Healthy Fast Foods - Fast Food Indian Cafe - Nandini Mukherjee Of Indian Bread Co
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| My guest today is Nandini Mukherjee of ‘Indian Bread Co’. She runs a fast food Indian Cafe in New York.Her restaurant is gaining wide media exposure both because of the quality of food and the high service levels. Indian food is a popular cuisine in many parts of the world. However Nandini’s restaurant is not the traditional Indian restaurant with the same old menu. Indian Bread Co is a fast food restaurant offering Indian food. The menu is a healthy alternative to many traditional fast food restaurants. No wonder her story has been picked up by numerous television channels and print media. Indian Bread Co was even chosen to cater for the welcome party for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. | |
| Nandini’s approach of working on the business not just in the business is also probably one of the reasons for her rapid growth. I have a feeling that in a few years time we might see many more of her restaurants across the globe. Read and be inspired by this business success interview… | |
| What makes your restaurant different from the other Indian restaurants? Can you also tell us a bit about your most popular items in the restaurant? | |
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Our niche is that of a fast-casual Indian café – the only one of its kind. Though India has a wide variety of distinctive breads, in most Indian restaurants, breads are relegated to being add-ons to the main meal. Indian Bread Co. gives Indian bread the center stage – making it the main performer in a sandwich filled with Indian fillings. We bring the joy of freshly baked Indian bread to people, and serve it with a global perspective – as the universally accepted and much loved sandwich.Our most popular items are the Aloo Paratha (potato stuffed Indian flatbread), Egg Chicken Kathi Roll (egg & tandoori chicken wrap) & Saag Chicken Naanini (Naan Panini). |
| Did you do some kind of market research before starting out? | |
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I’d come to New York armed with a degree in architecture and an offer from Columbia University to pursue M.S in Architecture & Urban Design. However, an avid interest in lighting made me defer my admission to Columbia University, and join the Lighting Design program at Parsons School of Design.While at Parsons, I enjoyed some great meals from all over the globe in NYC. But Indian food left me disappointed. The choice was between two-day old curry at prices I could afford; or formal, sit-down delicious meals I’d spent days saving for. I realized that there was a market gap for fresh, flavorful, portable Indian food at a reasonable price. |
| That led to the germination of an idea which eventually took shape as Indian Bread Co.I knew there was a market for Indian food in NYC as I had experienced it from a consumers’ perspective first. Since I wanted portable & hassle-free food, I thought of using Indian Breads filled with popular Indian fillings to form a “Curry-on-the-go” sandwich meal.After graduating from Parsons, the next year was spent working in lighting design firms, peppered with short courses at the Institute of Culinary Education & seminars at the French Culinary Institute.According to National Restaurant News, 18-34 year olds are especially attracted to the fast casual segment. So, it made sense for us to be located near a university. That’s how we came to be located on Bleecker Street near New York University. | |
| Looking back, what would you do differently in the start-up phase and why? |
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| The first challenge that my partner & I faced in moving towards our goal was to raise the capital required. A day before signing the lease, our then investor placed a condition before us – either we increase his stakes, or he bails out. Pushed into a corner, we pooled together our savings and were suddenly faced with a situation where we had to re-work our financials and slash our budget by a significant amount. With the budget squeezed, our plan of hiring 2 cooks and 1 front end staff had to morph into 1 cook, with both of us working full time at the café. IBC opened its doors in November 2003. For 1 year, we cooked, cleaned, managed the front end and worked 14 hour days.When I look back now, I should have not squeezed the budget and looked for other investment; as what I saved in terms of money I paid in time. | |
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| Have you ever experienced an epiphany that changed the direction of your life? |
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| I don’t know if I can call it an epiphany, but whenever I used to read the Dining section of the New York Times, I would get a strong f3eeling that I’d be in it someday, and I did land up being in it!! | |
| Did you come up with the recipes yourself? Do you come from a ‘cooking’ background? |
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| Yes, I worked in my kitchen experimenting and concocting dishes, and once they were finalized I taught my cooks. The space experienced many food trial-cum-work parties!I come from a family where cooking was considered at par with any other art form, so I grew up being exposed to the sights, smells & tastes of various cuisines. We were also encouraged to experiment, and I’ve been cooking since I was 8 years old!! Along the way, I’ve taken courses on subjects like various cuisines, recipe writing, restaurant management etc. But it’s not been my line of work. | |
| I am assuming that your line of your work requires you to be onsite most of the time. This must be very hard. How do you balance work and home life? |
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| I have worked hard to set up organizational systems at the café, so that it can run smoothly even when I’m not present. The café is monitored by a camera that I can view on my laptop. I can also sign on to the café POS screen and look at the sales etc.Earlier, I used to be there full-time. Now, I’m there 3 times a week. The rest of the time, I’m looking at growing my business. | |
| Finally, your five keys to business success? | |
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| Sites Of Interest | |
| http://www.indianbreadco.com/ | |
| This interview was published on 16th November 2007 | |
| To read more stories about women in the food industry click home-based-business-food. | |
| Visit Nandini’s business website to get more information about her high quality fast food indian cafe style restaurant… | |
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[...] Check it out! While looking through the blogosphere we stumbled on an interesting post today.Here’s a quick excerptIndian Bread Co is a fast food restaurant offering Indian food. The menu is a healthy alternative to many traditional fast food restaurants. No wonder her story has been picked up by numerous television channels and print media. … [...]
[...] Check it out! While looking through the blogosphere we stumbled on an interesting post today.Here’s a quick excerptIndian Bread Co is a fast food restaurant offering Indian food. The menu is a healthy alternative to many traditional fast food restaurants. No wonder her story has been picked up by numerous television channels and print media. … [...]
[...] Check it out! While looking through the blogosphere we stumbled on an interesting post today.Here’s a quick excerptIndian Bread Co is a fast food restaurant offering Indian food. The menu is a healthy alternative to many traditional fast food restaurants. No wonder her story has been picked up by numerous television channels and print media. … [...]
[...] Check it out! While looking through the blogosphere we stumbled on an interesting post today.Here’s a quick excerptIndian Bread Co is a fast food restaurant offering Indian food. The menu is a healthy alternative to many traditional fast food restaurants. No wonder her story has been picked up by numerous television channels and print media. … [...]