Chef Damu Dies at 72: Padma Shri Winner and TV Judge Remembered

Chef Damu, whose full name was Damodharan, died in Chennai on Sunday at the age of 72 following a prolonged period of ill health. His passing was confirmed by MediaMasons in a social media post.

The Padma Shri recipient was widely known for promoting Tamil cuisine and for his role as a judge on the Tamil television show Cooku with Comali. Viewers affectionately called him Damu Appa.

“With profound sadness, we pay our respects to Dr. Chef Dhamu, a celebrated culinary artist who made an extraordinary contribution to the world of cooking.”

Damu held three Guinness World Records, authored cookbooks, and trained thousands of cooks, including workers in Tamil Nadu’s midday-meal scheme.

Born on 3 September 1954 in a small town in Tamil Nadu, he hosted cooking programmes on Raj TV, Pothigai, Jaya TV and Vijay TV for over two decades.

His education included a diploma in Hotel Management and Catering Technology from the Institute of Hotel Management in Chennai, a Bachelor of Commerce from Madurai Kamaraj University, and an MBA from the University of Madras. He also earned CHE and CHA qualifications from the American Hotel and Motel Association’s Educational Institute and studied Conference Centre Management at Cornell University.

He began his career as a management trainee with the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation in 1977 and entered teaching in 1986. MediaMasons described his contribution to Indian cuisine as extraordinary and offered condolences to his family, friends and admirers.