A candid chat with restaurateur Farrokh Khambata

It won’t be wrong to say that most restaurateurs in the world are avid foodies who derive great joy by feeding people. Farrokh Khambhata, founder and owner of Catering & Allied, the company that runs four city restaurants — Joss, Umame, Amadeus and Café at the NCPA, along with and a full service catering ourfit Joss Catering Services — is one of them. I meet him one rainy Thursday evening at the recently-opened Joss at Santacruz. The eatery is a finer version of his restaurant by the same name at Kala Ghoda, which shut down in May 2011, after a decade-long successful run. The food at the new Joss is created using molecular gastronomy, which Khambata prefers to call food science. Indeed, a margherita comes in a smoking pipe-shaped glass and prawns come with a sauce in a pipette. As I tuck into a piping Bibimbap, a signature Korean rice dish mixed with vegetables, an egg, and chillies, Khambata, dressed in a cobalt-blue shirt and black trousers, shares intricate details of each of the dishes with me. He prods me to try out different delicacies but abstains from eating anything himself. “I know what it tastes like,” he grins.

My favourites
Destination: Any diving destination — Seychelles, Mauritius, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Maldives
Food: Spanish and European food
Hobbies: Music, playing the guitar and driving

Inside Track
Born: June 30
Education: Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition at Dadar
First job in the kitchen: Chopping onions
Motto: You are as good as your last meal you served
Mantra in life: Be passionate about what you are doing

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