Pune’s Emerging Chefs
Junisha Dama
Junisha Dama speaks to chefs in Pune, who are making their mark and causing a shift in the city’s food landscape.
Restaurant award shows often focus on leading chefs sitting out of the larger metros but in recent years chefs from cities like Pune, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Lucknow, etc have also turned successful entrepreneurs.
You can’t take away the prowess of award-winning chefs in the country. But are we ignoring the talent sitting away from cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore? Restaurant award ceremonies in the country repeatedly commemorate the same chef year after year, applauding modernised Indian plates that pander to a global audience. Smaller metro cities are often at the back of our minds, especially when trying to represent a scrubbed-up (read: white-washed) version to international tourists and global awards.
Chef and owner of Brasserie Cinq, Ambar Rode says that “Pune needs to change the butter chicken and roti mind set,” but also credits shift in the food landscape to the city’s well-travelled young generation. Chef Smaran Shetty of Piatto Dessert Café & Studio has a different take and wants the city to “experiment more! If someone comes in from Mumbai and does it, they go crazy. It’s like they say ‘ghar ki murgha, daal barabar’.”
But now there’s a visible shift in Pune’s eating-out habits. It’s probably because everyone has become more conscious of what they eat, as Chef Akanksha Saigal, of Elephant & Co. points out, “[People don’t] just eat for the heck of eating or go to a bar and just put [in] whatever the hell they give you.”
Perhaps also, like chef and co-owner of We Idliwale Abhishek Joshi says, “the scene is changing because of young chefs who’re also entrepreneurs.” That’s why there’s more room to experiment, and the added benefit that Pune is more economical, unlike Mumbai.
Whatever the reason may be, we’re magnifying the few chefs who can be credited to causing a shift in what and how Pune’s eating out.
Ambar Rode
Chef and owner: Le Petite Amour, Brasserie Cinq, and Flamingo
Here’s what you understand after a chat with Chef Ambar Rode: He understands Pune well, loves simplicity, and puts the art in his head onto a plate. At Le Petite Amour, which he opened in upscale Kothrud in 2015, his roasted pumpkin soup that’s blended with oranges and an in house curry powder has been on the menu since the café first opened. It’s earthy, warm, and has delicate floral notes. It’s also one of Rode’s signatures and a crowd-favourite.
Rode chose Kothrud primarily because he grew up there. And while his love for home and varan bhaat reflects his simplicity, it’s what inspired him to be a chef that speaks volumes. He credits his mother, “Watching her, and looking at her face… The joy she gets from cooking was very, uh, what do you say… very different from others.”
That joy that Rode speaks of translates well into his food. Whether it’s the burnt orange risotto or the butter poached crab tartine that’s dotted with edible flowers at Brasserie Cinq. His other ventures – Le Petite Amour and Flamingo – are more casual, almost like Rode deliberately designed them to encourage Pune to try something new. After all, he knows the ins and outs of the city.
He watched his mom make traditional Maharashtrian faral and cakes as part of her catering business as a kid. So, he began with a vocational cooking course from MCVC, went on to study food production at AISMC, and later learned French cooking and techniques at Le Cordon Bleu, Sydney.
He brought what he learned to Le Petite Amour with a few sandwiches and beverages, found an audience for European fare, and when “it was time to put what was in my mind on the plate,” he opened Brasserie Cinq in 2017. A bigger kitchen offering artful French and Italian plates, it’s what helped him make a mark on the city. He also felt that he could risk experimenting and presenting what he had learned from restaurants in Australia at Dhole Patil Road, a neighbourhood where better-travelled Punekars and expats live who could now eat plates that reminded them of their Parisian holidays.
The chef-entrepreneur has a knack for picking the right spots in Pune, and that’s why in 2021 he opened his third venture, Flamingo, two shops away from his first eatery in Kothrud. It’s a nod to experimenting, and he is trying to introduce Kothrud to newer cuisines with a rotating menu every month.
Smaran Shetty
Chef and owner: Piatto Dessert Studio & Café
When dessert cafes were unheard of in Pune, Smaran Shetty set up shop in posh Kalyani Nagar. It’s where he’s managed to get a following of wide-eyed patrons gleaming at the display counter which features French entremets, gelato and sorbet with flavours you’d only find in a dream. Like his sol kadhi sorbet, which he first served in the country at a time when Pune wasn’t open to experimenting. Shetty also took Pune’s love for jamun shots (black jamun juice served in a shot glass) and created a creamy jamun sorbet, with no artificial flavours.
