HIS SAMOSA SPREADSHEETS

Munaf Kapadia uses his corporate savvy to heat up India’s regional food movement

IFyou were ever looking for a playbook that explained how regional Indian cuisine can be readied for outside investment, you need look no further. Munaf Kapadia has written one. Founder of Mumbai’s The Bohri Kitchen, Kapadia seems to have succinctly encapsulated his life in the title of his recently released book, How I Quit Google to Sell Samosas. There’s more to the book than biography, however. It also helps us see how regional food became a rage in India.

Kapadia, who spoke to us during Ramazan, said his delivery kitchen is currently working on adding to its Iftaar Meal Box. The box presently feeds a single person and includes the brand’s signature smoked mutton samosas, alongside biryani, raita, a rose cooler and more. “We’re not doing 200 orders per day anymore. We’re doing 30 orders and they’re all cash positive,” said Kapadia. Though he adds the average order value has gone up from Rs 300 to Rs 3,000, he does let slip, “After everything I’ve done with the Bohri Kitchen, by far, the most successful, honest representation of Bohri food is only possible via the home dining experience.”

In 2014, when the world was a better and a safer place, Kapadia was that rare entrepreneur who invited paying customers into his home for an authentic regional Indian meal. From there, he scaled up to five delivery kitchens. There were pop-ups, collaborations and more. With the help of investors like Riyaaz Amlani, Kapadia took his business mainstream.

Kapadia is clear that a faceless brand cannot educate customers. You need someone who can “evangelise” the experience.

Kapadia remembers guiding diners through their meal. After the first four months, he knew his speech by heart. Over time, Kapadia said, “I learned what people want to know. I learned what is funny and not funny,” and so on.

Kapadia has also helped usher in a movement of sorts—the preservation and cataloguing of cuisines for a new audience. Recipes in Bohri cookbooks, many of them in Gujarati, are now being passed into the hands of chefs and entrepreneurs who are keen to introduce them to the country’s diners. How I Quit Google to Sell Samosas brings together two worlds—a lived-in culture and corporate speak. All that talk of revenue goals, targets and marketing only makes one think—rather than just a great dinner, can we make something more from our family recipes? ■