“We went in June to Kyoto to cook at Cenci, which has a Michelin star and is on Asia’s 50 Best list. Immediately afterwards there was a pop-up at Como Uma Paro in Bhutan. Then we did a residency at 180 Corner in London. We went back to cook at Paradise Soho and at Silo, the world’s first zero-waste restaurant. It’s been hectic!” said chef Vanika Choudhary, back in September, as she rattled off the places she had recently cooked at. The chef-owner of the now shuttered Noon and Sequel in Mumbai is part of a growing number of chefs, restaurateurs and mixologists based in India who are travelling overseas to collaborate with renowned chefs or to do pop-ups at restaurants and bars of repute. Their aim, say industry insiders, is multi-pronged. Chief among which is to spotlight their work and thereby boost their brand image.
Vanika Choudhary
“It’s a form of marketing where you showcase your product in a restaurant or bar that has the credibility of being on the 50 Best list, has Michelin stars, or has been recognised by, say, the Condé Nast Traveller Top Restaurant Awards,” says Diganta Chakraborty, head of brand at The Soul Company. The agency, among other things, works with chefs, restaurateurs and mixologists to create F&B-centric experiences in India and overseas. Their clients include the likes of Choudhary, Kolkata’s Sienna Store & Café, and Hari Nayak of Bangkok’s Michelin-rated Jhol. Also, celebrity mixologists such as Yangdup Lama, Pankaj Balachandran, and Arijit Bose. “Through such showcases you are recognised by a wider set of consumers, and the industry starts respecting you more.”
Koyel Roy Nandy of Sienna Store & Café at Lộ Quậy, Singapore
Fast track to fame
What started as a trickle, with a handful of appearances four years ago, has now grown into nearly one a month with Southeast Asian destinations such as Bangkok and Singapore being the most popular. According to chef Prateek Sadhu, the uptick is a direct result of the “huge shift” in the conversations overseas on Indian food. Sadhu, an early adopter of collaborative showcases, is currently focusing his attention on Naar, in rural Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh. The 20-seater restaurant has been billed as ‘India’s most ambitious destination dining experience’. “The media conversations on Indian food are now about hyper local ingredients and micro cuisines. People are talking about food consumed by Dalit communities and dishes from Chettinad,” he says.
Prateek Sadhu at Naar
The outward looking trend is also fuelled by the recognition of Indian talent (not always based in the country) by Michelin inspectors and 50 Best taste-testers. “Honestly, every restaurant is trying to be on a list of some kind internationally,” says Yash Bhanage, founder and COO, Hunger Inc. Hospitality. Their flagship restaurant, The Bombay Canteen, which champions India’s regional cuisines, was listed at #70 on 50 Best’s 2024 Asia List. “The chances that the judges will travel to India and discover your art is quite slim. So, by going over there, you’re also giving them a chance to experience your cuisine in their environment. [And back home] we’ve seen the number of tourists that come because you’re on a list. So, it does add to revenue.”
Chef Hussain Shahzad at the O Pedro pop-up at Intersect by Lexus in New York | Photo Credit: Yuxi Liu
Shahzad with Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park
The key to a successful association, says Aditi Dugar, owner of Mumbai’s Masque, which made it #78 on 2024’s list of World’s 50 Best Restaurants, is to find a collaborator who “is in the same box as you. Also, it’s strategic to find a partner of stature because your work will then be seen on the same ground as them”. Masque has collaborated with the likes of Bangkok’s Le Du, Copenhagen’s now-shuttered Amass, and New York’s Eleven Madison Park. Choudhary concurs: “Cenci champions sustainability, which echoes my own food philosophy. My aim is also to be showcased alongside those I look up to. For example, Jeong Kwan [the Korean chef and monk] is a legend when it comes to fermentation.”
When Masque went to Cannes 2024
Pumpkin stuffed with prawns, a dish from the Sienna x Jhol collab in Bangkok
Knowledge exchange
From speaking to a range of industry folk, the mechanics of collaborations and pop-ups appear to follow a similar path. Initial contact with a potential overseas partner is made either by a chef, a restaurant owner, or an experience curator, to suss out interest. Then begins the process of understanding the nuances of each other’s cooking. “Collaboration is a two-way street,” says Sadhu. “I give the other chef my perspective on Indian food, especially regional cuisines and the usage of spices. In return, I get to peek into someone else’s mind; see how they react to the same ingredient, how they use it and learn from that.”
The process often involves visiting local markets, meeting producers and dining at restaurants that only a local would know. “You get to see what techniques chefs from other countries use,” says Shriya Shetty. The Mangaluru-based chef’s presentation of cuisine from Karnataka has found takers at Soul Company pop-ups in Singapore. “But I feel it also helps you reinforce that Indian techniques are great on their own. You just need to bring them into the 21st century to suit the food you’re making.”
Vanika Choudhary foraging for bamboo shoots in Bhutan
Choudhary making ezay, a Bhutanese condiment
“It’s crazy the amount you get to learn,” adds Bhanage, himself a trained mixologist. “I’m always writing down flavour combinations to see how we can approach it in our own way. For example, a dish called ‘fried rice salad’ that I had at Ernest in San Francisco was etched in my mind. I drew on that memory for the khimchi khuska at Papa’s.”
Playing up their strengths
Where it’s a collaboration, menus are created to play both to the visitor and the host’s strengths, while ensuring the end result is cohesive. Where it’s a pop-up, the visiting restaurant or bar draws up a menu based on what they wish to showcase after taking into account the host’s advice on what their customers might appreciate more. “Usually there isn’t a fee involved,” says Bhanage. “Given how expensive air travel has become, the economics of it doesn’t make sense. Unless, of course, there’s a sponsor involved whose guests we are cooking for.”
Yash Bhanage, founder and COO, Hunger Inc. Hospitality
Varun Totlani of Masque, and (right) Avinandan Kundu of Sienna
The hosts, instead, take care of the travel and stay for the visiting team (usually three to four people) and keep the revenue that comes from the meal. Where there is a revenue share — which is uncommon — the visitor gets between 15% and 20% of the take. “These events don’t tend to make an extra profit, and that’s not their aim,” says Michael Goodman, offering a view from the other side. Goodman is the co-founder and chief visionary officer at Singapore’s The Dandy Collection. Their F&B venues include Firangi Superstar, a modern Indian restaurant, and the 50 Best-featured urban izakaya, Neon Pigeon. “This approach [of pop-ups] doesn’t just introduce our patrons to new tastes, it turns our venues into stages for culinary innovation.”
Visiting teams also profit by inviting media and local influencers to get some brand awareness of their own, adds Bhanage. And, at least where Hunger Inc. is concerned, there’s also an “ulterior motive”. “While we’re doing these events, we are also testing the market,” he says. “Because, say there’s an opportunity to open a Bombay Canteen in Singapore or Dubai, you want to take it but with an educated, well-researched level of confidence.”
The writer is based in Mumbai and reports on travel and culture.
