OVEN FRESH

When Tuli told restaurant consultant Arun Tyagi that he wanted to bring Chinese grills to town on a 6-foot-long conveyor belt, Tyagi was wary. 8220;The concept was new and there was a risk that people wouldn8217;t accept the idea of a restaurant without waiters,8221; said Tyagi. But Tuli, former engineer and Lehmann Brothers intern, knew enough of international food trends to bet his money on a moving belt. 8220;In the West, the conveyor belt has existed for over 40 years and many sushi diners have one. I thought it was time to bring it to India. We got the belt fabricated here, instead of importing it from Korea or Japan,8221; said the alumnus of St Columba8217;s School, Delhi. His first restaurant offers 6,500 square-feet of dining with options of a separate grill section, formal dining and a bar set up in the backdrop of designer Manish Arora8217;s kitschy collages and mannequins in muti-coloured skirts.

Young, restless and with a taste for zany ideas, a new breed of restaurateurs8212;all under 30 and most from affluent business families8212;is breaking the stale rules of the food industry. Not for them the old-fashioned curry houses or menus that offer everything from tikkas to pastas, grills to wok-fried dishes in a single meal. Most prefer to go solo with a single-nation cuisine and are trashing east-west fusion for authentic recipes and cooking style. What they are banking on is the new urban Indian who is well-travelled enough not to get a cultural shock from their innovations.

In Mumbai, 21-year-old Rizwan Amlani has converted an old villa overlooking the Juhu beach into a restaurant, DelItalia, where homely Italian recipes are laid out on chequered tablecloths. If you fancy a John Dory with fresh Porcini or a wood-fired aubergine and pesto lasagna, this should be the place for you. The emphasis is on using fresh vegetables. 8220;The concept is new and along with my brother, I plan to introduce similar casual dining formats in other metros as well. The menu is 70 per cent vegetarian,8221; said Amlani.

Working with the young, it seems, works for the consultants, who are the people who execute the idea. 8220;They are full of passion and new ideas which is important. There are no fixed rules and unless you try out an idea, you never know if the market will accept it or not,8221; agrees Tyagi.
The new generation also knows how to improvise on old ideas. Malaysian-born Kula Naidu, a bachelor8217;s degree in economics from the University of Michigan, took the plebian takeaway service and made it tony. His Malaysian home delivery unit in Saket, Delhi is one of the most expensive in the city. The chicken rengdang and nasi goreng do not come in plastic pouches. They are home delivered by bikers in black bandanas and come beautifully wrapped in banana leaves and packed in elegant wooden boxes. Stylish enough that you can skip taking out your china. 8220;When I returned to India I missed out on home food,8217;8217; said the 24-year old with a laugh. 8220;Delhi clearly had a space for a Malaysian eatery and I took the opportunity of introducing recipes and cooking styles I was so used to,8217;8217; said Naidu. Four chefs of Kayalan dish out delicious Cantonese and southeast Asian food, mainly Malay, along with a few fusion dishes. 8220;My Indian friends are fond of Malaysian food and I have a ready clientele,8221; he said.

It helps that the new urban clientele they are catering to is ready to give new ideas a chance. An Oriental bistro, for example. That8217;s the first restaurant of a 23-year-old from Chandigarh, Vipul Dua. Said food consultant Manu Mohindra, 8220;French bistros are quite known. Dua wanted an Oriental one. So we set up Purple Rice. We introduced a quick service formatnbsp;and even with its small capacity,nbsp;around 40 seats, the turnover is remarkably high.8217;8217;

The ceiling done up in silver and purple reminds of the restaurant8217;s rather juvenile name but the space makes an effort to come across as a serious diner. 8220;Purple is a symbol of prosperity and youth,8221; owner Vipul Dua is quick at a defence.
The restaurant dishes out a pan-Asian spread; waiters dressed in cargos and canvas shoes and chefs with bandanas add to the lively atmosphere. From a wooden bookshelf in one corner, you can flip through pages of Book of Firsts or even go through the recipe of Hananiese Chicken from a South-East Asian Recipe book. The shelves also stack latest catalogues of brands like Tommy Hilfiger. 8220;Chandigarh is really brand-conscious and I have tied up with various fashion houses that send their catalogues to us,8221; said Dua, who set up Purple Rice almost a year ago. With a hotel management degree from IIMT in Gurgaon, Dua honed his skills at Radisson in London and Hyatt Regency in Delhi before going solo.
Mohindra finds it refreshing to work with youngsters, though they can sometimes be pushy about their concepts. 8220;At times they get a bit aggressive and are often get stubborn about a certain dish that they came across when traveling to places. We work around their ideas but make sure it fits the Indian market,8221; he said.

At Gurgaon8217;s Infinity Towers, Below 8 is another idea that8217;s time has come. The menu at this 80-cover lounge bar offers some good food for thought and a Wi-Fi connectivity if you must surf while munching. Its 26-year-old owner Rahul Khanna did his five-year hotel management course from Ecole Hoteliere De Laussane in Switzerland. At Below 8, you can sample the Lebanese sheesh with masala rum chai or sip Kahlua-based dessert drinks with Shanghai rolls. And fresh fruit martinis are a must try, since most of the blends are done by Khanna, a trained mixologist. Live music on Saturdays and wine and cigar luncheons on Sunday is part of the platter.
Some young food entrepreneurs are all geared up for a second inning. A year ago, Sushiya, an innovative home delivery concept, introduced squeamish Delhiites to the elegant rice rolls that were more than just raw fish. The concept went down well with the butter-chicken loving Delhiites who dialed in trays of sushi and sashimi rolls instead of chicken tikka pizzas. Now its owner, 24-year old Varun Modgill, who spent most of his childhood in Japan, is set to introduce the discerning Delhiites to a Japanese cafeacute; along with his Japanese partner Katsuo Funakawa. The yet-to-open cafeacute; will dish out quintessential Donburis and miso soups along with smart fusion recipes like Thai spiced salmon with a wasabi-yogurt dressing or even a fish tempura in Goan curry. 8220;While I was studying in Japan, I experimented with sushi takeaway. With Rs 8,000, I set up a makeshift kitchen here, hired a chef and brought along the raw materials from Japan. The feedback was encouraging,8217;8217; says Modgill, one-time manager of Food Garden at Selfridges, London. Our appetite whetted, we wait for more.