The Spare Kitchen, Keeping it Simple

THE SPARE Kitchen, Worli founded by a group of three friends entrepreneur Gaurav Choksey, Chef Rakesh Talwar and Ricky Marfatia, a qualified lawyer. It was first launched in Juhu, then opening another outlet in Worli. BW Hotelier spoke to Talwar who has an experience of nearly three decades in the hospitality industry. 

Born and brought up in Mumbai Talwar narrated his journey which brought him closer to food. “My father was in the airlines, so flying across the world wasn’t difficult; we used to travel to London where my father would love to eat chicken curry masala. Trust me, that chicken curry masala always tasted far better than what it used to in India. If foreigners can do this so excellently, then why can’t we Indians?” he said. 

To stand above and beyond the very competitive restaurant market, Talwar wants to keep it simple, “for our restaurant, our food is the greatest USP. We pay special attention to our presentation which matches Michelin Standards,” he said. 

For several years, Talwar has been studying the essence, and heritage of Indian cuisine. With this knowledge, and experience, he and his team are using authentic Indian ingredients, and putting together a modern Indian menu, according to Talwar.

“We are on the verge of launching a new menu. There is going to be a section called chef’s travel where I will be adding recipes from my travel list,” he said.

Talwar loves to experiment with new technology. “We have come up with the new cooking style using dehydrator. We have created mushroom lasagne in a sheet keeping its taste intact. Strawberry rasmalai cheesecake, chocolate chai are some of our dishes which customers have accepted wholeheartedly,” he said. Being a chef-cum-entrepreneur, the biggest challenge that he faces is the acceptance, according to Talwar.

Apart from having multi-dimensional experience in hospitality sector, Talwar has also provided training for the introduction of new menus and cuisines for Jet Airways (at Taj Flight Kitchen). He has also worked with Michelin Starred Chef Vineet Bhatia for Fbar n Lounge. The Spare Kitchen is planning to launch in Dubai.

“Dubai is a great market for us. Being a mid-segment restaurant, we are accessible to everyone. We love to be an everyday diner rather than becoming once in a while restaurant,” Talwar concluded.