“A man’s desperation for biryani knows no bounds.”

That’s what drove Anirudh Suresan, a resident of the Indian capital, Delhi, to order the dish from 1000’s of miles away in Hyderabad, the southern metropolis well-known for its biryani, a aromatic dish of rice layered with meat or greens.

For good measure, he additionally ordered tunday kebabs – the skewered lamb patties from Lucknow – and Bengali sweets from Kolkata (previously Calcutta).

His expertise, nonetheless, turned out to be removed from best.

“The biryanis were abysmal, they were devoid of everything that makes biryani a biryani,” he informed the BBC. “No amount of heating on stove could resuscitate the tundays and any local sweetshop in Delhi could outshine the Kolkata sweets.”

Mr Suresan is amongst 1000’s of Indians who’re betting on meals supply app Zomato’s Intercity Legends and going the additional mile – actually – to fulfill their insatiable want for biryanis, rasgullas (balls of cottage cheese dipped into scorching sugary syrup) and kachoris (stuffed pies). The agency has partnered with some 120 famend eating places from 10 cities that ship a few of India’s most iconic dishes inside 24 hours by means of flight.

“The idea was to put India on a platter for the breadth and length of the country,” says Kamayani Sadhwani, who’s heading the service on the firm.

Zomato first started the service in August as an experiment, opening as much as residents in south Delhi and components of Gurugram (Gurgaon), an upscale suburb of the capital. It has since expanded operations to over six cities, together with Mumbai and Bengaluru. The firm now goals to make the service obtainable throughout the nation as demand grows.

Ms Sadhwani says the providing is centred round “nostalgia” and “exploration”.

“Our aim was to cater to the needs of our customers in two ways – by helping them reconnect with their roots through the taste of their hometown cuisine and by offering them an opportunity to discover the vast array of culinary delights our country has to offer,” she provides.

The BBC spoke to not less than 9 different clients who, like Mr Suresan, discovered the scheme “tepid at best”.

But Ms Sadhwani mentioned the client response “has surpassed our wildest expectations”, although she declined to specify the size of the operations.

“When we started, we thought it would be expensive and a luxury offering. However, our cost projections over time have led us to believe that it is not a luxury,” Siddharth Jhawar, vice chairman of Zomato Global Growth, had informed Business Standard final yr.

From slicing supply costs and wait occasions to shelling out reductions and promising grocery deliveries in minutes – Zomato shouldn’t be new to experiments. Since its launch in 2008, the corporate has always pushed the boundaries of logistics to realize earnings in India’s crowded meals market.

Experts say its mannequin additionally benefitted from the pandemic when eating places had been compelled to go surfing, relying closely on apps like Zomato to outsource supply.

“Food delivery became the most relevant during the months of lockdown as fine dine restaurants that otherwise didn’t get into food delivery, learnt how to package their food and send it out,” says Sonal Ved, Mumbai-based digital editor and writer of meals books: Tiffin and Whose Samosa Is It Anyway?

“Zomato Intercity is probably an extension of that,” she provides.

But transporting biryani 1000’s of miles away is not any joke and Zomato claims it takes utmost care to maintain the meals protected alongside the journey.

It says it makes use of tamper-proof bins and “state-of-the-art mobile refrigeration” to protect the meals with out the necessity to freeze it or add any form of preservatives.

Besides, numerous eating places on the platform have already got intercity supply by means of tie-ups with courier firms, which have helped make the scheme a hit.

“Zomato Intercity created a buzz and made our products famous, which is why orders have been flowing in from across India.” says Sudip Mullick, director of iconic Kolkata sweetshop Balaram Mullick and Radharaman Mullick Sweets.

On the platform, Mr Mullick primarily sells their specialities – baked rasgullas and sandesh, a young fudge-like confection made with cottage cheese and sugar – that are packed in particular bins in order that they journey effectively.

During winters, which is competition season in India, progress in orders was exponential, Mr Mullick says. “At one point we weren’t able to keep up and had to stop delivery at our counters to make the intercity deliveries.”

Other eating places additionally say they have been getting optimistic suggestions from their clients.

“It’s been great,” says Shoaib Mohammad, managing director of Pista House in Hyderabad which is legendary for its biriyanis and haleem, a wealthy, spicy paste of lamb and wheat.

They now common over 100 deliveries a day on weekends with most coming in from Delhi and Mumbai. “Recently, we delivered 800 boxes in one day,” he says.

Pista House made information in September when a dissatisfied buyer in Gurugram tweeted he had obtained only a small field of salan or curry rather than his biriyani order. Mr Mohammad mentioned Zomato resolved the grievance by monitoring down the misplaced order and including on a free biriyani.

“It ended up becoming good advertisement for the platform and the restaurant,” he added.

But consultants stay sceptical concerning the scheme’s long-term viability, citing the issue in standardising and executing the service throughout the nation.

“The idea is great on paper given Indians’ love of nostalgia, but the long transits and our already overburdened cold chain infrastructure make it a highly cost-intensive exercise for Zomato,” journalist Sohini Mitter says.

More than something, clients ponder whether the expertise of consuming at iconic haunts – hidden inside noisy markets and labyrinthine backstreets – might really be recreated at residence?

“I don’t think that magic can be replicated inside cold-chained plastic containers. Even though the food remains edible, all the taste and texture has gone out of the window,” Ms Mitter says.

Mr Suresan agrees. “There’s a certain charm in strolling up to a place like Hotel Shadab in Hyderabad, where the smell of spices and meat hits you from a hundred paces away,” he says.

“You’re seated amidst bustling crowds and piping hot biryani is brought to you on a plate, and every bite is packed with flavour, and there’s a waiter who hands you as many little bowls of salan and raita as you may need.”

Ms Ved says personally she too would like to eat a biryani in an iconic location “but if AI and logistics are able to offer solutions for those who’d rather eat in their home, it’s good for business”.

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