February 17th, 2024A wonderful journey of food & friendship

Sometimes there are people who wander into our lives and our communities with an unexpected gift
of compassion and connectedness. It is often hard to articulate the extent of their reach. Raman Richards is one such example.

Moving to Daylesford around four months ago, it’s incredible how this man with a passion for honouring his mum’s Indian cooking and a love of connecting people through food has had a much-needed positive impact on our little community.

It all started with Raman making a simple request on a local Facebook page asking where to purchase local produce and has now had an unexpected and beautiful impact on the lives of many.

“It has been overwhelming. The people I have met in such a short time; the friends I have made; the food producers and the local butchers and fruit shop owners I have connected with has been humbling. I’m so grateful for the love I have been shown in such a brief time,” he said.

“I have met people from all walks of life. From people living in small units to large properties, I have connected with people through my mum’s recipes and my love of sharing and connecting through food.”

When Raman received so many responses to his first request on Facebook, he responded with a thank you and a photo of the recipes he had made. Then people started asking for his recipes, and many then shared their attempts.

The messages continued. People sharing their photos with Raman, asking where to buy certain spices.

For Raman, it was a natural progression to have a cook up and share his recipes. He wasn’t expecting the response he received when he asked publicly if anyone would be keen to taste test.

“It was never planned. It all happened so organically. There was such a genuine passion for my recipes and food that sharing it was a natural progression. My passion is connecting people with local produce and sharing recipes and food with people.”

So, after a mammoth 18 hours of cooking, Raman drove around the countryside literally – delivering Indian food or as one Facebook message read: “His little gift of love.”

“I was humbled to receive produce from those I had visited, beautiful handmade gifts and most importantly the connections I made. I delivered a meal to a lovely lady in Hepburn who said it was hard for her to afford takeaway.

“She said she had invited her neighbour in to share the meal I had delivered. She recently told me they are now sharing a meal weekly. That’s what food does. It brings people together. It provides companionship.”

What’s also remarkable is that all of the private and public messages have been positive. Raman said initially he was warned that some messages might be negative, he has only had messages of support and kindness.

For Raman, sharing his food is his way of paying tribute to his mother. A strong woman, he says, who has taught him the importance of respecting others, connecting with others through the sharing of food and most importantly through kindness.

“My mother grew up in a little Indian village. After she moved to Australia, she opened several restaurants and still raised a family and imparted a love of sharing food on all of us. All of my knowledge of food, my love of food and sharing of food is all because of my mother. To be able to pass that on is so humbling,” he said.

For now, Raman continues to work in his corporate IT role, volunteers with Beyond Blue and has connected with local groups including the 5000 Club and the Good Grub Club and cooked up a feast for a local wildlife fundraiser – to help share his passion of food and his mum’s ideal that food connects us all.

His plan is to have a little patch of land where he can grow his own produce, have five kelpies running around and continue to share his mother’s legacy. But for now, he is preparing his next cooking adventure following a recent trip back to India with his mum.

And for the hundreds of us who have been part of Raman’s story to date, we are all looking forward to seeing his journey of food and friendship unfold.

Words & image: Narelle Groenhout