By Sakshi Singh, Contributory Author
Oct 18, 2022 / 7 MIN READ
Celebrity chef Harpal Singh Sokhi wears multiple hats in the field of F&B. From having his F&B brand to hosting TV cooking shows to servicing several star hotels for years, his recent accolade is with his Noida-based brand Karigari. He has partnered with Priykant Gautam, director of Simpatico Hospitality launching a fine-dine restaurant.
With all the hard work that has gone behind in establishing the brand, Sokhi informed that Karigari is now looking at expanding across the country and that would be done cautiously. “Our first plans are to open a few more across Delhi NCR and North India and then take it national. We are looking at adding about four to five more Karigari in cities like Pune, Bangalore, Mumbai and Punjab by the end of 2023 and another five by the end of 2024. So in all total, we are looking at 10 more Karigari’s by the end of 2024,” he said while recently interacting with Restaurant India.
Chef Sokhi is a part of the core investor team wherein together they conceptualised the entire concept. However, when it came to food which is his core competency, was purely developed by chef Sokhi and executed together with the entire team of Karigars.
Throwing some light on the brand ethos, Sokhi stated,” Well ever since we conceptualized the brand name Karigari we realized that at each aspect we need to be different, so our signage’s, visibility and interiors all of them were eye-catching. Then we realized further that we need to honour people who have worked in kitchens for years. The offerings in the menu also reflect my journey as a Chef, from the travel food shows, from my show Turban Tadka, from my mother's kitchens and my wife’s kitchens.”
According to Chef Sokhi, people are now wanting to explore more of India and its regional cuisines in various ways. Chefs have gone all out in experimenting with various regional dishes and offering them their unique styles. Flavours blends and ingredient blends are visible in recipes and the most unique ways. The customer always looks for a unique, yet acceptable taste suitable to his palette and that is the key underline for everything.
In such a scenario, sourcing the right ingredient becomes highly important. Sharing his experience of right sourcing, he said, “I can give you a simple example to source our chillies for the Mirchi ka halwa we begin with getting the right kind of chillies, for the dal getting the right kind of tomato puree. So our sourcing manager is always on his toes and getting us the right things. We cannot ignore that the input costs are going up by every month and therefore sourcing becomes key, as you cannot increase menu costs every month, it involves changing the menu card, and training.”
While most of the restaurants were shutting doors during the pandemic, Chef Sokhi and the team were looking at the opportunity. The first thing was to find the right place and allocate minimum areas for working and dishing out.
He further narrated the importance of having a tight kitchen space. He feels that because of the tight kitchen working space one could have a careful eye on almost everything that was being cooked. The working chef would exactly know what is being wasted.
Further, to make optimum use of the kitchen, one must also ensure that the purchase quality of each ingredient is as per specifications, every other wastage in the kitchen is created into a stock which works very well. “We have standardized recipes and that is linked to the systems which at a click of a button you come to know all the wastages and details. Training is another tool which is used effectively so that wastage is minimized,” he shared while discussing tricks and tips to make a restaurant kitchen successful.
While opening a new restaurant is much easier than sustaining it, Chef Sokhi opined that one must understand the need of that particular geographical area and cannot open an Italian restaurant in a village. Understanding the market and its needs is the first step in developing the concept and building the restaurant.
“Over the years I have opened many restaurants some closed some worked very well. So a few things I can share from my experience which might not be a thumb rule but works. Firstly location and visibility make the difference. Secondly, what draws people into a place, with great interiors, comfortable seating, and excellent toilets? Now, these are some interior and hygiene aspects. The most important thing is that it should have great food and service, after all, a customer would visit once or twice for interiors but would keep coming back for good food and service,” he commented.
For Chef Sokhi, Karigari is very special as it is based on his journey and has served over 1,00,000 customers already.
Celebrity chef Harpal Singh Sokhi wears multiple hats in the field of F&B. From having his F&B brand to hosting TV cooking shows to servicing several star hotels for years, his recent accolade is with his Noida-based brand Karigari. He has partnered with Priykant Gautam, director of Simpatico Hospitality launching a fine-dine restaurant.
With all the hard work that has gone behind in establishing the brand, Sokhi informed that Karigari is now looking at expanding across the country and that would be done cautiously. “Our first plans are to open a few more across Delhi NCR and North India and then take it national. We are looking at adding about four to five more Karigari in cities like Pune, Bangalore, Mumbai and Punjab by the end of 2023 and another five by the end of 2024. So in all total, we are looking at 10 more Karigari’s by the end of 2024,” he said while recently interacting with Restaurant India.
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