In this Q&A we meet Dhaneshwar Prasad (Known as Prasad), the Founder and Chef Director of Dhoom Indian Street Food Restaurant in Dunfermline.
Prasad tells us all about the inspiration behind Dhoom, his extensive experience in the restaurant industry, and his travels to India!
Please tell us all about Dhoom – where did the idea / concept come from and your journey so far.
Hailing from Uttarakhand, the land of Gods, and living most of my young adult life in the buzzing capital of India- New Delhi, I always knew that hospitality was my calling at an early age due to my absolute love of food!
Having helped to open, and then worked at various establishments ranging from street food cafes to 5-star hotels, I was headhunted and arrived in Scotland to help open a chain of curry houses in 2003. I successfully opened eight curry houses, one fine dining, and one buffet restaurant, all in and around the Scottish capital.
Images by Kim Cessford
During this period, I realised that the Indian food served in the UK was adapted to the local palate and taste. The food also had only a distant resemblance to the authentic Indian cuisine that I grew up eating, and loving!
The food I loved, and wanted to serve wasn’t even what the restaurants and hotels in India portrayed and served as Indian Cuisine. I wanted to showcase the nutritious and tasty food that I grew up eating to the people of Dunfermline and Scotland.
It was also my attempt to bring the authentic taste and flavour of Indian street food to the people of the UK. I wanted to preserve and bring recipes to the UK that the grandmothers and Mothers made for the families daily, and the recipes passed down from generation to generation
It is at the back of this realisation and my 33 years of experience in hospitality that Dhoom was conceptualised and then launched in Dunfermline in 2018.
As Owner/Head Chef at Dhoom, what exactly does your role entail?
I am everywhere and do everything! Customers will see me in my front-of-house role when they come into Dhoom, but I’m in the kitchen too of course supervising our chefs. I train all the staff, so that they are 100% knowledgeable about the dishes they are serving – each dish is introduced to the customer- and I am always busy developing and tasting new recipes even when I am not actually in India on one of my research trips.
What can diners expect from the Dhoom experience?
Dhoom is a unique and of its kind Indian Streetery and Bar serving delectable delicacies from the streets of India and similarly unique and carefully crafted Indian-inspired cocktails and mocktails from its bar.
Dhoom takes pride in not being your average regular curry house. Dhoom instead provides your senses with a journey through various cities and cuisines in India by bringing you carefully and meticulously curated menus that pick elements and dishes from the highlighted regions and cities throughout the year. This is also why we keep changing the menu every six months! So dining at Dhoom is always exciting as you explore a different flavour and location every time!
What also makes Dhoom different is our approach to ensuring that we cater for most dietary requirements like Gluten, Nuts and Lactose, which is quite a rare feat for an Indian restaurant. A lot of focus goes into creating menu items that are not just great in taste, but also healthy. We refrain from using cream, desi ghee, butter and nuts, amongst others, in most menu items for these precise reasons.
We are probably the only restaurant in the UK where a team of chefs spends 5-6 weeks on the streets of India, exploring the culinary regions and tasting the local flavours and delicacies. We then create a menu that incorporates those travel experiences and things that inspired us to create something unique for our new home, Dunfermline, and its people.
We have covered eight regions in the country from North to West. We intend to explore more of India in the coming years. The last menu focused on the capital, New Delhi. We explored the rich heritage, history and culture of New Delhi through its various street foods.
The new menu is from Kolkata or Calcutta, the colonial capital of India, until 1911. The colonial influence is still reflected throughout the city in its architecture, culture, food, and people. Kolkata is a warm and welcoming coastal metropolitan megacity with a love for food, music, dance, poetry and culture.
Which is your favourite dish on the current Kolkata menu and why?
I am fond of them all, as each is the result of a great deal of research. This menu is the first time I have created a menu based on a whole city’s historical, cultural and geographical references. It’s a journey through the city’s colourful history. The Bangla Dal Fry is very tasty indeed, ideal for a family Sunday Brunch, or indeed anytime! It sees yellow lentils tempered with cumin ginger, garlic, and red chillies which can be enjoyed with either pilau rice or Indian bread.
The Veg Galauti is another winner – a soya kebab with a hot chilli sauce from Chowringhee Road, Kolkata.
Scotland has a thriving dining scene, why do you think this is?
Diners are much more aware of good restaurants now through social media etc, plus they are more adventurous now and want to try new things. They want to have a quality experience at an affordable cost and this is what Dhoom is all about. We have some customers who come to us on a regular basis because our food is fairly healthy or they may have allergies such as dairy free and gluten-free, we can cater for all of that and our food is tasty and enticing at the same time. It’s good to see lots of new concepts opening up and long may that continue!
Share your thoughts on what the key trends for dining out in the next few years will be, particularly as relates to Asian food?
I think that Scottish diners are absolutely in love with all types of Asian food now and they are hungry for more – we are seeing more Vietnamese restaurants, more Korean, and certainly Thai food is now being served at a very high level now in Scotland with some very good restaurants. For Dhoom our journey is certainly not over with India – we will be exploring the cuisine of Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Singapore. We have covered an incredible eight regions of India so far, including two cities – Delhi and Kolkata. We have two more Cities yet to cover – Mumbai and Chennai, so there are plenty more taste experiences from Dhoom to come!
What else in the pipeline for you and Dhoom?
We want to continue to gain recognition from our customers, our peers and the industry in general. We’ve won seven awards within the four years of our existence. Our first achievement was being crowned “The Best Newcomer Indian Restaurant in Scotland”, and our latest honour was being “The Best Indian Restaurant in Scotland” last year. We proudly represent the newest city of Scotland – Dunfermline. We want to continue to put ourselves on the map and make sure everyone enjoys the Dhoom experience. We look after our staff and our community. There’s plenty more still to come from Dhoom, our stories, journeys and exploring the street food of India will continue …
Where is your own ‘Hidden Fife” and “Hidden Edinburgh’?
In Fife I love all the parks and open green spaces, especially Pittencrieff Park in Dunfermline, commonly known as The Glen. It’s also a fascinating experience to visit Culross with all its history. We are very lucky in Fife – it’s a very green Kingdom with so much heritage and a beautiful coastline.
In Edinburgh, where I was based for a number of years, I love the Botanic Gardens, again for their space and tranquillity, and The Old Town for its atmosphere. A favourite day out is to visit the Royal Yacht Britannia in Leith.
What is your life motto (if you have one)?
पिक्चर अभी बाकी है मेरे दोस्त ….
(My Friend The Film Isn’t Over Yet ….)
Namaste
Address of business:
19-21 New Row, Dunfermline Fife
