{
  "id": 16449527,
  "title": "RIP Chef Damu: From dishwasher to respected name of culinary world - Top facts about Cooku with Comali judge Damordaran",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/25/rip-chef-damu-from-dishwasher-to-respected-name-of-culinary-world-top",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-25T08:09:38.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Live Mint",
    "slug": "live-mint",
    "url": "https://www.livemint.com/news/india/rip-chef-damu-from-dishwasher-to-respected-name-of-culinary-world-top-facts-about-cooku-with-comali-judge-damordaran-11792913386285.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Chef Damu, the Padma Shri-winning chef and Cooku with Comali judge, died at 72 after a period of ill health. Known for promoting Tamil cuisine, he held three Guinness records, authored cookbooks, and trained thousands of cooks, including workers in Tamil Nadu’s midday-meal scheme.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 5,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Economic Times",
        "title": "Chef Damu dies at 72; Padma Shri-winning Tamil chef",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/25/chef-damu-dies-at-72-padma-shri-winning-tamil-chef",
        "published": "2026-10-25T05:14:52.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Gulf News",
        "title": "Chef Damu dies: Cooku with Comali judge and Guinness record holder, CM Vijay leads tributes",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/25/chef-damu-dies-cooku-with-comali-judge-and-guinness-record-holder-cm",
        "published": "2026-10-25T09:01:30.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Indian Express",
        "title": "Padma Shri Awardee Chef Damu dies at 72 : Culinary industry mourns the loss",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/25/padma-shri-awardee-chef-damu-dies-at-72-culinary-industry-mourns-the",
        "published": "2026-10-25T10:09:24.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Hindu",
        "title": "Chef Damu passes away at 72",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/25/chef-damu-passes-away-at-72",
        "published": "2026-10-25T12:09:38.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}