NEVER . LOSE . HOPE – Deep Singh Cheema
This is the story of Mohabat Deep Singh Cheema, A guy who lost his job and
realized his potential.
According to International Labour Organization around 81 million people lost
their jobs due to Covid and one of these people was Mohabat Deep Singh
Cheema.
Deep was born in Punjab but was sent to Delhi with his uncle when he was four
years old. He then completed his school studies and immediately started
working with an MNC to gain financial freedom as he didn’t like to ask for money
from his uncle. He then completed his graduation while working and after
getting a degree he got a job in an IT Management Company. Deep was earning a
salary close to 2.5 lakhs when he lost his job due to the pandemic.
After losing his job, he decided to visit his homeland in Punjab where there
already existed a joint venture of farming on 100-acre family land. However,
Deep mentioned that agriculture was not for him, therefore he decided to stay
away from it.
Deep realized that his village Dhilwan in Punjab did not sell any good quality
pizza; In fact, what they sold in the name of it was reprehensible. In Delhi, the
culture of food trucks was well established, however, he failed to see the same in
his village. The thing that he used to love seemed unavailable therefore he
started his own to show people what they were missing.
He made a variety of recipes and presented them all to his family for a taste test.
He conducted this experiment for over a month and once he gained confidence
he began to look out for the required funds.
He started with an investment of Rs 4 lakh out of which he took 1/4th amount
from his wife. He used this money to start his own food truck called “The Pizza
Factory” which also displayed his cosmic love for cooking.
Deep’s wife quotes “For a long while, I refrained from telling people that my
husband ran a food truck. I did this not because I was embarrassed by what he
did but because the taunts never stopped. I was just tired of hearing it all,”
The foundational reaction that he received from the general public was not very
pleasing. People made fun of his food truck and many even predicted that its a
failure. People discredited him saying he was a “redi wala” and the biggest
challenge that Deep faced was to introduce something new to a population that
was hooked on samosa, pakora, and chai.
Deep wanted to introduce people to something new therefore he kept a
minimum price of Rs 199 for unlimited pizza and he also introduced a small pizza
for just Rs 49.
People might have doubts about getting a lower quality product at such a low
price but Deep is very particular about providing the finest output to his
customers therefore all his ingredients are prime and finest. For instance, all the
dairy products like milk, paneer, etc that are used in his food truck are directly
sourced from his own family cows and the pizza sauce and base are made at
home by his very dear wife.
Deep started his food truck in the year 2020 and now he is earning a revenue of
Rs 2,00,000 per month. People criticized the idea of a food truck and now four
additional food trucks have secured their spots near his food factory. He credits
his mentor, chef Ranveer Brar, with most of what he has learned, and just a few
months back chef Ranveer called him himself to congratulate him on his success.
I would like to end this article by quoting Mr. Deep “Never say Never. Koi kaam
chota-bada nhi hota. Kaam Kaam hota hai.
The Pizza Factory is located in Punjab, Dhilwan, near Toll Plaza, Grand Trunk Road.
