56 INDIA TODAY OCTOBER 8, 2018
LEISURE
“The exciting part is bringing some-
thing new to the city rather than fol-
lowing the tried-and-tested route. We
want to be pioneers in the city’s food
space,” she says.
Each venture stands out for ofer-
ing a new dining experience. The Table
brought home San Francisco-style
cuisine and was a pioneer of seasonal,
farm-to-table food. Magazine Street
Kitchen transformed an old Byculla
warehouse into a space where inter-
national and local chefs could collabo-
rate and host pop-ups. Miss T brings
together two diferent hospitality
groups, Food Matters and Neighbour-
hood Hospitality (Woodside Inn;
The Pantry; Bombay Vintage). They
celebrated this collaboration by record-
ing a podcast documenting the setting
up of the restaurant. “Food is such a
visual thing, but everyone focuses on
the plating and the chef. There’s more
to a restaurant than that. We wanted
to bring that out,” she adds.
A Mumbai resident, Devidayal
studied law and chartered accountancy
in London and worked there for a few
years before moving to Mumbai in
- Then she had a chance meeting
with Jay, at Ghetto. He had just moved
here from San Francisco after selling
his business. “According to Jay, we
met at a party at Busaba, but I was too
drunk and have no recollection of it,”
she laughs. “It’s lovely in a way: we first
met at Busaba and now we’ve taken
over that space!” (Busaba, a Colaba
hotspot for more than a decade under
chef-owner Nikhil Chib, has now relo-
cated to Lower Parel.)
It was Jay who dreamt of start-
ing his own restaurant. “Food was a
big part of the life he left behind. At
that time, Mumbai’s restaurant scene
wasn’t as happening, and there was
room for a lot of experiments,” she says.
As the duo worked towards what even-
tually became The Table, Devidayal
had to decide between her CA career or
joining the business. The draw of being
an entrepreneur and working with Jay
proved too strong. Her reasoning was
that she ‘could take the chance and
return if things didn’t work out’.
She never did.
Today, Devidayal is the self-
confessed face of Food Matters, and
handles the day-to-day operations;
Jay is the ideas man. It’s what keeps
her days full. “It’s a good thing I am
a morning person because I get a lot
of work done then. I make sure I’m
in oce by 9,” she says. No two days
are alike for Devidayal, who splits her
time between all three spaces. “I have
a checklist but never get through it.
There’s a lot of juggling, so I just go
with the flow,” she adds.
When not working, Devidayal takes
time out for her daughter. On week-
ends, the family sometimes heads to
their farm in Alibaug. If there’s a longer
break, they go travelling. “All our travel
revolves around food,” she says. They’ve
dined at Ottolenghi Notting Hill, Gag-
gan’s in Bangkok and The Ledbury inLondon, among other places.
“I eat out a lot when travelling, not
so much in the city. I’m a very fussy
eater here. I won’t go and try out every
new place that’s opened. I take my time
to decide,” she adds. Local favourites
include Woodside Inn, Swati Snacks,
Wasabi and Prakash Lunch Home.
Devidayal believes Mumbai ofers
a great platform to people interested in
venturing into the F&B space. Though
she is happy in the city, she doesn’t rule
out a possible expansion to other cities
‘when the time is right’. Beyond work
though, Devidayal loves the city, chal-
lenges and all. “I feel most comfortable
here. The city has a warmth to it that’s
not easy to find,” she says. “It is home.” ■
—Joanna LoboMISS T
(Clockwise
from top left)
The Colaba
eatery from
the inside
and outside,
and Asian
cuisine at the
restaurant
MANDAR DEODHAR