How has the brand taken the exit of star chef Manish Mehrotra?
Manish was the face of the brand. It is a big loss of course. But the restaurant continues. As you can see, all our covers are full. We are going strong in
New York and Mumbai as well.
Now that you are boss in the kitchen, how are you shaking up things?
I have been with the brand for so many years. And I have held fort even when Manish was with Indian Accent. It is hectic for me, with three restaurants running, and all in key markets. But we have reliable and well-trained chefs running operations in New York and Mumbai, so I am not worried. I can focus on Delhi. I will soon revamp our entire menu, while retaining some favourites of course, like the blue cheese naan, the daulat ki chaat, etc.
What are the new regions you are looking at for inspiration in your revamped menu?
Odia cuisine hasn’t been explored well, and has immense potential, as do many Bengali dishes that are still unknown. Most of us don’t even know about the Northeast and its culinary gems. Gujarati food also has a lot of variety and I have introduced khakra, dhokla and vadi from there in the new tasting menu. Even interiors of Maharashtra have recipes that are just genius.
Your London restaurant shut down during Covid. Any new locales you are looking at, perhaps the Middle-East?
The London restaurant was proving to be very expensive due to rent issues. We were right next to Piccadilly Circus, which is a very premium location, with high rentals. And during the pandemic, the landlord refused to give any concessions in rent, instead asking for more. If the right opportunity comes, we can look at other locations of course.
Tell us about your new menus.
We continue the ethos of India Accent, that of innovating on old traditional and classic recipes. I have used ingredients and foods like vatana, green jackfruit, kothimbir vadi in my new tasting menu. You can find shaami kababs of elephant yam topped with a kataifi made out of urad dal, dishes like congee that are a precursor to many similar dishes worldwide and pan-India. Pork ribs get flavours of meetha aam ka achaar, a seabass is served with a light and fresh sol kadi, a malpua and rabri become a crepe served in a light fragrant orange juice. It is a blend of nostalgia and innovation, taking diners back to familiar flavours with unexpected contemporary twists.