Akshay Nayyar Opens Kopper Kadai in Rajouri Garden

CHEF, TV host and author, Akshay Nayyar has opened his second restaurant, Kopper Kadai in Rajouri Garden, Delhi. Nayyar spoke with BW Hotelier recently about his new venture. The idea behind the brand is to celebrate the authentic Indian food. After successfully running for 10 months in Koramangala Bangalore, Kopper Kadai has come to Delhi.

“Kopper Kadai serves cuisines which have got lot of heritage recipes and some legacy attached to it. Most of the recipes are actually hand written by my great grandmother back to 1920s which are being preserved and you cannot find these recipes anywhere else.” Nyyar said.

“A lot of people these days are not focusing on restaurants. They are more interested in pubs and party places, that’s why we thought of creating a brand which focuses more on food where cuisine is the base and people come here for dinning,” he added.

Nayyar is a well known name having hosted a cooking show called Foodshala and more recently cooked a meal for the PM Narendra Modi. The chef has earlier worked with the celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor.

Speaking about the specialty of Kopper Kadai, Nayyar said, “We cook our signature curries and meat in a kadai at a very low temperature and the curries are live displayed at our outlet, apart from this, we have various options for vegetarian people like Challi Kolmi Kabab made up of corn and cottage cheese it looks like chicken but it is pure vegetarian.”

“For vegetarians we have got 16 options in the starters and around 10 options in main courses. We make use of vegetables in our recipes which are rarely used like yams and plantains. We also have our own signature breads.” He added

Speaking about the hurdles that he has faced in creating a brand like Kopper Kadai, Nayyar said, “people initially thought it was very ethnic and old style food, but they are surprised to see the dishes presented in a modern style, where the taste is authentic but the presentation is fresh and new.”

The chef believes in stable expansion where growth can be sustained, he is planning to open a Kopper Kadai outlet in South Delhi and one in Hyderabad next year.

Apart from Kopper Kadai, Nayyar is now expanding other self-owned restaurant brands across Asia and Middle East including Itra by Akshay, Tourist-Street food bar, Tum Tum Asia, Office Canteen Bar, Unplugged Courtyard and few more, he told us.