Out of the kitchen and into the market

A number of up and coming flea fests like The Lil Flea and Celebrate Bandra have encouraged amateur home chefs to step out of their kitchens and show off their culinary skills to a larger audience. While Desi Deli’s Lolita Sarkar set up her store in Bandra after she received positive feedback for her hot dogs, home chef Rohan Mangalorkar of The Lil Flea’s popular Pac-a-Pav, is already looking to set up shop in Bandra. Others such as Smita Sharan and newbie Dazy Verma are looking for a chance to market their goodies to the right audience, and have been showcasing at various food events such as The Bhukkad Flea. But these aren’t the only ones around and the number of home chefs going mainstream is only growing. We take a look at a few popular ones and find out what made them don the apron.

Rohan Mangalorkar, Pack-a-Pav If you have been a regular at flea fests, chances are that you have come across home chef Rohan Mangalorkar’s Pack-a-Pav. In the past two years, he has been a regular at The Lil Fea, Celebrate Bandra and Tapped Craft Beer Fest. He has been serving an assortment of items such as kebabs with fried onions, fryums, a homemade basil dip, a coriander, chilli and mint chutney, garlic chutney — all within the humble toasted pav. Rohan too has no professional culinary credentials to boast of. In fact, he believes it was his ‘dissatisfaction’ with his previous job that prompted him to try his hand at cooking.

Armed with his mother’s recipes, he debuted at the Tapped Craft Beer Festival in November 2014, and there has been no looking back ever since. Rohan tells us that Pac-a-Pav was more of a chance happening. “Three days prior to my first event, I didn’t even have an idea about what my brand was going to be called! We didn’t even have a tasting session.”

It was at the Tapped Craft Beer Festival that he learnt the nitty-gritty of grilling for a live crowd. He recalls, “Grilling meats on the grillers was new to me at that point. It was only after I participated that I realised how to go about things. My only aim that evening was to understand what people have to say about my offering. Thinking about profits wasn’t even on my mind.” Since then, Rohan has taken his food to India Bike Week and even the Pune Farmer’s Market.

Rohan is all set to open his store in Bandra. He says, “The only experience I have as a chef has been at these flea markets and pop-ups. Setting up a restaurant is a different ball game, but these events have given me enough confidence to do it right.” Rohan is the founder of Pac-a-Pav.

Dazy Verma of Cafe Mexicano Twenty four-year-old Dazy Verma is a full-time advertising professional and a part-time baker. After receiving encouraging response from her friends and family, she finally decided to explore her culinary talent at a flea fest. Last week, she made her maiden innings as a home chef at The Bhukkad Flea. “My friends and relatives have often come over for samplings. When I received a positive response from my social circle, I finally decided to showcase my skills at a flea market.” Dazy believes flea flests are a good stage for home chefs who are looking for a break in the food space. She says, “The best thing about flea fests is that it helps home chefs gain popularity solely on the basis of their culinary skills. If you are looking to open a restaurant, this gives you a reality check on how things work.” Dazy is the co-founder of Cafe Mexicano

Lolita Sarkar of Desi Deli Lolita Sarkar is among the list of successful home chefs who have turned into entrepreneurs. Her love for hosting friends and family for dinner and the lack of decent hot dog options in the city got her to start Desi Dogs at The Lil Flea. She recalls, “I will admit that I was a little excited and worried since I wasn’t from the food space at all. I had no plans as to how to go about it. But when Alankar Jain and Priyanka Punjabi gave the stall a go, we were confident about our offerings.” Her hotdogs, Amar — vegetarian sausages, Akbar — chicken hot dogs and Anthony — pork sausages, were a hit. Soon, Desi Dogs was seen across every pop-up and flea market across the city. Last year, she finally set up a brick and mortar store in Bandra. She says, “The business idea was staring at us in the face all along! With the response, it was always going to be the next step for us. Things fell into place and here we are.” Lolita adds that partaking in flea fests is the best way to test one’s offerings, if one is looking to set up a restaurant. “If you are someone who is new to the food space, the kind of feedback that you are going to receive is very important. Flea fests are your testing ground where you can really advertise your brand and understand what it is that people are looking for.” Lolita Sarkar is the owner of Desi Deli, Bandra

Smita Sharan of Flour Butter Sugar When Smita Sharan quit her job as a banker in 2010, she never thought she’d take up the job of a baker five years down the line. Smita spent the first few years travelling and ‘experimenting’ in the kitchen. She recalls, “I had a lot of time on my hands since I was at home. This gave me the chance to experiment with baking since I had no professional experience. The baked treats are my own recipes that I have experimented with from scratch.” Her trials at the kitchen — granolas, tea/coffee cakes, cookies and biscotti, and nut butters — were a hit among friends and family and she soon started a small home-based bakery called Flour Butter Sugar. It was only six months ago that she decided to showcase her culinary skills at Mumbai Farmers’ Market by Karen Anand in a bid to market her brand. She says, “Participating at a flea market means getting an instant feedback from your audience. This helps me tweak or experiment with my recipes if need be. Plus this exercise helps in getting some coverage for the brand.”

Smita, has a word of advice for amateur home chefs who are looking to market their products. She says, “The flea fests which are big on scale could mean that your brand is lost in the crowd. If you are just starting out, go for small, food focussed flea fests so that you get in touch with your audience.” Smita is the co-founder of Flour Butter Sugar