About Us
The Kera Story
Kera means coconut. It is where every Kerala kitchen, and this one, begins.
A Coast, A Kitchen, A Family
Kera by Charles began with a simple conviction: that the food of Kerala deserves to be served with the same care and confidence as any great cuisine in the world — without losing the warmth of the home it came from.
Chef Charles grew up between the backwaters and the Malabar coast, in kitchens where the day started with the sound of coconut being grated and ended with a pot of curry left to settle. Those kitchens are still the reference point for everything we serve. Amma’s Chicken Curry on our menu is exactly that — his mother’s recipe, unchanged.
Around those foundations we build. A Kerala cutlet becomes a trio. A toddy shop beef fry is taken apart and rebuilt with coconut yoghurt espuma. A short rib is given twelve hours it would never have been given at home. The techniques may be contemporary, but the flavour has to taste like Kerala or it does not leave the kitchen.
How We Cook
Coconut, Every Way
Grated for thoran, milked for stews, toasted dark for ularthiyathu, and pressed into the oil that starts nearly every pan.
Spice With Intent
Heat is never the point. Fresh pepper, kanthari chilli, curry leaf and kokum are used for fragrance and balance first.
Time as an Ingredient
Twelve hours for a short rib. Overnight ferments for our appams. Dum-sealed biriyani that finishes in its own steam.
Eat Your Way
We would love to know how you like to eat. Tell us if you want the spice dialled up or gently down, if you are feeding little explorers, or if there is something you have been missing since you last ate in Kerala. Wherever we can, we will make it for you.