Edappal: The steep rise in cooking gas prices is gradually transforming the way hotel and eatery kitchens function across the state.

With LPG prices soaring and cylinder shortages deepening, many hotels, including those in rural areas, are fighting to keep their kitchens running and have now turned to firewood stoves to stay afloat. However, since permanent firewood stoves are difficult to install in modern hotel kitchens, portable iron stoves designed for firewood cooking are rapidly gaining popularity.

Made entirely of iron and designed to function using firewood, these stoves can be easily shifted and placed wherever required.

These iron stoves are available in different models for preparing tea, porotta, dosa, and other dishes. Many of them are also fitted with fans to efficiently direct smoke outside. Priced between Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,000 depending on size, they are emerging as a major relief for hotel owners struggling with rising operational costs.

The price of a single LPG cylinder has gone up by nearly Rs 1,000, and despite the hike, cylinders remain difficult to procure. At present, a 19 kg commercial gas cylinder costs as much as Rs 3,500. Even small hotels in villages consume nearly two cylinders a week, pushing weekly fuel expenses beyond Rs 7,000.

To tide over the crisis, many eateries are now experimenting with alternative cooking systems. Several shops that had remained shut due to the cooking gas shortage are also preparing to reopen with the help of these newly introduced firewood stoves.