The biggest challenge for Shetty – despite a menu that also offers brunch, sandwiches, and coffee – was convincing people to spend on a dessert experience. “Pune is a price- sensitive market,” he says, adding that the concept of desserts in India is one of sharing. In many ways, Piatto has been ahead of its time since it opened in 2017. When he first opened, he had lined up fruit flavours, which he had to covert to mostly chocolate due to a lack of takers. Unawareness of ingredients was also high back then, “people had a mindset that all fruits are supposed to be sweet. They expected raspberry, pineapple,and strawberries to be sweet. I understand they should be sweet, but I prefer having that tangy-sweet taste to it, which enhances the flavour of a product.”
It’s only after the lockdown, Shetty says, “is the perfect time for the business we’re trying to do.” He’s noticed citrusy desserts (his favourite to work with) are now preferred over chocolate. Convincing people to enjoy an experimental dessert experience, and educating them about the quality of local ingredients that he works with has also become easier.
Averse to working with meats, Shetty decided to specialise in pastry from Le Cordon Bleu, Sydney. His idea for a great dessert is, “Planning it in a way where you have all the textures in it. And sweet-sour flavours. If it’s crunchy, sweet, creamy all in one bite… It’s fun to have that,” he says.
He’s now dreaming up a dessert-only table and thinking of ways to present desserts as a multi-course meal. The idea will perhaps tour around the country. At home in Piatto, he’s launching a breakfast menu soon.
Akanksha Saigal
Chef and Head of Culinary: Elephant & Co.
Akanksha Saigal walked into Pune in April 2021 to become the Head of Culinary at Elephant & Co., Pune’s favourite bar. Recently, it was awarded the Best Bar India People’s Choice at 30 Best Bars India.
Transforming the menu of a bar that’s much-loved could’ve been a challenge, but Saigal got to know Pune through Elephant & Co.’s regulars. Interacting with them directly, she was able to dig into their preferences and tailor a menu to suit them while also offering them something fresh. It helped her understand Elephant & Co.’s core values before setting up the bar’s outpost in Anjuna, Goa.
“Post Covid, people are eating healthier and that has been a catalyst for change.” The bar’s fried nibbles are out, and more grilled options, fresh salads, and open-faced sandwiches – all made with local produce, are in. You’ll find a curry-tempered sea bass that’s crusted with sago; a superfood salad that features quinoa, barley, beet and hummus; and her signature ghee roast tacos which make for a great bar bite. The menu in Goa has lots of pork and beef options, as that’s what’s local and the chorizo hummus is gaining popularity there. But the Goa outpost also has vegan options, as it panders to quite a varied audience.
It’s safe to say that Saigal – who’s graduated from IHM Mumbai, worked at the Oberoi Group, Silver Beach Hospitality, and Ministry of Crab under Gourmet Investments – is more food-forward than cuisine-forward. And, she’s brought her brand of food sensibilities to Pune in the form of vibrant, and healthier bar plates.
Brehadeesh Kumar
Chef and co-owner: Ginkgo
Eat at any Japanese restaurant in the country, would you get a bow and a greeting in Japanese? Most likely not. Brehadeesh Kumar is creating an experience at Ginkgo, one that’ll not only get you closer to Japanese cuisine but also its culture (you get illustrated
cards about the dish too along with your food, all created by Kumar). Kumar spent a year and a half in Japan as a student at Chiba University, after graduating from IHM Mumbai and studying Japanese literature in Pune.
So, Japanese influences for Kumar don’t just reflect in his food, he’s imbibed the culture in his everyday life too. “You live there and there are a few things that you cannot let go of. Attention to detail is a very Japanese trait, and I usually feel the need to get this to the T,” he says.
Japan also changed Kumar’s outlook on ingredients, “Japanese cooking philosophy is that you see an ingredient as an individual. You want that to be the star. You want it to retain its texture, its colour, its flavour,” he says. He adds that Japanese cooking is seasonal; if carrots are in season for two weeks, they cook with carrots only then. “Autumn is known for mushrooms. They make something out of it that reminds you of that season. So, you’ll get a warmer colour palette; something that looks yellow, orange,red on the plate. And, even the crockery reminds you of that season. That’s what the Japanese place a lot of importance on.” Additionally, an ingredient won’t be masked
with a lot of things. Japanese cooking takes things off instead of adding them onto a plate. Kumar says, “Someone recently told me that it’s a cuisine of subtraction, which really resonated with me.” His plates, of course, carry that story.
