Moms Make it 'Batter': Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is all praises for this mom-run startup

Within the premises of Science Gallery Bengaluru (SGB) on Bellary Road is a shiny stainless steel capsule that looks like it lost its way out of a science fiction film. You might expect aliens with probes to step out of this UFO on wheels, but what you get is even better a team of moms ready to serve up fresh plates of mane oota (home food) with a touch of mom magic. This is ScCuXe (pronounced Scoo-zee) by Henchu, a cute-looking truck-cafe thats buzzing over social media with investor of SGB Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw recently called it an innovative startup created by moms as a food lab on platform X. Ive been cooking for 35 years, and my children always said theres so much love, affection and energy in your cooking. Why dont you start something like that? says Gayathri Mruthyunjaya, the 63-year-old force behind this venture, which started in early August this year, recalling the suggestion that kicked off her cafe. Collaborating with her son, Karthik Aradhya M, she brought together a team of 10 mothers and two men to make this dream a reality. There are so many other women who have this hidden talent in cooking, and according to me, cooking is an art, she adds. Her team of mothers is made up of close friends and relatives aged 32 and above, each with their own expertise, and Mruthyunjayas mission is to let each one shine. A new lunch menu each day, featuring traditional food from Karnataka, is how she does it. One mother makes holige, the other mother makes dosae well, another makes pulav well, and yet another makes gojju avalakki. Each mother gets the opportunity to present their dishes, she says. Apart from traditional Karnataka fare, they also serve up delicious homemade cakes, buns, and a few North Indian dishes. With the cafe finding a home on the campus, the menu priced from `20 onwards is not just about taste and heritage but also health and nutrition. As Aradhya explains, ScCuXe stands for science, culture and experiment. And this aligns with the way mothers make our food intuitively, and how the science gallerys Calorie exhibit functions too, revolving around food culture. Mruthyunjaya adds, When moms make any food, we try to make it with the right proportion of carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and fibre so that its a balanced meal. We do this at home, but here, we are more conscious of it. This is one of the reasons Jahnavi Phalkey, the gallerys director, was drawn to and has grown fond of the place. She says, Our mission is to bring science back into culture. We want people to make considered and informed choices in every aspect of their lives, from careers to the food they eat. Henchu stood out for us because of their commitment to local cuisine, appropriate scale, and the experimental nature of their work: almost a start-up run by a mother-son duo. We have been proved right by the enthusiasm generated around their offering. Her favourite? A classic Karnataka meal that she says is healthy, tasty and something you will not find in a restaurant jowar roti, brinjals, greens, jhunka, salad, buttermilk and so on. With all the attention following a few popular Instagram reels and now Mazumdar-Shaws praise, Mruthyunjaya says she is truly blessed. When you cook at home, our children say its good, and thats it. But when we present the food to others and they say so, it was a great surprise. An unexpected outcome has come from this, too, Mruthyunjaya says, Many ladies have started messaging us on social media saying they have a passion for cooking and want to join. So we want to make a big team! Aradhya fondly concludes, The vision is to take our home-cooked food to the world.

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