From 5-star to food stall: How this man turned crisis into opportunity during COVID-19 pandemic

Once 5-star chef, now Akshay sells biriyani at a humble food stall in Mumbai.

Mumbai: In a heart warming story of battling against all odds, Mumbai's Akshay Parkar overcame unemployment, and COVID-19 pandemic to successfully earn his keep as a food vendor.

Akshay Parkar, a chef who boasted of a career working at five-star hotels and international cruises, was suddenly withuot a job due to the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic. 

He was left with no job and not even a sliver hope of restarting the life that he had left behind. But he did not give up hope and with a little nudge from his friends he had new work to look forward to.

Akshay's friends urged him to open a street shop selling the rice delicacy. One friend even lent him some space near his own shop for Akshay to sell his food.

And so the international chef started to earn his keep selling delicious biriyani on the roads of Mumbai.

Akshay had to initially spend more than Rs 10,000, but now he earns enough to sustain himself. 

Some of the patrons who have eaten at Akshay's shop shared his story. A Facebook page 'Being Malwani' posted pictures from his biryani stall. The caption, translated from Marathi says that Akshay worked with Taj Flight Services and Princess Cruises for about eight years. After he lost his job, Parkar opened a roadside stall in Mumbai to sell biryani. 

The post listed other details like the location of the shop and the menu. The FB post says that the stall is located opposite Star Mall in JK Sawant Marg, Dadar, and the price of a kilo of vegetarian Biryani is Rs 800 and non-veg biryani for Rs 900.

Now, Akshay does not want to go back to his old life as a chef in a cruise ship. He wants to continue selling his food at his biriyani food stall and even has plans to expand his business.

Akshay's life is a wonderful example of not giving up during tough times.