Jaydeep Mukherjee aka JD heads the team and plays the role of Brand Head or custodian of Smoke House Deli. He has close to three decades of experience in the Food and Beverage business and was the Head of Cuisine at Indigo Deli prior to his present role.
Smoke House Deli has been amongst the country’s most loved restaurants for over a decade now. It’s simple yet contemporary western cuisine is served across nine restaurants in India, while two outlets are currently under construction.
- Give us a brief of Smoke House Deli 2.0; and their combination of healthy indulgent menu?
Close to completing 10 years of happy times with 9 outlets across the country, Smoke House Deli is well-loved and has been an endearing place for many. To take this bundle of charming memories and turn over a new page – with even more abundance, freshness and goodness was a welcomed challenge. Keeping the idea of ‘showing the love’ at its heart, version 2.0 was weaved together with open counters, warm, energetic accent colours that contrast with gentle wood tones, and charming hand-drawn illustrations that lend a touch of whimsy to the walls. The brand has also evolved to match its guests’ needs by creating the ‘Goodness to Go’ section where customers can quickly grab their favourite Smoke House Deli dish to-go.
- How has your journey been to make Smoke House Deli 2.0 a success story?
My philosophy of food revolves around simplicity. Ingredients are selected conscientiously and from the best sources, they are handled well and cooked using traditional slow cooking techniques in most cases and transformed into dishes that satiate both palate and soul. The focus is primarily on taste and balance – of flavours, textures, colours and seasoning. No frills and whistles presentations – Just great food presented simply and boldly!
- How Important is it to use local ingredients in the hospitality industry?
It is of utmost importance! India is a huge country with abundant resources and agricultural produce. This diversity needs to be explored, studied and celebrated. Be it rice varietals or cereals, vegetables or fruits, seafood from the lengthy coasts at our disposal or the diaspora of spices, herbs, seasonings, teas and coffees… At Smoke House Deli we love to cook with local produce and keep the use of imported ingredients limited to a bare minimum. Some of the products we use are the Assamese variety Risotto rice called Bora Saul as well as Madekeri Chocolate from Kerela for our ice-creams and hot chocolate.
- What are the available Healthy indulgent desserts at SHD2.0?
Flourless chocolate fudge, Vegan chocolate mousse, Hazelnut mousse flan, Roasted apple citrus tart, All our home-made ice creams.
- What are the Sustainability initiatives followed at Smoke House Deli? Farm to Fork concept?
We take sustainability initiatives very seriously at Smoke House Deli. Raw materials are sourced mostly from local markets, farms and vendors, Healthier, often organic, produce is selected over commercially mass-produced variants.
Delivery vendors and partners are vetted and most selected, share our common ideology toward sustainability. We buy a lot of produce directly from farms, farmer’s cooperatives and purveyors who work with marginalised farmers across the states we operate in. They provide us with products that are grown in small non-commercial batches and often do not make it to larger marketplaces. Products from such sources are often grown using traditional farming practices, are organic and way cleaner than ones mass-produced. We use these products entirely in our kitchens – from seed to skin or from head to tail, to ensure no part of it is wasted.
We support small operators, passionate start-ups in the space and almost anyone who comes to us with great produce.
A few of the other practices are minimal use of single-use plastic products, zero-mile home filtered water, spray nozzles to limit water usage in restrooms, and leftover water utilization to water plants and for cleaning purposes are advocated.
- Has the concept of Hyperlocal food been introduced in the Smoke House Deli? If yes, then how?
Fortunately, Hyperlocal is still the default route in India. Produce reaches us, freshly harvested at local farms, either directly in many cases or through the marketplace within hours of it having been plucked. There is hardly any storage or a prolonged cold chain involved in the supply of the same. To take this to the next level we are exploring opportunities of growing some of our own produce or collaborating with existing farms in a larger way.
- What are the ever-changing culinary trends in the hospitality industry?
Some of the notable ones in my opinion are listed under:
Healthy indulgence is here to stay. Interest in Local ethnic micro cuisines is bound to explode. Traditional, hyperlocal ingredients and cooking techniques will steal a lot of the culinary limelight. Zero waste kitchens, cooking techniques and chefs who advocate them.. Ferments and gut-friendly ingredients in cooking are becoming quite the rage and Plant-based meats, milk and extracts are finding their way into many more menus.
- What do you think about Mock Meat being the latest food industry trend? Has Smoke House Deli adopted the same?
The Smoke House Deli menus feature several plant-based Mock Meats. The trend is a very interesting one and is picking up more momentum with more and more companies stepping into the arena. A lot of the produce on offer today is so similar to their meat alternatives that it is almost impossible to tell one from the other. The plant-based minced mock meat bolognese and the herbivore shepherd’s pie are some outstanding examples.
- Importance of Make in India dishes in the hospitality industry?
At Smoke House Deli we cook contemporary western food with primarily Indian ingredients. The pastas are made in India, some even made in-house, the cheese is almost all local – save some varietals like Parmesan and Emmenthal, the rice in our risottos is sourced from Assam and all our vegetables are local. It is imperative that we support and use local producers and their ingredients in every conceivable manner.
- What are your future plans for Smoke House Deli?
I would love Smoke House Deli to become the first restaurant of choice for comfort and indulgent western food. Very few restaurants in the country cook as much food in-house as Smoke House Deli does… right from home-baked bread of all kinds to jams, marmalades, sauces, condiments, decadent desserts and ice creams, we do it all in-house and in very traditional old school ways.
Going forward we are going to make the brand more accessible with Goodness to Go counters and kiosks that offer amazingly fresh products from beverages to sandwiches for takeaway.
The Kid’s menu at Smoke House is also ready to be launched and we look forward to offering a really engaging and fun experience to all our young diners.
