Chef Chalapathi Rao,fondly known as Chef Challu in the culinary world by his peers &associates,is a self-motivated, resourceful individual with over 30 years of extensive culinary experience having worked exclusively in top-notch 5-star hotels. After passing out from the hotel school, he joined ITC Hotels, as a kitchen management trainee after graduating from the Management training institute, he was posted to a unit where he could work on learning and sharpening his skills on South Indian Cuisine at the prestigious signature restaurant of ITC Hotels, called Dakshin.

At Dakshin he picked up nuances of south Indian cuisineand then he was entrusted to be the Custodianof Dakshin’s. He was part of the opening team for various Dakshin’s which were opened by the ITC Hotels. He served ITC hotels for almost two decades. Then he moved on to be a corporate chef for a chain of hotels.

Like any hotelier, he always cherished the dream to own a restaurant of his own; he decided to be an entrepreneur. He with a bunch of friends went on to open “Simply South by Chef Chalapathi Rao”. – A restaurant that redefines the popular South Indian cuisine and preserves its rich heritage.

It’s the result of this passion and approach that has made Simply South the brand it is and continues to win numerous accolades from highly esteemed organizations.

Apart from cooking, Chef Challu has a flair for writing stories on culinary arts and has also authored several articles that have appeared in various print media. He is constantly reinventing and improvising his age-old recipes to provide better and enhanced foodtothe guests and patrons. Chef Chalapathi Rao is also Master chef India (Telugu) judge, Ted Talk speaker, was among the top 30 chefs of India as named by culinary culture co-founded by Mr. Vir Sanghvi. Chef Challuis presently in the quest for expanding his dream venture ‘Simply South by Chef Chalapathi Rao’ to the global customers.