In the fast paced F&B industry where names stay on the scene as long as silverware on the table, Sourish Bhattacharyya has grown from strength to strength to become the force to be reckoned with that he is today. He’s seen the birth, the evolution, and is now set to pen the coming of age of this industry. We sip a winter morning espresso and get candid with the man whose chance encounter with food writing led him to become a Food Critic, Consultant, Editor & Columnist, and Curator of food events (all essential ingredients for a DSSC bestie).
A Delhi thoroughbred, Sourish recalls his childhood when the city used to host ‘aandhis’, making everything pitch dark by five in the evening and Qutub Minar was a picnic spot. “It was 1993 and one of my first few trips to Gurgaon, my wife and I were newlyweds and set off to check out, Fireball at 32nd Milestone – the first discotheque to open outside of a 5 star hotel. The only thing guiding us was the full moon that night, surrounded by tall grass on a narrow path we were convinced that if something were to happen, no one will know for two weeks and spent half an hour fearing for our lives!” Delhi NCR’s foodscape has sure come a long way since then, with each nook and cranny lighted with food establishments.
Always certain that journalism was his calling, Sourish chose to graduate in Arts from D.P.S. R.K. Puram (Delhi), “When I told people my career choice they used to ask me “what is a journalist?” and I had to explain that the newspapers they read are in fact churned out by humans!” He went on to excel at academics in History (Hons.) from Hansraj College (Delhi University), which led to his parents suggesting he attempt the Civil Services exams. But there was no dissuading the determined journalist who jumped at a job offer from The Telegraph to work as a mainstream Reporter & Sub-Editor and shifted base to Kolkata in 1985.
As is with first jobs, Sourish’s two-year stint at The Telegraph was also an eye opener in many ways, he tells us, “I realised the power of the press for the first time when one morning I woke up to a delegation of people holding a matka of rasgullas, to thank me for voicing their suffering caused by a two-year delay in metro rail construction in their area.” Having worked under M.J. Akbar, “a terror”, he honed his editing skills which he says play an important role in food writing as well, “You can go completely astray using too many adjectives and screwing up the copy, it should hold the reader’s attention from para to para, enough of ‘sumptuous’ & ‘delectable’!” He also had his first brush with good food during this formative period, “As drinking wasn’t a taboo by that time, my first initiation into F&B was to get the rum bottle for the news editor! While Kolkata’s kathi rolls are famous now, we used to devour the Nizam’s chaap which was popular back then. I loved the Dal Tadka served at all Punjabi dhabas there, which came mixed with egg, something I continue to replicate it at home even now.”
Fast forward to ’93 and Sourish had few years’ experience in the Delhi office of Indian Express, and an M.S. in Journalism from Ohio University, USA. Back in India he resumed work at Indian Express as a city reporter and embarked upon the most exciting phase of his life as he calls it, “From Babri Masjid to Mandal Commission, one after the other things started happening and Delhi was on the streets all the time. Up till then my focus was on political journalism and my idea of a good meal was coming back from an exhausting day and eating at Rajinder Da Dhaba.” On what then got him interested in food writing he says, “Being made in-charge of Indian Express’ weekend supplement Metroscope was my first outing in food writing, though the venture lasted only a few months the paper replaced it with a daily supplement called the Express Gourmet – for which I started covering stories myself as there weren’t many reporters keen on writing on food.” With only a handful of restaurants to talk about, such as the now iconic Moti Mahal, United Coffee House, and Kwality, F&B journalism was still in the nascent stage and channeled by retired journalists and recipes.
It was in early 2000s when food journalism became mainstream, “I was working under Vir Sanghvi with Hindustan Times, and it was he who compelled me to write about food. Soon after I was taken to France for a wine initiation by the French Embassy and I ventured into writing on wine as well,” Sourish shares. After he helped HT City become a top supplement, he moved on to serve as the Executive Editor at Mail Today from 2007-13. Even now he considers Aroon Poorie a mentor, who taught him a few tricks of the trade, as he puts it, “There are no stupid questions but stupid articles with inconsistencies. Secondly, the youth is all about visual media. And lastly, the holy grail- that news always sells.” Till date, Bhattacharyya is more often than not the first one to break scoop-worthy F&B news.
