The Hindu Business Line : Curry on, Chef

What would you get if you put a cardiovascular surgeon and a commerce graduate together? A business that works with surgical precision. Well, actually the answer is an award-winning fish curry. Chef Anand George is an authentic Kerala import to the University town of Cardiff, Wales. He has taken the Indian cuisine a few notches up by winning the prestigious Tiffin Cup 2008. Awarded by the House of Commons, for South Asian Cuisine in the UK, it was Chef George’s Allep pey fish curry that swung the House in his favour.

For this founder and proprietor of the seven months old Mint and Mustard restaurant on Whitchurch Road, the journey to making a prize-winning curry started when he was all of five. Awake in the wee hours of morning, he remained in the kitchen, so that his mother kept a gimlet eye on his homework while getting the breakfast ready.

“She was an amazing cook,” he fondly reminisces, miles away from the warm climes of Kerala. Not surprisingly, George uses most of his mother’s recipes in his kitchens today.

Smell the coffee, in London

“The main difference between the business here and in India is that restaurants in India, the really famous ones, are usually associated with hotels. Here you can do very well with a standalone eatery joint,” he says with a smile.

Coming to the UK was a conscious decision. “The money, career and other prospects here are good,” he says with disarming frankness.

London saw him brewing up stuff for Michelin star restaurants like Zaika and the La Porte Des Indes, where work meant continuous learning.

Not easy

“The hotel industry isn’t an easy one. The hours are long and competition is intense. I started as an industrial trainee in the Hyatt Regency, Delhi, while preparing for my entrance to the Taj Catering School, Aurangabad,” he says.

He graduated as a topper in his batch and joined the Vanyavilas Oberoi, Sawai Madhopur. Chef George has a Chennai connection too. He has worked in the kitchens of Southern Spice, the southern speciality restaurant at the Taj Coromandel, for a year before leaving for Leela Kempinski, Bombay.

Flavoured decision

Coming to London in 2005 is a decision that he believes changed his life right after the one that landed him in the catering business. It was also here that the surgical angle to this success story happened.

“My brother-in-law and my sister encouraged me to take up catering studies. It was his friend Dr. M.K. Ajit, a cardiovascular surgeon, who helped me start this restaurant. He laid the foundation for this. I have a board of nine directors, all doctors, to whom I am answerable. But they never interfere. All I need to do is present the balances and reports of returns in meetings,” he says.

At the moment food at The Mint and Mustard has a strong South Indian touch to it but things are set to change soon. “In October, when we re-launch, we are planning to move away from the south Indian style and lean towards the north Indian cuisine styles.” The restaurateur also plans to expand not just the seating capacity, but also revamp the culinary delights to live up to the hotel’s tag line – Indian cuisine redefined.

Innovation

Chef George isn’t afraid of competition. “Indian restaurants in the UK don’t innovate,” he says, “wherever you go you will see the standard fare consisting of tandoori items and the ubiquitous naan. When most of them started out, Mughlai was new but now is rather common.” He plans to start a concept that might rewrite the way Indian cuisine is viewed globally. “It’s based on the idea of the famed dabba system in Mumbai. I am planning to call it ‘Tiffin’ which will include food with a special home-cooked flavour. The menu will be completely Indian. I will use typical Kerala items like thoran and porial that people aren’t familiar with in these parts. Most believe Indian lunches are heavy and put you to sleep. I have tested a tentative menu with some companies and the responses have been good,” he says enthusiastically.

Viable as the idea sounds, it will mean more work. The chef doesn’t shy away. “Now I open the kitchens leisurely around 11 a.m., when the ‘Tiffin’ concept starts I will open them at 8 in the morning,” he says.

Of course, the challenge to break into a market that bites sandwiches and burgers for lunch is something that excites George. “These meals aren’t going to be about cuisine familiar to Kerala. I have a good knowledge and influence of north and south Indian cuisine, so my menu will have the best of both worlds,” he explains.

Recipe for success

Bringing in the best of different States requires a great amount of zeal and strength. So, what would he say are his greatest strengths? “People, in one word. My clientele and the people who I work with, my investors and my family who backed me with every ounce of their strength, “he says .

And he does have a point. His clients nominated him for the Tiffin Cup awards. He didn’t know he was in the contest till he got the letter from the House of Commons inviting him to come and cook in the competition.

The award and great ratings in the media have certainly boosted his business.

“Oh yes,” he enthuses, “We are very busy now.”

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