Even at the age of 74, Santoshini Mishra has reached to so many people through food,santoshini runs a successful catering business in sambal,odisha
Starting catering business
36 years back due to financial constraints , santoshini Mishra was forced to start catering business ,The business dominated by men was a challenging step for her Today she is 74 and she is very popular for supplying food for birthday’s and wedding etc.
Age is not a barrier, Hard work pays off
Defying age and gender, Santoshini Mishra is now a inspiration for many in the society, and today she is widely respected for her grit and hard work. Santoshini’s team includes 100 members, mostly women during the wedding seasons she takes at least 4 orders in a day, santoshini’s both sons help her in the job.
I chose this sector because I was good at cooking. I used to watch my mother cook and learnt from her. By the time I got married I was a skilled cook and used to prepare food for 30 to 40 people during our family gatherings. “She said Over the last 36 years, she single-handedly managed her home, education of her two sons and treatment of her husband through her catering business. While she lost her husband nine years ago in 2012, it could not deter her spirits and she continued her job.“I have faced a lot of resistance from my family as well as the society for what I was doing. At one point, it also became hard to find suitable brides for my sons because no one was willing to give their daughters to a family where the woman of the house worked as a caterer. But, I did not let the criticisms restrict me, because it helped me to feed my children and educate them,” she says. . She wishes to cook for Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik some day if given a chance.
