experimented with various formats from serving delicious food for events, corporate catering, and subscription meals before they found their calling in the packaged food segment.

Vatsala’s Kitchen brings you traditional, authentic pickles, chutneys, relishes ready mixes, and snacks that are made using heirloom recipes, and has no artificial coloring or preservatives.

Vatsala’s Kitchen firmly believes that while very often people may not praise the food but their stomachs will always bless you. This thought drives every product and every food item that is made in the kitchen.

Meet the Navigators

Kalidas Rajan: Founder and CEO. An alumnus of IIM – Calcutta he has spent over 20 years with Tata Steel and another 15 years working across Europe & Middle East holding senior management positions including being on the board of companies.

Kavita Rajan: Founder and Jt. CEO. She holds a double bachelor’s degree in Statistics and Education and is also an alumna of the ‘Goldman Sachs 10K Women Entrepreneur Program’ from IIM- Bangalore. Her creativity drives the new product development for the business and innovations in the traditional heirloom recipe

Ranjit Ravindran: Director. He is a Certified Management Accountant and holds an MBA degree with a deep-rooted interest in food services. He has a strong belief in ethical business practices and his experience of over 25 years spans Sales, Marketing, and Managing Business Units.

Ravishankar Srinivasan: Director. He is currently the CEO and MD of Shapoorji Palonji Oil and Gas Company. He brings the perspective of managing large businesses that provide the fuel for the growth of this business.

Indresh Saluja: Advisor. An Alumnus of MIT Sloan School of Management he brings to the table entrepreneurial insights that have helped small and medium-sized and family-managed businesses to transform into scalable profitable and professionally managed entities.

Rajnish Prasad: Mentor – Strategy and Operations. An alumnus of IIT and IIM, he is a senior IT professional with vast experience across business verticals.

Harsha K: Advisor. He is a wealth-tech consultant and alumnus of Fidelity, Axis AMC, PGIM, and Franklin Templeton. Currently, he is on the team of Syntoniq and Xelpmoc and he works with early-stage start-ups to raise capital.