Chef Damu (Dr. K. Damodharan) Dies at 72: Biography, Age, Wife

The Indian culinary world has lost one of its most recognised chefs. Dr. K. Damodharan, popularly known as Chef Damu, died on 25 October 2026 in Chennai at the age of 72.

He was widely known for his cooking expertise, contribution to culinary education and appearances on Tamil television. His death was reported by multiple news outlets on Sunday. Source: The News Minute.

Chef Damu became a familiar face in Tamil households through the popular cooking reality show Cooku with Comali. However, his achievements extended far beyond television.

He worked as a chef, educator and author, helped train aspiring hospitality professionals, and promoted traditional Tamil cuisine.

In 2025, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri for his contribution to the culinary field. He also earned international recognition for setting a Guinness World Record through a remarkable cooking marathon.

This article covers Chef Damu’s biography, age, early life, education, wife, family, career, television journey and major achievements.

Table of Contents

Chef Damu Quick Bio

Details	Information
Full Name	Dr. K. Damodharan
Popular Name	Chef Damu
Date of Birth	3 September 1954
Age at Death	72 years
Birthplace	Tamil Nadu, India
Nationality	Indian
Profession	Chef, culinary educator and television personality
Education	Hotel Management and Catering Technology; higher qualifications in commerce, management and hotel management
Known For	Cooku with Comali, culinary education and cooking records
Famous Cuisine Interest	Traditional Tamil cuisine, especially Chettinad food
Major Award	Padma Shri, 2025
Guinness World Record	Longest cooking marathon by an individual, 2010
Wife	Name not confirmed in the reliable sources reviewed
Family	Detailed personal information is limited in official biographies
Death Date	25 October 2026
Place of Death	Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Sources: Government of India’s official Padma Awards profile and reports published on 25 October 2026. Personal details not established by reliable sources have been left unconfirmed.

Who Was Chef Damu?

Chef Damu was an Indian chef who built a career combining professional cooking, hospitality education, television and the promotion of regional food traditions.

Although television introduced him to a much wider audience, his professional journey began decades earlier. He entered the hospitality industry in 1977 after completing a diploma in Hotel Management and Catering Technology in Chennai.

Over the years, he worked in the hospitality and education sectors, eventually heading several hotel management institutions.

He was particularly interested in Tamil Nadu’s traditional food, including Chettinad cuisine, and encouraged people to appreciate regional recipes and cooking methods.

Chef Damu also wrote cookbooks for home cooks and catering students. His official Padma Awards profile records 17 cookbooks for home cooks containing approximately 2,700 recipes, alongside four books for catering students.

His work reached beyond professional kitchens. He contributed to initiatives aimed at improving school meals in Tamil Nadu and training cooks working in public institutions.

These achievements made him more than a television celebrity. He became a culinary educator whose work connected traditional cooking, professional training and everyday food.

Age, Date of Birth and Early Life

Chef Damu was born on 3 September 1954. He was 72 years old when he died on 25 October 2026.

He developed his professional career in Tamil Nadu, where food traditions play an important role in everyday life and cultural identity. His interest in regional cuisine, particularly Chettinad cooking, became a defining part of his culinary work.

Details about his childhood, parents and upbringing are not extensively documented in the official biography reviewed for this article. For that reason, specific claims about his early family life should not be repeated without reliable evidence.

What is documented is his commitment to culinary education and his decision to build a career that combined cooking with teaching. He eventually became a recognised figure in India’s hospitality education sector.

Education and Qualifications

Chef Damu completed a Diploma in Hotel Management and Catering Technology at the Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition in Chennai.

His education did not stop with his initial professional qualification. According to his official Padma Awards profile, he also completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Madurai Kamaraj University and an MBA from the University of Madras.

He pursued further hospitality-related qualifications and studied conference centre management at Cornell University in the United States.

Chef Damu later earned a PhD in Hotel Management and Catering Technology from the University of Madras. His official profile describes him as the first Indian chef to receive a doctorate in this field.

His academic achievements reflected his interest in developing hospitality as both a practical profession and an area of formal education.

Chef Damu Wife and Family

Many readers search for information about Chef Damu’s wife, children and family. However, the official biography and reliable news reports reviewed for this article do not provide enough verified information to establish his wife’s name or a complete account of his immediate family.

It is important not to confuse online speculation with confirmed biographical information. Unless a detail has been established through a credible interview, official profile or reliable reporting, it should not be presented as fact.

Chef Damu’s public life was primarily associated with cooking, teaching, television and the promotion of Tamil food traditions. His professional achievements are well documented, while details of his private family life remain limited in the sources reviewed.

Chef Damu Death News: What Happened?

Chef Damu died in Chennai on Sunday, 25 October 2026, at the age of 72. The News Minute reported that he had been unwell for several days and was receiving treatment at a private hospital.

His death was reported by multiple news outlets, prompting renewed attention to his contributions to Indian cuisine and Tamil television.

At the time of writing, this article does not make any additional claim about the medical cause of death beyond what the cited reporting establishes.

For many viewers, Chef Damu will be remembered for his warm presence on television. For students and professionals in the hospitality industry, his legacy also includes years of teaching, writing and promoting the value of culinary education.

Chef Damu’s Career: From Hotel Management to a Famous Chef

Chef Damu’s professional journey began in 1977, when he joined the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation as a management trainee. He had completed a diploma in Hotel Management and Catering Technology from the Institute of Hotel Management in Chennai.

His career was not limited to cooking in professional kitchens. He later moved into teaching and began working in the education sector in 1986.

