Meet Mumbai's ace menu developers

You could call Karishma Sakhrani very selfaware Though she spends hours in the kitchen at her Churchgate home mdash which almost operates like a lab for her culinary innovations mdash slaving away at a city restaurant she realised early on wasnt her cup of tea I consider myself an artist and need my space when Im working on a dish says the 31yearoldIn 2015 she quit a flourishing career in business development at a lifestyle magazine to follow her passion for food entering MasterChef India Season 4 as a contestant While she lost out in the final round what shed already gained was the attention of Mumbais restaurateurs Soon offers began coming in asking her to be a menu developerShweta Menon and Sunnaeya Kapur at their South Mumbai residence PicSuresh KarkeraSay whatMenu developing is slowly becoming a niche job in the Mumbai restaurant business in which consultants are called in either by a restaurateur to create something entirely new for the diner or even by an existing head chef looking for a fresh perspective to break away from the monotonyThe concept of menu developing was almost unheard of in 2015 says Sakhrani But it serves as a perfect winwin solution for both the restaurant and the consultant chef she says The deliverable for a menu developer isnt just to create a new menu and leave They need to she adds take a fresh look at a restaurants menu strategy identify demand tap into trends and enhance guest loyaltyKarishma Sakhrani at Forts Pantry PicSayyed Sameer AbediGiving an example of how this works Mitesh Rangras who has helmed restaurants such as Lemon Leaf and Aoi in Mumbai talks of a recent project in Indore The objective there was to bring a modern Indian dining experience to the city that didnt have as many options at the time Rangras quit work as a fulltime chef in 2017 because he wanted more variety in what he did Work in Indore he says began with research We found that most of the clientele was vegetarian and so we proposed the same Also we then got into the local cuisine and came up with ways to incorporate local flavours and delicacies into the menu He gives the example of jeeravan mdash a popular spice blend used by Indoris mdash which was incorporated into a lemonade and a salad recipe with quinoa liberally used instead of chaat masalaIn the last year or so Rangras has developed menus for Thaal Co Petes Pizzeria and 2 Bros Pizzas While for the pizzerias he started from scratch by setting up the kitchen menu staff training and recipes for Thaal he set up the kitchen and standardised the recipes helping them create a structure to the operations He says What I used to do for one restaurant I now do for different companies Only its more challenging and fun as I do it in diverse locations with new audiencesBite of satisfactionSakhrani has been a core affiliate for the menu development of some of Mumbais popular restaurants and cafeacutes such as Kala Ghodas The Pantry Bandras The Yoga House and Candy amp Green at Breach Candy A wellness chef she dabbles in healthy bites Sometimes when a restaurant ropes you in the owners present you with a blank canvas and youre allowed to experiment For instance at The Pantry she introduced a range of healthy snacks such as kale chips and light meals such as the beetroot quinoa burger At Aromas Cafes new outlet in Bandra she has experimented with a range of fermented foods the latest fad in food circlesBut its not just about meeting food demands Menu developers have to balance their creativity with budgetary constraints Sometimes extremely exotic ingredients dont fit into their a restaurants budgets so you need to find a worthy replacementPrasad Parab who has developed menus for Happy House Kitchen Hrezzo Sammy Sosa Feast O Fill thinks that as a consultant you become more calculative towards food For instance while designing a dish he has to think of various aspects from vendors and availability of ingredients to market acceptance specific equipment needed for that particular dish contribution of that equipment in the whole menu et al He adds As a consultant we not only create a dish but make it commercially successful through return of investment media exposure and creating ingredient awareness to keep it excitingFormerly a chef at JW Marriott Hotel Mumbai Parab turned to consulting in 2014 thanks to Facebook He recalls I got contacted by an acquaintance who was scouting for a chef who could help him design a menu for his vegetarian finedining restaurant in South Mumbai I saw that as an opportunity to showcase my strengths and experience of working with some of the most influential chefs around the worldThe lastminute challengeBut consultants have a tough time too Shweta Menon an exlawyer and Sunnaeya Kapur a designer switched careers to follow their passion for food and start a catering business The switch came when a friend asked them for help with his restaurant R Adda The challenge of the job says Menon is when the client connects at the last minute For example a restaurant in Juhu where the client had already fixed the name and the decor was confused about the cuisine We stepped in and sensing the feel of the restaurant and the catchy name created a menu around that The duo loves local produce and most of their work shows them promoting the same through regional cuisinesHowever one thing that all of them agree on is that innovation must continue in the kitchen Parab says You cannot sell the same old makhani every time as the guest needs some pampering either in the presentation or texture or with an international approach to that dish Yes there are certainly some blockbuster dishes on which we still try to improvise smartly without deviating from its core taste But thats the fun of being a chefCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest 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