CHENNAI: At a time when Bachchan Junior was highlighting on TV ways to go eco-friendly and save trees from being felled, Chennai restaurants were already well-versed with the concept of going green. Kameshwari Fast Food, a small eatery situated in the busy West Mambalam area, has for years used a coupon system for billing, reducing its paper consumption to minimum and thereby, saving thousands of trees from being felled in the process.If you order, say, Rose Milk at Kameshwari, you’ll receive a paper coupon for `15, enclosed in a plastic pouch. This coupon, which you will be asked to hand over at the kitchen to receive food, goes back to the cashier who then gives it to another customer asking for a food item with the same price. This cycle goes on, with the same coupon being reused for years. “During the initial years, some people asked us to use a billing machine. But we couldn’t work with it,” says Chandrasekaran, who has been running this family business for 20 years. “Soon, we resorted to using the coupon system. When we did the calculations, we found that we were saving approximately `1.5 lakh per annum, which included savings on other overhead costs of running a paper billing system. But most importantly, what gave us satisfaction was the fact that this coupon system would help the ecosystem.”However, Chandrasekaran maintains that for restaurants having a larger volume of customers, following this method of coupon system may not be feasible. It is not just Kameshwari that is intent on saving the eco system. There are other restaurants too. Chutneys ‘N’ Curries, at Egmore, for instance, insists on doing its bit to create less pollution. Gorav Gupta, co-owner of the restaurant, which provides 4,500 meals per day to corporates in Chennai, says, “We train our staff to use proper cooking methods such as using a lid while boiling water, use pressure cookers whenever necessary and reduce consumption of fuel. We manage to save 20-25 per cent of fuel consumption through these methods. If this means being eco-friendly, we are happy that we are in the right path.”Other restaurants too are keen to go the green way. Bhuvanesh, owner of the recently launched Donut House, Wellington Estate, Egmore, says, “We know the importance of being eco-friendly. We have plans to cut down on the use of plastics. Instead, we will use more green products such as jute bags.”[email protected]
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