Pure vegetarian, always
No exceptions, no separate section, no shared vessels. It is the founding condition of the business.
Our story
Four Decades of Pure Vegetarian Cooking in Bengaluru
Rao's Catering Services was founded in 1980 by Mr. Panduranga Gokhale. The family runs it still — second generation now, same kitchen discipline, same idea of what a well-served meal looks like.
Photo: founder or family
900 × 1000
900 × 1000
A Kitchen That Has Only Ever Cooked Vegetarian
Some caterers add a vegetarian menu. We started vegetarian and stayed that way. Since 1980 no meat, fish or egg has been cooked in our kitchen — which means when a family tells us their function must be strictly vegetarian, the answer is not a promise about careful handling. It is simply how the kitchen is built.
That matters most for the families who ask the hardest questions: Jain households who need no onion, no garlic and no root vegetables; temple committees serving prasadam under strict observance; grandparents who want to be sure before they eat. Those are the customers who made this business, and they are the reason the rule has never been relaxed.
What We Do
We cater weddings and receptions, upanayana and thread ceremonies, gruhapravesha and housewarmings, naming ceremonies, corporate lunches and offsites, and temple and community functions — anywhere between 15 and 3,000 guests. Our cooking covers four traditions properly rather than many badly: Udupi and South Indian, North Indian, Jain and satvik.
Traditional banana leaf service, in the correct serving order, remains the thing we are best known for. Where the venue or the occasion calls for it, we set up buffets, live counters or plated service instead.
How We Work
- Our own kitchen. Cooking happens in our facility, by our cooks. Nothing is farmed out to a third party on a busy weekend.
- Our own staff. Service teams are in-house and trained by us — they know the serving order and the pace a function needs.
- Our own equipment. Vessels, burners, counters and serving gear travel with us, so nothing depends on a rental arriving on time.
- Licensed and inspected. An FSSAI-licensed kitchen with disciplined handling from purchase to service. FSSAI Lic. No. TODO
- Ingredients bought fresh. Groceries the night before, vegetables and perishables on the morning of the function.
Where We Serve
Bengaluru is our home ground — Basavanagudi, Jayanagar, JP Nagar, Banashankari, Rajajinagar, Malleswaram, Vijayanagar, Indiranagar, Koramangala, Whitefield, Electronic City, Hebbal and Yelahanka, at homes, kalyana mantapas, convention centres, temples and corporate campuses. For family functions elsewhere in India, we travel on request.
Why Families Keep Calling Back
Most of our work comes from people who ate at someone else's function and asked who the caterer was. That has been the pattern for over forty years, and it is the only marketing this business has really had. A wedding cannot be re-run; the food either arrives hot and on time or it doesn't. We have built everything — the kitchen, the staff, the equipment — around making sure it does.
Our standards
The Non-Negotiables
Traditions respected
Jain, no onion–garlic and satvik requirements are followed properly — including how vessels are handled, not just what goes into them.
On time, hot, every time
Muhurtham timings do not move. Our arrival and serving schedule is built backwards from your ritual clock.
Honest counts and quotes
A written menu, a clear per-plate rate and an agreed cut-off for changing counts. No surprises on the final bill.
We clear up after
Our team leaves the kitchen and dining area clean. The family should be attending the function, not managing it.
The family answers the phone
You are speaking to the people responsible for the food, not to a call centre or a booking agent.
Tell us about your occasion
Date, venue, rough guest count — that is enough for us to tell you whether we're free and what a menu would look like.