Working at Kikunoi Roan in Kyoto, a restaurant by Chef Yoshihiro Murata – the only chef in the world to hold seven Michelin stars – taught him more about kaiseki cuisine, a traditional multi-course Japanese dinner. Kumar brought that forward through a collaboration with The Soul Company and Mumbai Foodie in the form of a limited-edition bento box to Mumbai.
For now, Kumar has no big plans for Ginkgo. Having recently completed a year, the restaurant is focusing on continuing to introduce Pune to unique dishes from Japan.
Abhishek Joshi
Chef and co-owner: We Idliwale
Three soft idlis served with chicken curry – Abhishek Joshi’s food doesn’t need more words, it’s literally just that on a plate. “Good food is all about context and memory,” he says, and it’s this philosophy that he’s translated into his plates at We Idliwale.
Joshi claims he got into food pretty late in his career (he’s in his early 30s now!). He studied food at ICCA, Dubai, went on to work at Folly by Nick & Scott, and came home to work at The Bombay Canteen, Mumbai. But he had no clue about what to do next.
In 2019, Joshi and his partner found a 150sq.ft shop in Pune’s Baner neighbourhood with an idea to serve idli and chicken curry for lunch to the 3,000-odd office-goers in the vicinity. There were only four dishes on the menu then. And, as the pandemic shuttered everything down, they soldiered on with deliveries. “I don’t know how! Perhaps because we had no overhead charges or too many costs to bear. My partner and I would clean up, do the dishes, and were quite self-sufficient,” he says.
But through the pandemic, Joshi would experiment with dishes to keep himself going and post about them on Instagram. Soon, those turned into weekend specials. And, We Idliwale went on to open a dine-in in Viman Nagar, and even got funded by Neha Anand of Kings Group Ventures, UAE.
It’s no surprise that Joshi’s honest cooking has garnered love in the city. Even Chef Rode (and others interviewed for this piece) calls it “soul-satisfying” and is constantly eyeing what Joshi serves next.
Joshi has found a niche of honest South Indian cooking without resorting to fusion. And, he hadn’t ever visited South India before opening! His first trip was to Tamil Nadu in May-June 2022, which he’s still decoding, and is gradually adding newer dishes to his menu. “I grew up on this food. My attya (father’s sister) married into a Kannada family and every Sunday she would make these idlis with chicken curry for her husband. I grew up on this food,” he says. The rest, he picked up from studying South Indian food via the internet.
He’s created plates of idli with Coorgi pork, prawn pepper fry dosse, black sesame podi dosse, malgapodi crab dosse, crab rasam, mutton kothu, Kongunadu style drumsticks pepper fry, and more. With this, he’s managed to change the face of South Indian food in a city that loves Udupi-style food at Vaishali and Roopali, which any South Indian will tell you is far from authentic. “I found out that Jagannath B
Shetty [owner of Vaishali, Roopali, and Amrapali restaurants] used to order 20-25 idlis regularly from my restaurant, that’s an achievement,” Joshi says.
Wide-eyed and practically at the edge of his seat, he says, “We’re looking at another concept too. A bar that serves my style of food;” which is worth looking forward to, as the restaurant has collaborated with Pune’s brewers previously.
Rohit Vishnani
Chef: Soy Como Soy
An exhilarating menu that just keeps on giving. There are juicy medium-rare steaks and lamb chops, comforting ramen bowls, and sauces so flavour-packed you’ll want to douse everything with them. Rohit Vishnani has introduced Pune to Nikkei – the cuisine of Japanese immigrants from Peru.
Perhaps it’s also because Japanese food isn’t unknown to the city, but Pune is happily gobbling down plates of this new cuisine. Explaining more about Nikkei, Vishnani adds, “Peruvian food has ceviche and a lot of seafood, which you also see in Japanese cuisine. The Nikkei ceviche has soy sauce in it as sashimi is similar, so the Japanese simply added Peruvian spices like aji amarillo [yellow pepper chilly]to their cuisine.”
Asian flavours rule in Vishnani’s plates and you could credit it to his work experience at a fine-dine Vietnamese Restaurant in Colorado, or his Indonesian grandmother with whom he began cooking. “I entered the kitchen and did something with bread and liked it, and I kept going back. Eventually, I cooked with my grandma and she’d ask me to help her. I haven’t looked back since,” he says.
The IHM Pune graduate has worked at Kinki too, another Asian restaurant by the same hospitality group that owns Soy Como Soy. So, for Vishnani, creating Nikkei plates wasn’t too hard.
But his meats are the true heroes and the restaurant is rightly bringing them forth with their Sunday afternoon barbeque sessions. It’s also a clever strategy to introduce and educate Pune about Nikkei cuisine all while being hands-on with guests.
