Page 50 - Forbes India (December 2015)

EntErprisE

spEciality rEstaurants

Come Dine All Day

Anjan Chatterjee, of Mainland China and
Oh! Calcutta fame, is trying to stay ahead of the
curve by stepping out of his comfort zone. Leading
the charge is his son, the disruptor-in-chief

By Anshul DhAmijA & DeBojyoti Ghosh

n the last week of September, 20 empire to. The company’s two-
senior managers of Speciality decade-old flagship brand Mainland
Restaurants Ltd, the company China, which has 53 outlets across
I that runs well-known fine- 23 cities in India, has already gone
dining restaurant chains Mainland global with a restaurant each in Dhaka
China and Oh! Calcutta, were in (Bangladesh) and Dar es Salaam
London for an off-site. And for good (Tanzania) and another waiting
reason. By the end of this financial in the wings at Doha (Qatar).
year, Speciality Restaurants is all Many diners had been complaining,
set to open its Bengali restaurant of late, that Mainland China had
brand Oh! Calcutta at St James’s, a become highly commoditised in
tony locality in central London that its offerings. For them, Chatterjee
is also home to St James’ Court, a is rebranding select outlets into
luxury property of the Taj Group, Asia Kitchen by Mainland China
and Chutney Mary, London’s to offer them a pan-Asian cuisine
well-known Indian restaurant. menu. The move couldn’t have
Chatterjee and his team have met come at a more appropriate time.
London mayor Boris Johnson Dishes from the food-streets of
who is said to be “very excited and Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand,
enthusiastic” about the project. Singapore, and Hong Kong as well
The 20 executives also visited as a live kitchen format are being
Scotch distilleries in Scotland. On introduced to give the rebranded
their return from the day trip, they restaurants a distinctive look and feel.
were treated to a home-cooked Chatterjee is also keeping a
meal of Shorshe Macher Jhol (a hawk’s eye on international dining
curry of hilsa cooked in mustard trends that are slowly catching up
paste), Bengali fish fry (fried hilsa), in India. “The other big thing that is
Bengali chicken curry and steamed happening is that from fine dining All in the family:
rice—all of which was prepared by we are getting into all-day dining Anjan (left) and
Avik Chatterjee
Anjan Chatterjee, the managing restaurant formats [like bistros,
director of Speciality Restaurants. bars, and quick-service restaurants].
“Unless you are a foodie yourself You can’t make a Mainland China afoot to open more all-day dining
you will never understand the pain an all-day format,” he says. formats where the beverage section
points of a foodie and understand how In the last 24 months, Speciality (in particular alcohol) would take
to feed people. Otherwise you can’t be Restaurants has added a slew of centrestage. One such concept cooking
in the food business,” says Chatterjee. casual all-day dining formats like in the oven is a micro-brewery.
London is just one among many Hoppipola, Mediterranean restaurant These developments at Speciality
global cities that the 55-year-old is Café Mezzuna and a Chinese quick- could be a reflection of the company’s
looking to expand his restaurant service eatery Zoodles. Plans are also jaded financial performance.

50 | FORBES INDIA DECEMBER 11, 2015