Ashfaque Qureshi, scion of the ‘first family’ of India’s culinary heritage, is all set to create his own masterpieces with Westin’s ‘Kangan’ brand, he tells Punam Mohandas.
The Qureshi name has been synonymous with good eating for over 200 years. Chefs to the erstwhile Mughal emperors of India, a great deal of time and effort has been spent by the more recent generations, in researching and developing age old recipes gleaned from ancient manuscripts, and also to innovating with unusual combinations.
Two special styles perfected by them are the North-West Frontier, and Dum Pukht. The former, a rugged tandoor form of cooking, was popularised by Imtiaz Qureshi who, soon after catering for a banquet hosted by then Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, was snapped up by the ITC Group. And thus, Bukhara, the legend, was born.
Today, he has passed on his learnings to his two sons Ashfaque and Irfan, who are set to create their own record by aligning themselves with Starwood, to create novel dining experiences. This is the first time the Westin brand will be launching Indian-themed restaurants, a concept it plans to take to its outlets globally.
The first Kangan will open at The Westin Hyderabad Mindspace. The emphasis on Kangan is to be a family dining venue, offering contemporary food presentations centred around traditional, rustic flavours, with a tandoor show-kitchen to provide an interactive experience for diners.
The competition offered by the city is tough; from stand-alone outlets, to Peshawari and Dum Pukht (ITC Grand Kakatiya), Firdaus (Taj Krishna), and Kebab-e-Bahar (Taj Banjara), however, Ashfaque is unfazed by the heavy-sounding names, and confident of his culinary prowess; hardly surprising, considering who his teacher has been.
How does your cooking style differ from that of your father’s?
Probably the only difference is that my father has gone through the traditional way of learning, passed down through generations, basically through cooking demonstrations and word-of-mouth, while I have a more formal education. However, when it comes to classic Indian food, I keep it as traditional as possible. I have worked with my dad for the last 14 years, so there’s been a lot of rigorous training.
Have you just built up on your family’s much-deserved culinary reputation, or have you evolved a style of your own?
My father’s involvement with us now is at the bare minimum, since he’s still with ITC, but, if I get caught in a situation, I will call him up and ask for his help. My style is distinctive; I’m okay with the idea of modern Indian food, using other influences and foreign ingredients.
Till date, I don’t think we’ve evolved that much to associate ourselves with fusion food. The maximum you can do with traditional food is incorporate certain global ingredients, which are available today.
People have different sets of expectations; I think, if you’re doing traditional, let people know it’s traditional, equally, if you’re doing creative or modern, tell them so. If I want to make a duck tikka, I will; there’s a shorba we do with orange, kaffir lime leaves, and galangal, and we say clearly that this is not fusion – this is our creation. That’s the kind of evolution I’m working at right now.
This is the first time Starwood is introducing an Indian theme in its eateries. Did you take the idea to them, or did they approach you with the concept?
No, they came to us; the concept was given by Martin Jones, managing diA visual and veritable feast – at Kangan, Westin Hyderabad Mindspace rector, food and beverage, Starwood. The broad guideline for the cuisine was a combination of North-West Frontier, ‘Dum’ (Avadhi, Hyderabadi, Bhopali, and suchlike), and old Mughlai. I actually wanted to incorporate Iranian as well, but that would have been out of place, as we wanted it ethnically Indian.
How much of a say will Starwood have in the restaurants – the running, the menu, food promotions, and so on? Will you have a relatively free hand?
Kangan is their brand, so obviously, they have all the say in the operations. I am the cuisine concept leader – anything to do with the cuisine and the people who provide the food, falls under me. Not just Kangan – all Indian food that comes out of Westin, be it banquets or in-room dining, will be overseen by me.
So what is going to be the USUSP of Kangan food? What is going to set this apart from other authentic Indian eateries? Will Kangan feature the trademark Galawat and Kakori kababs?
Yes, Galawati is on the menu – also a vegetarian version, made with rajma. We will also have Kaichi kabab, Murgh Risalla, a duet of tomato and asparagus shorba, Mahi Kalliyaan, and many more mouthwatering items.
I have checked out the competition too; basically, nobody has done justification to Mughlai food as such, there’s a lot to be understood here. Kangan’s USP will be the food and also the friendly atmosphere; we don’t want to create a stiff, ultra-formal, typically five-star, eating environ. The food, as well as the entire experience, is what should be the draw at Kangan.
Will the menu be your responsibility completely?
Yes of course, 100%. There is a requirement of giving them (Starwood) a proper food trial, which is justified.
How much time will you, personally, spend in each outlet; how do you plan to rotate your schedule between the three outlets scheduled to open shortly?
We will be handling the launch personally. We will spend about two-and-a-half months at each outlet, prior to the launch. Post that, we will go there once a month, as also set up a system of audit.
What about hiring and training – will the chefs be your exclusive responsibility?
We have hired chefs with a parallel understanding with Starwood; identifying and training the chefs will be our responsibility, the recruitment process and so on will be handled by the Group.
This is also the first time that you are embarking on such a venture; what led you to accept the Starwood partnership? How do you think that this will enhance the Qureshi ‘brand’, which is already well established?
Till now, we had put in all the effort in establishing ourselves, so this gives us a boost too, takes our family name abroad. Yes, Starwood will be taking Kangan internationally as well; in the beginning, they will start with the Far East and the Middle East. This was a great motivator for me in accepting the partnership. Our association with the brand will be very, very clear.
Will this create any conflict of interest between yourself and ITCITCITC?
Not with me… may be with Westin and ITC… as both are Starwood associates.
