Today we’d like to introduce you to John Allan Albert Jesubakthan
Hi John Allan Albert, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
John grew up in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, a city on the south-eastern coast of India known for its’ rich food heritage and hospitality. At a young age, he developed a love for cooking as he watched his Amma (mother) joyfully serve their family and community with food. Her genuine love and service through food inspired John to join her in the kitchen.
With this same heart for serving others, John went on to receive his Masters of Social Work in 2007 and began working for International Justice Mission (IJM), spending the first five years of his career rescuing and rehabilitating survivors and their children from slavery (forced labor) across south India. To this day, John (along with his team) rescued over 4,000 people from trafficking between 2007-2018.
In 2019, John married his lovely wife Rachel and moved from India to Orlando, Florida to start a life in a new city. The change of location brought with it the opportunity to explore and John found a way to combine his passion for food and social justice. He started a small business, John’s South Indian Kitchen, as a way to create community and share the experience of authentic, homestyle south Indian cooking with the Central Florida community.
A portion of every purchase pays for the education of children rescued from slavery in South India. John’s vision is to build a business that gives back, investing in and mentoring a new generation to rise above hardship to become empowered leaders transforming their communities for good. These children rescued from slavery (labor trafficking) can be educated and move into government jobs to stop the cycle of oppression.
More than simply good food, John’s South Indian Kitchen is on a mission to better lives and invite new friends into a taste of delicious experience of true south indian hospitality.
Our commitment is to bring you fresh, authentic south Indian dishes made with love and your family’s health in mind. All are welcome at our south Indian table.
We provide corporate catering, cater for special occasions, backyard parties and pop ups in tie up with bars, breweries in Orlando.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Covid is what got us started. I used to work for Chick-fil-A to gain some food and hospitality experience. When COVID hit I took a break and couldn’t sit idle at home. We posted on social media to see if people would buy our food. It all started from there and went on to grow from there. Word of mouth, people got to hear about us.
Learnt all about food and hospitality industry from various small business in Orlando.
It was challenging to figure out paperwork and licensing initially when we began.
The first two years were a lot of hard work and popping up in different bars, breweries and markets and it was usually a hit or a miss. We learnt our lessons.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We cater for all sorts of occasions. We cater for upto 250 people. Situated in the heart of Orlando, we’re in the perfect spot to deliver all your favorites… an array of healthy, delicious south indian that’ll satisfy everyone in your group. And, we’re positive you’ll love working with us.
Our focus has gradually shifted to catering for all sorts of events. We do corporate catering, backyard parties, corporate packed lunches and we cater for all sorts of special occasions.
We provide healthy homestyle Indian food. We want to share our culture and food to the people in Orlando
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Catering is our current focus. We have been doing a lot more corporate catering and lunches already and this is the area we want to grow. We are not thinking of having our restaurant at the moment but our focus remains on catering.
Pricing:
- It’s on our website. Usually for catering orders. People call to customize and get their pricing.
- Catering prices vary based on the items ordered
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.johnssouthindiankitchen.com/
- Instagram: Johns.southindiankitchen
- Facebook: Johns.southindiankitchen