Over the years, he headed several hotel management institutions in Chennai, including Asan Institute of Hotel Management, MGR Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology, and Empee Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology.

His work helped aspiring chefs develop the practical knowledge and professional skills needed to enter the hospitality industry. According to his official Padma Shri profile, he helped more than 6,000 catering students find jobs in reputed hotels.

Chef Damu’s career shows how professional cooking can extend beyond restaurants into education, research, television and public service.

Chef Damu and Cooku with Comali

Chef Damu became widely recognised among Tamil television audiences through Cooku with Comali, a popular cooking reality show on Vijay TV.

The show brought professional chefs together with contestants who had to prepare dishes while dealing with humorous challenges and unusual cooking situations. Damu’s knowledge of food, approachable personality and reactions to contestants helped make him a familiar face in Tamil households.

Before becoming closely associated with Cooku with Comali, he had appeared in cooking programmes on several television channels, including Raj TV, Pothigai, Jaya TV and Vijay TV.

His television work introduced a wider audience to professional cooking techniques and regional food traditions. It also helped make cooking entertainment accessible to viewers who might not otherwise follow culinary programmes.

Although television brought him widespread popularity, his career was built on decades of experience in hospitality and culinary education.

Guinness World Records

One of Chef Damu’s most remarkable achievements was his Guinness World Record for the longest cooking marathon by an individual.

On 22 December 2010, he prepared 617 dishes weighing approximately 190 kilograms in 24 hours, 30 minutes and 12 seconds. The achievement brought him international attention and demonstrated his endurance, planning and cooking skills.

His record-breaking activities also included other large-scale culinary projects. His official Padma Shri profile lists three Guinness records associated with him:

Longest cooking marathon by an individual in 2010.
Longest dosa in the world in 2012, in Madurai.
Largest curry in the world in 2014, in Little India, Singapore.

These achievements helped distinguish Chef Damu from many other television chefs. His work combined cooking knowledge with the ability to organise large-scale culinary events.

Chef Damu Padma Shri Award 2025

The Government of India honoured Dr. K. Damodharan with the Padma Shri in 2025 for his contribution to the culinary field.

The Padma Shri is one of India’s highest civilian honours. The recognition reflected his long career in professional cooking, hospitality education, culinary writing and the promotion of traditional food.

His achievements extended well beyond television. He trained hospitality students, wrote cookbooks, promoted Tamil cuisine and worked with public institutions to improve food preparation and cooking practices.

The award was an important recognition of his contribution to the culinary profession and his efforts to make cooking knowledge more widely available.

Chef Damu’s Contribution to Tamil Cuisine and School Meals

Chef Damu had a particular passion for the traditional food of Tamil Nadu, especially Chettinad cuisine. His official profile notes that he regularly travelled to the Karaikudi region to collect recipes and encouraged people to prepare their own spice mixtures.

His work also reached school kitchens. Between 2008 and 2011, he was associated with the Tamil Nadu government’s noon-meal scheme, helping improve food quality and variety.

According to his official Padma Shri profile, he trained approximately 1,40,000 noon-meal workers across 32 districts. He also trained cooks in girls’ hostels and supported initiatives to improve cooking skills in public institutions.

These efforts had a practical purpose: helping cooks prepare tasty, varied meals for children and other people served by public programmes.

He also supported training initiatives for women in self-help groups. His official profile records that 750 self-help group members received training and that 150 canteens were subsequently established.

This part of his career is especially important because it shows how his culinary knowledge was used beyond television and commercial hospitality.

Books and Culinary Education

Chef Damu shared his knowledge through cookbooks and educational materials. His official Padma Shri profile records 17 cookbooks for home cooks containing approximately 2,700 recipes, along with four books written for catering students.

His books helped home cooks explore different dishes while also supporting students preparing for careers in the hospitality industry.

He believed in preserving traditional recipes and making cooking techniques easier to understand. His interest in Tamil food traditions also helped bring regional dishes to wider audiences.

Through his books, teaching and television appearances, Chef Damu contributed to both culinary education and the preservation of food knowledge.

Chef Damu Net Worth

Chef Damu’s exact net worth has not been reliably established through publicly available financial records or credible independent reporting. ($4 million approximately)

During his long career, he worked in hospitality education, appeared on television, wrote cookbooks and participated in culinary events. These activities may have provided different sources of professional income, but their individual values have not been publicly confirmed.

Online websites sometimes publish celebrity net worth estimates without explaining how they were calculated. Such figures should not be treated as verified financial information.

For this reason, Chef Damu’s net worth remains publicly unconfirmed, and it would be misleading to attach a specific amount to his name without reliable evidence.

Chef Damu’s Legacy

Chef Damu will be remembered for more than his television appearances. He spent decades working in hospitality, training students, documenting recipes and promoting Tamil Nadu’s food traditions.

His Guinness World Records demonstrated his skill and endurance, while his Padma Shri award recognised his contribution to the culinary field. His work with school-meal programmes and hospitality students also gave his career a wider public impact.

For many television viewers, he will remain the chef they enjoyed watching on Cooku with Comali. For students, professional cooks and people interested in traditional food, his teaching and culinary work form an important part of his legacy.

His life connected professional kitchens, classrooms, television studios and public-service initiatives. That combination made his contribution to Indian culinary culture distinctive.

Author Profile

Vivek Agarwal: Vivek Agarwal is an experienced content writer with over 5 years of expertise in blogging and digital publishing. Having completed his education in English Generalism, he specializes in creating SEO-friendly, research-based, and reader-focused content. At RedStarGroup.in, he covers biographies, entertainment news, trending topics, and informative articles.