VERVEMAGAZINE.IN 201‘khichdi’! Sometimes, I don’t know whether
I Indianised Western food or Westernised
Indian food, but, for me, it’s just what works
in the mouth and on the tongue.
Indigo’s growth graph defeated
any expectation. Usually, an establishment
has a peak phase and then a plateau before
it starts to ebb as a restaurant loses favour.
We peaked for 10 years! Even we couldn’t
understand it. I spent 5.5 crore rupees on
Indigo in 1998. Unheard of! If I looked at
that business plan today, I’d throw it in the
freaking garbage. I was foolish. But I was
driven by something I had to do, more than
how I was going to do it.
Somewhere after Indigo’s mad success,
I lost myself and that vision by studying
the market too much instead of closing my
eyes and asking myself, “What do you want
to do?” Finally, I just stopped listening to
other people.
Qualia, which opened this April on my
60 th birthday, is a very modern, polished
space...and all I hope, all I really hope, is
that we do not get labelled as ‘fine
dining’ because of it. The idea of haute
cuisine — fiddly, intimidating food and
fawning service — is kaput. I saw that
in my eating expeditions to 15 or more
cities in the last couple of years. I love how
high-end Michelin star restaurants today
can be really casual. And this feels more
like my style. A warm, stress-free, really
inclusive dining experience. As I’ve grown
older, I’ve become more open, more
gracious, more generous...and that’s what
I believe hospitality is about at heart.
I like really bright food now, with good