Padma Shri recipient Chef Damu of ‘Cooku with Comali’ fame dies at 72 in Chennai

Celebrity chef K Damodaran, popularly known as Chef Damu, died on Sunday, October 25 in Chennai. He was 72. He was undergoing treatment at a private hospital after being unwell for several days.

A Padma Shri recipient, Damu became a familiar face on Tamil television after his appearance on Star Vijay’s popular comedy cooking reality show Cooku with Comali. As a gentle and warm host and judge, Damu earned the love of many fans. 

Damu was felicitated with the fourth highest civilian award—the Padma Shri— in 2025 for his contribution to the food industry. 

Born in 1954, Damodaran began his career in 1977 as a management trainee with the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation, after earning a diploma in hotel management and catering technology from the Institute of Hotel Management in Chennai. He later entered the teaching profession and led several hotel management institutions. He earned a PhD in hotel management and catering technology from the University of Madras, becoming the first Indian chef to receive that doctorate, according to his official Padma Shri profile. 

His career combined cooking, teaching, television and a deep interest in Tamil Nadu’s food traditions, particularly Chettinad cuisine. He wrote more than 20 cookbooks and also authored books for catering students. 

Before gaining recognition on television, Chef Damu was known for his large-scale cooking feats. In 2010, he prepared 617 dishes, weighing a total of 190 kg, during a cooking marathon lasting 24 hours, 30 minutes and 12 seconds. The feat earned him a Guinness World Record for the longest cooking marathon by an individual. His other records included preparing a 14.7-metre dosa and helping make the world’s largest curry. 

According to reports, Damu also worked with the Tamil Nadu government on improvements to the school midday-meal scheme and trained cooks across the state.