In 2013, Sourish said goodbye to his job editing for dailies and moved on to create several independent ventures, like the Asian Hawkers’ Market, Top Chef Awards, his personal website (indianrestaurantspy.com), and delWine Excellence Awards. Talking about this shift he says, “I’d peaked at my writing career and felt that I could do more in the F&B space rather than just continue writing. First I started my own blog – it was a very risky decision to leave my job for it as one cannot support a family through a new blog. Also, sole dependence on it unfortunately makes it a business and that kills the purity and passion. That’s when I started doing events like Delhi Gourmet Club & Top Chef Awards to sustain myself in the industry. We seriously started getting into the business of events with AHM.” In a short three years, his website coupled with his work with BW Hotelier magazine has made Sourish a popular name for F&B consultancies as well. We ask whether between donning so many hats he misses full-time writing, “Sometimes I feel I could’ve done much more in terms of writing had I continued as an Editor, however, now I’m living a more fulfilled life. Plus now I get to focus on only what I love to write,” he says with a smile.
In the industry for over three decades, Sourish believes that the growth has been tremendous, “There was a time when our idea of Italian food was macaroni and cheese, now we’re talking about burrata and ricotta – we’ve come a long way. One of the exciting points that’s emerged in the years is the range and accessibility of ingredients. Indian producers are finally finding a place in the market, a lot of them are organic producers, and I hope the growing interest in organic and vegan food will steer people towards eating healthy.” He adds, “I feel your generation is driving the change as you’re more fitness oriented, our gen only looked into our healths after the first heart attack!” The one thing he’d love to see Delhi inculcate is diversity in order to match up to international standards, “If New York and London have 100 specialist food stores & restaurants, Delhi has 10. In New York there’s a farmer’s market in every borough and an event like AHM every week. In a city like Delhi we should have at least 52 such food festivals every year, where we currently have only about 12.”
With so much going on you’d think this rocker of a man would be looking for a breather, but he has other plans, “I have four projects lined up. One is an Indian food encyclopaedia I’m penning with the famous food historian Colleen Taylor Sen; then is the Tasting India Symposium with Sanjoo Malhotra of Impresario where opinion makers from all over the world come together to discuss Indian food heritage, culinary tourism, and its lost food traditions; my third venture is the South Asian Restaurant Congress which will bring together Indian cuisine restaurants from across the globe for one massive congress in Dubai in late 2017; and finally I have something up my sleeve for the Gourmet Passport – watch that space!”
Looking forward to that line-up, we go from espressos to our second round of lattes, revving up the trademark DSSC rapid fire.
Q. Your favourite bar in Delhi?
A. The original Adhchini Turquoise Cottage, which is now behind Select Citywalk.
Q. One Indian wine you love?
A. Setté.
Q. One restaurant in Delhi you’ll never get tired of?
A. United Coffee House.
Q. One current food trend you wish ends ASAP?
A. A trend that only exists in the mind of the people, i.e., molecular gastronomy. Most people don’t even do half of the things that the masters of molecular gastronomy did.
Q. Your take on the new crop of social media Food Critics?
A. The more the merrier, as only when you see bad writing is when you recognise good writing.
Q. If not a Food Critic what would you be doing?
A. I was born to do only one thing in life – journalism. If not a Food Critic, I would’ve been an Editor with a newspaper.
Q. One thing you love about the F&B industry?
A. I love the people in the industry, you can’t be in this industry without a heart. Sure, it is about profit at the end, but they’re all serving you to put a smile on your face.
Q. And the one thing you hate?
A. I wish we could function without venture capitalists. As for the patrons, I’d like them to understand the industry a little better, and be nicer to the people who serve them.
Q. Last day on earth – which restaurant will you visit?
A. Visit Gaggan Anand in Bangkok, you don’t want to end life without trying his food!
Q. If DSSC were to offer you Rs. 10 crores, what will you do with those funds?
A. I’ll buy an island as far away from Delhi as possible, where the air is clean and needs are basic, and settle there with my wife and children. I’ll insist on WiFi so I can keep writing my blog, and a wine collection which will help when I host dinners!
This conversation is a part of the DSSC Secret Conversation Series, where we get candid with the ace of base industry disruptors.
