For Ankita Fernandes and Freny Fernandes, food is their shared love language. If they’re not at each other’s restaurants, polishing off fish curry-rice or petit gâteau, the two chefs can be found bingeing at their favourite Asian eateries. It helps that they are both running their restaurants — Fresh Catch by Francis and Monèr — in the heart of Bandra, so they’re always each other’s plus-one for a quick work break or a movie date.

“We have this mutual love for food, our restaurants and our families. We’ve grown closer in the past year,” quips Freny, while Ankita nods along, adding, “And we try to motivate each other to work out!” The duo burst into laughter which echoes throughout our chat with them at a wine and coffee bar in Bandra, as they open up about their journeys. Tune in to mid-day’s YouTube channel to watch the full interview.