Face off with Rohit Narang

n Age?Rohit or Timmy as his friends call him is a very young looking 29 years old.Married?Yup. This eligible bachelor was married about...

n Age?

Rohit or Timmy as his friends call him is a very young looking 29 years old.

Married?

Yup. This eligible bachelor was married about 18 months ago to Mohini, a young twentysomething who had come to Mumbai on a holiday from the United States and just happened to bump into Rohit. quot;I met her only a few months before we got married, at a party, in my house.quot; A few months later Rohit decided to spend the rest of his life with his very attractive gatecrasher.

And what is Rohit8217;s claim to fame?

He is from the Narang family, a well-known clan in the world of business and today, he runs Ambassador8217;s inflight kitchen as well as the Ambassador Hotel at Churchgate. He took over from his dad at the tender age of 23.

What was it like taking over the family business?

quot;Nobody wanted to show me the ropes. I guess the staff was scared that I would get to know too much.quot; But he has done a great job as earlier this year, the in-flight kitchen won an award for being the bestin-flight caterers in Asia.

Was it easy?

Not at all. Rohit entered the family business at a very bad time. A lot of his senior staff had just left his catering kitchen to join a rival company. And Rohit, a new-comer, had to take charge. He decided to take a world trip and meet all his clients and asked them to give him three months to get his act together.

A world trip sounds like fun?

Not if it is purely work-oriented. quot;It was just hard work.quot; Rohit spent the whole time trying to get to know his clients and make a personal contact with all the airlines.

Is he a workaholic?

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That he is, but he also knows how to have fun. Saturday night is his time to unwind and he enjoys going out and letting his hair down, once a week. He is also a fitness freak and gets up by six every morning to work-out.

But he works in catering, so he must like food?

Rohit8217;s idea of a good meal is egg white and grilled chicken. quot;Sounds horrible, but I like it.quot; Which is surprising since he alsoruns the Croissants Etc8230; chain of fast food. quot;Though I do sample the food 8212; as I have to test it 8212; I am not into food. I guess when you see it all the time you lose interest in it.

Not that he has lost interest in the business aspect of food. Rohit plans to open a new, funky coffee shop in his hotel, which will serve a huge range of cocktails. He also plans to introduce a low-cal menu at Croissants. Last year, he opened a Chinese restaurant at the Hotel, Pearl of the Orient, that is hugely successful. But Rohit takes little or no credit for any of these new plans. quot;The restaurant was Dad8217;s idea and the coffee shop was my younger brother Rahul8217;s brainchild. It will really be different and should open later this year.quot;

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And what is this young entrepreneur most likely to say?

quot;There is no business like the food business.quot;

And least likely to say?

quot;I8217;m sorry, that8217;s your problem.quot;