These Restaurateurs From North India Are The Winners Of Economic Times F&B 40 Under Forty!

A series of lockdowns, a gripping fear of a deadly and daily mutating virus looming in the air, and widespread losses sucked the life out of several big and small cafe and restaurant businesses. This didn’t just push the ever-thriving hospitality industry to hit an unprecedented nadir but also forced many players of the F&B industry to shut down their ventures.

However, there were some hospitality heroes who proved that when going gets tough, only the tough gets going, as they showcased a steely resolve to survive. They braved the worst crisis affecting their industry and emerged stronger than before.

And so to celebrate the iron-willed leadership of these braveheart restaurateurs, chefs, bakers, PRs, social media marketing managers, and others associated with the F&B industry, Economic Times - India’s largest and the most renowned business daily that has always been ahead in recognizing entrepreneurs, women leaders, and professional services across the country, is conferring them with a spot in the elite ET F&B 40 Under Forty list. 

Exhibiting newer ideas to adapt and evolve, these are 40 stars under forty who deserve all the recognition and praise. Let’s hear it for them!

1. Varun Behl - Managing Director, KCCO Group

Image Source: Economic Times

Varun Behl, the Managing Director and Co-Founder of Kebabs and Curries Company (KCCO) India Pvt. Ltd is a Jaipur-based restaurateur operating a chain of restaurants and QSRs (Quick Service Restaurants). A seasoned food & beverage and hospitality management professional with experience spanning more than 17 years, a decade of which is with Marriott International in India and abroad, he is focused on bringing his forte to food and beverage entrepreneurship. Kebabs and Curries Company (KCCO) is a homegrown brand that spans QSRs, fine dining, and customized catering services under the ambit of brands So-Hi, Rolls by KCCO, Biryanis by KCCO, Thali and More, and K Fine Catering. Each of these distinct brands is focused on giving guests and patrons the best of food and beverage, every single day.

As a market leader and dynamic brand-builder; Varun Behl is focused on integrating cutting-edge technology into every aspect of the brand. Kebabs and Curries Company (KCCO) is among the frontrunners in the industry to have its own food and beverage app that offers a digital-to-dining experience to its customers. The KCCO app enjoys over 12000 downloads and counting, giving out great discounts and dining offers for its users. The company has a sizable digital reach with its own website and interactive social media channels.

In addition to his entrepreneurial initiatives, he and his brand at large do a lot in the sphere of social outreach. Weekly food packets are distributed to the needy every Wednesday through an organization called Feeding Hands, while monthly rations are donated to local households who have lost the earning member of their family. They also donate towards animal welfare and donate blankets to the needy when winter rolls around. Acknowledgment for his business exploits has come in the form of the Restaurateur Of The Year Award at the prestigious Times Food Awards, in addition to various awards received by their restaurant brands across various categories by Times Food Awards, Dainik Bhaskar Awards, and more. Behl also happens to be a columnist for The Economic Times (ET Hospitality World) and has been featured in various local and national publications, sharing his views on entrepreneurship and hospitality. An avid reader and fitness enthusiast, he is also pursuing an MBA from NMIMS, adding another milestone to his many achievements.

Varun Behl’s initiatives for the company in the near future include an interactive catering studio and bringing new technological advancements in food and beverage operations and customer service. Driven by the motive of providing “Happiness For All”,  he aims to grow a motivated team that creates zabardast experiences for their guests each time they put their trust in them. Another aim is to continually grow and diversify their business while enriching the lives of their team members, guests, shareholders, and all stakeholders, thus creating a company with growing profits year on year. Furthermore, while doing so, they would like to do it by keeping honesty, integrity, care, teamwork, continuous learning, growth, and self-development as their core principles.

2. Swaraj Singhi - Masala Ministry - 4 Outlets/ Fat Rabbit/ Banaruss

Image Source: Economic Times

Mr. Swaraj Singhi is the Managing Director of GVR Foods & Beverages, which owns reputed food brands like Masala Ministry, Fat Rabbit, and Banaruss in Jaipur. An alumnus of the prestigious Mayo College in Ajmer, he got his Bachelors in Commerce from the prestigious Delhi University’s Kirori Mal College. Then, he went to the UK for sports management after which he pursued a career in the sports industry, working with successful franchises such as the United Sikkim Football Club and Delhi Daredevils. 

He saw a wide scope in the ever-growing F&B industry, which tickled his innovative bent of mind and his hereditary love for food and led to him starting his first restaurant in New Delhi back in 2013. He went on to expand and create a portfolio of successful restaurants and bars including Delhi's famous Unplugged Courtyard, Tourist Janpath, Lights Camera Action, Bombay Bar, Elf Hauz Khas, and Kopper Kadai. Post that, he opened Masala Ministry in 2017, which happens to be a progressive vegetarian fine dining restaurant in Jaipur. The brand successfully expanded and now operates in various cities of Rajasthan, while picking up numerous awards along the way. Masala Ministry was adjudged to be the best North Indian restaurant in 2019 and the best Casual Dining restaurant in 2021 at the Times Food & Nightlife Awards, and was adjudged to be Jaipur’s best restaurant in 2018 and 2020 by JaipurMag. Unplugged Courtyard has also been the proud recipient of a Times Food Award in 2016, 2017, and 2018.

