Recently TTI got an opportunity to speak to Anubhav Nayar, the Chef & Co-Founder of a successful venture- Namaste Asia & Namaste Desi. He started his culinary journey early at the young age of 16 at various top-tier hotels and restaurants in New Delhi whilst completing his schooling. Here are the excerpts of our interview with him
Please tell us about your epicurean journey. Have you faced any challenges or hurdles?
I always loved food and chose cooking as my medium to express the same. After completing my schooling I moved to New Zealand to pursue my culinary arts training at Le Cordon Bleu, Wellington and during the tenure of my education, I got to work with amazing chefs from all over the globe and train at world class institutions including a three-hat restaurant. The country of New Zealand is where I found my love for the farm-to-table approach of cooking which we’ve implemented in Namaste Asia. As a young chef, it was an arduous task to develop a brand for a diversified market like New Delhi. The journey has been an adventure and it had its share of ups and downs but I wouldn’t change a thing as it made me into the chef and entrepreneur I am today.
How, according to you, can the delivery mechanism be made safer? And who does the onus lie on — the food delivery aggregator or restaurants?
First and foremost we need to ensure that the delivery executives are being paid fairly and have adequate necessities like uniforms, raincoats, and delivery bags. I also believe that aggregators and restaurants need to run background checks on riders to ensure the safety of the customers.
Lastly, to place the onus on one party would be unfair however with the kind of resources the aggregators possess, it would be easier for them to implement these changes and once they do it, it might just become standard industry practice.
Tell us about Namaste Asia and how you conceptualized it?
Namaste Asia started as a conversation between me and my brother and now partner Vaibhav on what the Delhi food delivery scene was missing at the time especially in the Asian food category. So early 2018 we began developing and testing recipes and ingredients that reflected my travels throughout Asia, the food introduced to me by my peers in college from various Asian countries, and a healthy dose of my French culinary background which mostly reflected in the cooking techniques we adopted. It took us six months to develop the menu to a point where it was a healthy balance between what customers were used to & what would help us attract them to the brand! We wanted the customers to feel as if they are having a fine dining experience at their homes.
How do you manage to resource ingredients for your dishes?
A part of our six-month development period included finding and building relationships with vendors who were just as passionate about their products as we are about our food. Our vegetables come from micro-farms around our base kitchen and our meats come fresh directly from organically raised livestock. Our seafood is sourced directly from the Andaman Islands and is flown in twice a week. A lot of effort has gone into ensuring that the client gets the freshest food possible regardless of their dietary preferences.
How do you curate the menu of Namaste Asia?
Firstly I researched recipes and cuisines that were not being widely offered in our city. Next, we moved towards the actual trial phase where we tried to adapt these recipes to suit local ingredients and the flavor palates of our patrons.
We always aim to maintain a fair balance between what the customer is comfortable eating and what we want them to experience. A lot of this is inspired by the collective travels of our team although with covid we have to rely upon our experience, research, and the abundant knowledge of our peers spread throughout the globe to continuously deliver new lip-smacking dishes to our patrons.
What are the hygiene precautions you are taking while at Namaste Asia?
To begin with all our staff have gone through both their round of vaccinations. They are temperature checked twice a day and we’ve installed sanitization and additional handwash stations in our kitchens. Everyone that comes in contact with the food is always wearing a face mask, hair covering net, and gloves to avoid any direct contact with the food. In addition to this, the entire team gets periodically covid tests done just as an extra pre-emptive safety measure.
Are you planning to expand Namaste Asia?
We have already begun our expansion plans with the launch of our new outlet in Greater Kailash 2 along with our new offering Namaste Desi which serves North Indian food. With these two brands and others in development, we plan to have strategic outlets across Delhi NCR so that everyone can taste the “Namaste” magic. Our current plans see us expanding to Gurugram and West Delhi soon.
Which dish you consider as your signature dish?
To name one dish would be incredibly difficult as I and my team have put our heart and soul into the entire menu but some of my favorites include our “Prawn Yellow Curry Dumpling, our unique selection of Sushi Rolls and lastly the Char-Grilled Teriyaki Chicken.
Is there a secret ingredient that you love to cook with?
There is no one particular ingredient that I love to cook with but I love to explore new ingredients and incorporate them into dishes where they traditionally do not belong. I am currently researching native herbs, spices, and new varieties of citrus to incorporate into our upcoming menus. We love working with new ingredients because it gives us the opportunity to create a fusion and amalgamation of flavors that in terms of culinary history do not belong together but work tremendously well when put on a plate.
What is your idea of the perfect meal?
Any meal that is either cooked by my mother or a meal that expands my horizons as a chef i.e where I get to experience new cuisines, flavors and ingredients is truly a perfect meal to me. It is through this idea of constant exploration we continue to develop perfect meals at Namaste Asia & Namaste Desi.
Do you think Asian cuisine has seen an upward trend in Delhi? And your views on that
I strongly believe Delhiites always loved Asian cuisine however the paradigm shift was when they started accepting the different cuisines of the region and the individuality and stories of the people behind the food. It comes as no surprise that after Indian food it’s the second most eaten cuisine.
Shared cloud kitchen is already a major hit in the global market. What is your view on its response in India?
The concept as a whole is a brilliant idea and it’s steadily gaining pace as a viable alternative to setting up your own space especially for new entrepreneurs. If it’s implemented in a safe and hygienic manner where proper covid protocols are deployed then it has great potential to be the new standard with dark kitchens and with big-name brands setting up shop in these co-share kitchens, looks like the rest shall follow suit.
What new innovation have you introduced in packaging, contactless dining etc.?
As a brand we always wanted namaste Asia to be known for its premium packaging so that it could add to the in-home fine dining experience that we wanted to create for our customers. We started off by developing custom paper boxes for our sushi and dim sum Along with custom bags made into the signature folded hands Namaste shape. By adopting these we have halved our plastic usage across the years. We are also working with developers on sustainable packaging so that we can once for all stop using plastic. We hope with the technological advances we are witnessing that day is also not far off as it’s high time we come together as a community and do our bit to save our planet from needless waste so that the planet can continue to sustain us for generations to come.
How do you see the food scene changing in India?
The food scene in India is growing and evolving rapidly. It’s quickly becoming a space where international food trends are quickly adopted and relished by customers and it’s developing into a space where the acceptance of new flavors and cuisines is rapidly growing which can only lead to a very diverse food culture given our incredibly rich culinary heritage. We hope to contribute to this ever-growing culinary scene by constantly evolving our current offerings and developing future brands to give our patrons the best experience possible