Remembering Dr. K. Damodharan, Chef Damu — India’s first chef with a PhD in hotel management, holder of three Guinness World Records, Padma Shri awardee, Cooku with Comali judge, and the chef who helped improve Tamil Nadu’s school noon-meal menu and trained 1.4 lakh noon-meal workers.
Remembering Dr. K. Damodharan, Chef Damu — India’s first chef with a PhD in hotel management, holder of three Guinness World Records, Padma Shri awardee, Cooku with Comali judge, and the chef who helped improve Tamil Nadu’s school noon-meal menu and trained 1.4 lakh noon-meal workers.
Tamil Nadu has lost one of its best-loved personalities. Dr. K. Damodharan, known to millions as Chef Damu, passed away in Chennai on Sunday, October 25, 2026, at the age of 72. Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay led the tributes, calling his passing a great loss to the culinary world.
Born on September 3, 1954, Damodharan studied hotel management and catering technology at the Institute of Hotel Management, Taramani, Chennai. He went on to earn a B.Com, an MBA and international hospitality certifications, including conference centre management at Cornell University in the USA.
In 2004, the University of Madras awarded him a PhD in Hotel Management and Catering Technology — making him the first Indian chef to earn a doctorate in the subject.
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1977 | Joined the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation as a management trainee |
| 1986 | Moved into teaching; went on to head several hotel management and catering institutes |
| 2004 | PhD in Hotel Management and Catering Technology — a first for an Indian chef |
| 2010 | Guinness World Record: longest individual cooking marathon |
| 2012 | Guinness World Record: longest dosa, in Madurai |
| 2014 | Guinness World Record: largest curry, in Little India, Singapore |
| 2021 | Culinary Legend Award (World Tamil Organization, London) and a Lifetime Achievement Award |
| 2025 | Padma Shri for his contribution to culinary science |
On December 22, 2010, Chef Damu cooked for 24 hours, 30 minutes and 12 seconds without stopping, preparing 617 dishes weighing 190 kg — a Guinness World Record for the longest cooking marathon by an individual. He later added two more Guinness records, for the longest dosa (2012) and the largest curry (2014). In 2019, he tasted 12,000 dishes in 13 days while touring Tamil Nadu in search of traditional recipes.
For more than two decades, Chef Damu presented cooking programmes on several Tamil channels, teaching homemakers simple, reliable recipes. A new generation came to know him as a judge on Cooku with Comali, from its first season to its seventh. His warm smile, playful expressions and gentle advice to contestants made the show a favourite in Tamil homes.
One of his proudest contributions was to Tamil Nadu’s school noon-meal scheme. Working with the State government in 2008 and 2011, he helped introduce eight rice varieties and six egg dishes to the menu.
CM Vijay said Chef Damu had taken the art of cooking to the people through television, recalled his 2010 Guinness World Record and his Padma Shri, and conveyed his condolences to his family, friends and everyone who loves the art of cooking. Full message: CM Vijay mourns Chef Damu ›
Chef Damu showed that cooking is a serious profession, an academic discipline and a way of keeping a culture alive. To schoolchildren he gave better meals; to students, careers; to homemakers, confidence in the kitchen; and to television viewers, years of laughter. His recipes and his smile will stay in Tamil homes for a long time.
Chef Damu Padma Shri Guinness World Record Tamil Cuisine Cooku with Comali Day 169