With an aim to conceptualise and put new concepts on the Indian food scene, he also opened the intimate dining restaurant Fat Rabbit in 2020, which embraces the rooftop bar concept, and also Banaruss, an upbeat and vibrant street food brand, in 2021. While his dreams have helped him establish breakthroughs in the hospitality industry, his visible passion and in-depth approach have helped create some of the most loved brands in North India, and he hopes to deliver similar great projects in the future. In addition to his exploits in the culinary world, his social outreach initiatives are just as impressive and inspiring. He works with B+, an NGO that provides financial aid to people below the poverty line, and also pays the fees for 10 students in various schools in Sikkim. During the lockdown, he not only supervised the feeding of staff at the Sikkim Government Hospital via the Iskon Foundation but also sent out 50 food packets daily from his restaurant during the lockdown.

Counted amongst one of the youngest restaurateurs around, merging his regular business insights with the legacy in the hospitality industry in 2013, he has successfully set the bar high for himself. “Our mission is to provide superior quality food services that people love and recommend to family & friends, bloggers prefer for their audience, employers are proud to serve and investors seek long-term returns,” he explains. His plans for the future are to diversify more in the industry and open conceptual restaurants with innovative food across Jaipur and expand the well-established Masala Ministry across India.

3. Gaurav Mangla - Black Mango India

Image Source: Economic Times

Gaurav Mangla, who is an avant-garde in the design universe, has been honing his ingenious ideas right from when he was a teenager. Gaurav has gone through the vagaries in life starting from the untimely loss of his father in 10th standard, failing in higher secondary, financial struggles making him part with his paintings for as little as Rs 60. As he grew older, he became the gold standard of interior designing as he got his first international exposure at 21 at Abu Dhabi in an art and design exchange programme, wherein he had the chance to work with international designers for projects in UK and Dubai. Gaurav has since completed more than 100 projects with reputed brands like Tamasha CP, Cafe coffee Bar, Chaayos, Barcode, etc. Additionally, he sharpened his exceptional talent with an Associate Degree in Spatial Interior Design from London and a Bachelor’s Degree from the College of Art, Delhi University. 

Starting from a one-man-no-office show to building a strong team of 45 with a vision to conquer the world, Gaurav is currently working on more than 40 assignments including international locales in Australia, UAE, and Sri Lanka. He is also passionately involved in a 48000 sq ft luxury hotel in Kargil and working closely with the team of Welcomhotel by ITC, Dwarka for their new upcoming Cafe Designs.

4. Praveen Valmiki - Bikggne Biryani

Image Source: Economic Times

Praveen Valmiki is the Founder and CEO of Bikkgane Biryani. His academic qualifications include a degree from IIT Kharagpur, and he has even worked with Hero before venturing into F&B. Taking its first step back in 2014, today Bikkgane Biryani has 30 outlets across Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Faridabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Patna, Mumbai, Pune, and Chennai. In fact, Mr. Praveen Valmiki is planning to open 20 more outlets by December 2021 in different cities across the country. Interestingly, he has also opened 5 outlets of his biryani chain in Dubai, all of which are receiving a welcoming response from the locals.

On winning the ET F&B 40 Under Forty title, Mr. Praveen Valmiki says “Our goal is to serve truly authentic Hyderabadi Biryani to those who know the taste that goes with that promise. Using the finest ingredients, the chefs cook a vast array of tikkas, kebabs, and curries, which are specially chosen to complement our world-class biryani. Our aim is to offer a consistent taste to our customer worldwide, so we use high-quality standards”. 

5. Gaurav Kukreja - Dough & Cream

Image Source: Economic Times

‘Baking Moments of Joy’ is not just a tagline for Dough & Cream but even a practice for Gaurav Kukreja and his team to be a part of other people’s joyful moments with their array of delicious treats. Gaurav Kukreja, who is inspired by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, has worn many hats in his career - from being an automobile engineer to being a savvy investment banker. However, it's his undying passion for baking that has landed him and his brainchild Dough & Cream on this sought-after ET F&B 40 Under Forty list. 

The genesis of Dough & Cream has a very amusing story behind it. When Gaurav’s family grocery business was losing their parking space to an upcoming Starbucks, Dough & Cream was started as a way to keep that store’s parking. This survival not only became profitable but Dough & Cream in a short span was able to become a brand to reckon with, especially for the quality, consistency, variety, and creativity in their offerings. Soon the investment banker in him took a backseat and he went on expanded Dough & Cream to 8 locations in a time frame of only 3 years. And this he says is just the beginning!

Click here to stay up to date on his journey via his Facebook profile.

Social Image Credits: Economic Times

Header Image Credits: Economic Times

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