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Instead of beginning his day coordinating supplies and overseeing preparations for large catering orders, Rajesh Aswal now spends his mornings searching for LPG cylinders across the city.The 40-year-old caterer from Mahipalpur says the ongoing shortage of cooking gas has left his kitchen running on uncertainty."People have wedding menus planned six months beforehand. Unlike restaurants, we don't have the privilege to say no to items," said Aswal, who has been in the business for nearly two decades.Caterers across Delhi told Times of India that the shortage, triggered by the West Asia crisis, has created panic reminiscent of the Covid lockdown period. While some businesses have scaled down operations, others are taking desperate steps to keep their kitchens functioning.A caterer based in west Delhi said he had been forced to purchase cylinders in the black market at nearly double the official price."Sellers know we are desperate and they are taking advantage of it," he said, adding that some of his associates have temporarily shut operations.To manage the surge in fuel costs, many caterers are cutting expenses elsewhere, including reducing staff deployed at events."We only keep employees who are necessary, but there isn't much to reduce," he said.Others are turning to more drastic alternatives. A 50-year-old caterer said he had begun using wood to complete pending orders."If it comes down to our livelihood, we have to choose options we know may add to pollution," he said. "Items like biryani and chhole are difficult to manage on makeshift stoves."Aanya Sharma, 25, who runs a catering service across Delhi-NCR with her father from Faridabad, said their operation has also been affected."We know that some people have been hoarding. It has become a huge problem for those in genuine need," Sharma said, adding that it had been nearly 10 days since they had received a cylinder.The impact is also being felt by small food delivery operators. Prince Kumar, a 34-year-old dabbawala delivering meals across south Delhi, said a backup cylinder has kept his service going for now — but only just."As the gas reduces, I'm refusing new orders so that I can complete the ones I already have," he said, worried about what will happen when the reserve runs out.With LPG cylinders becoming harder to obtain, many small businesses have turned to induction stoves. But that alternative is quickly disappearing as well.Shopkeepers in Lajpat Nagar and South Extension said induction stoves were among the first appliances to vanish from their shelves once the LPG crisis intensified. Traders in Kotla market said only high-end models priced above Rs 3,000 were still available.While larger stores reported that stocks were cleared within days, some shopkeepers alleged that dealers had begun hoarding units and selling them at inflated prices.A trader in Dayanand Colony pointed to a small pile of induction stoves left in his shop and said distributors were struggling to meet the surge in demand."There is so much panic. We have seen nearly a 70% increase in customers asking for induction stoves," he said, adding that the latest consignment even included faulty units rushed by suppliers trying to keep pace with the demand.From paying inflated prices for LPG cylinders to burning wood and coal or searching for induction stoves, Delhi’s caterers and dabbawalas say the shortage has pushed many kitchens into crisis mode — with the daily challenge now simply keeping the stoves lit. (With inputs from TOI)