Taste Of Delhi serves up classic curries, perfect pakoras and lots of other delicious dishes through their takeaway, collection or a delivery service. Only fine and fresh ingredients are used and each dish is prepared daily. In this Q&A we talk to Mohit Dhingra to discover more about the business and top tips for visitors to Edinburgh
You grew up in Delhi and trained there before moving to the UK, tell us a more about your cooking training and background.
I started off as a waiter in my early days in India. I always had a passion for cooking but being from a conservative society, cooking was always a very feminine thing. However, my parents always allowed me to pursue my dreams and I completed my undergrad in Hospitality over 25 years ago.
Slowly, I made my way up in the hospitality industry. I worked as a continental chef in one of the most reputed 5-star hotel group in India, Taj Hotels. In 2009, I decided to make a big change to my career and moved to Edinburgh to work for The Di Maggios group. Initially, I worked in Café Andaluz as a Spanish Sous Chef and with the opening of Amarone on George Street, I was transferred.
Moving from Spanish to Italian cuisine was challenging but kept me going and soon after I was pronounced as the Head Chef of Amarone. A couple of years down the line, I wanted to have something of my own so I decided to work in Mother India Café Edinburgh. Within, a couple of years, myself and the General Manager of Mother India took the Edinburgh place out on lease for 10 years. This was the very first time I had worked with Indian Cuisine. Things were going well until Covid-19 hit and changed our lives. During these difficult times, my family and I thought of having a back-up plan and decided to open Taste of Delhi in Polwarth.
How did you come up with the concept for Taste of Delhi?
I always wanted a place that I could call my own. My daughter and I decided to open something that would bring the true Taste of Delhi (the name speaks for itself) to Edinburgh. We grew up with these flavours all around us and sharing them would mean the world to us.
Please tell us a little bit more about the rest of the team behind Taste of Delhi
Taste of Delhi is run by a very small team of four people of which two are chefs. My daughter, Yatika manages the place from delivering food to handling the finances. Bearing in mind she was only 20 years old when she started working here. She is now 21 and her dream is to serve quality to the residents of Edinburgh, predominantly in the Colinton area.
Our two chefs are under constant training to ensure they can work in both departments – curries; tandoor and starters.
We also have a weekend driver to do our deliveries when it gets busy so my daughter can manage the place.
Edinburgh has a well reputed, innovative and international food scene, how have you transported the flavours and traditions of Delhi to this audience?
We believe in serving quality rather than quantity. We put our heart in all dishes. We believe that if food served on the table is not made with love, no matter how much you eat, it’ll never fulfil your hunger. These are the traditions and ideologies we have been brought up with and aim to spread this across the city through our food.
Quality, service and enjoyment is your business – please tell us how you achieve this for all your customers?
QUALITY was, is and always will be our topmost priority. We believe that if our customers return, then we’re doing something right. We love seeing them return to us. My daughter has always been a people’s person. She knows how to talk to people and how to maintain good relationships with them. She always works with the right attitude and apologies appropriately when there’s something wrong with the order or if it’s running late. Our customers really appreciate gesture and as a result tend to always remember her.
Which are your favourite dishes from the menu and why?
Our favourite dishes from our menu are The Railway Lamb Curry and Butter Chicken. These are often served with peshwari naan and garlic naan respectively. These are our top scoring dishes and the highlights of our menu. Our butter chicken brings out the true flavours of the street style Delhi Butter Chicken.
The food and drinks sector has seen a big shift in consumer behaviour over the last 18 months due to the CoVid-19 pandemic, how has this affected your business and how do you think consumers will react once life returns to pre CoVid times? (for example do you think people have enjoyed dining at home more / do you think they are desperate to eat out again – that sort of angle)
Our business has seen significant changes since we opened. We picked up a good pace in the beginning but later with the easing restrictions, our revenue was reduced. However, we managed to get back on track with things setting normal. Yet, with things being “normal” now, it is difficult to predict anything for any day. We sometimes have really quiet days and question our capabilities and whether its worth keeping this place running and other days, it tends to be so busy that we are overwhelmed.
Please share your top tip for a first-time visitor to Edinburgh?
As a first-time visitor to Edinburgh, it is common for many people to trust and visit reputed eateries but there are many local businesses across the city which tend to serve quality, quantity and love on a plate. Many a times, their food and service tend to be better than a lot of renowned restaurants.
Where is your own Hidden Edinburgh and why?
Our Hidden Edinburgh is our very own Taste of Delhi. It’s located in a very residential area and not easily spotted but has its own capabilities and talents awaiting recognition.
Address: 14 Polwarth Cres, Edinburgh EH11 1HW
Website: www.tasteofdelhi.co.uk
