From a humble tea stall to ‘The Grand Bhagwati’…!

From a tea stall in 1983 to The Grand Bhagwati or TGB as it’s fondly called by its patrons …Narendra Somani has come a long way simply on the strength of his innovative and out-of-the-box thinking and passion for connecting food and people. 

Narendra Somani embarked on his hospitality industry journey with a modest tea stall at Relief Road way back in 1983 which he ran along with his studies. The entrepreneurial streak in him pushed him to elevate from merely serving tea to customers at his stall to taking orders for tea and espresso coffee machines; he then moved on to taking catering orders for wedding, parties et al for serving tea, coffees, juices and ice cream.

The next big step came in 1989 when he decided to re-introduce street chaat to a Fafda-jalebi Gujarat. The quintessential Delhi style chaat was something novel, exciting and yummilicious for the foodies of Gujarat. So he hired a cook from Delhi and started his mini chaat outlet at White House, Panchwati, Ahmedabad. The response from the very first day was awesome with people showering this venture with love and support; this lead him to continue expanding the chaat items and gradually turning towards outdoor catering services. Narendra then started India’s first centralized outdoor kitchen which was yet another page in his success book. And then came the turning point of his career when he decided to enter into the catering business on a full- fledged basis.

Where in those days the wedding menu of an archetypal Gujarati comprised of around 10-12 items and all offered at one place; Narendra and his team changed the trend by expanding not only the number of items but also the types of cuisines making the food display rich and lavish;and bagging an overwhelming response to the same not only from the crème-de-la-crème but also from the upper middle class segment. The reason being that weddings in India per se are a once-in-a-lifetime occasion; so each household irrespective of its financial bandwidth strives to make it a memorable occasion for the guests. Then again food being one of the integral elements … offering options galore to suit everyone’s palate left an indelible impact on the guests stomach and more important his heart!

Elucidating on the reason for the name TGB, Narendra says “The name of my tea stall was Bhagwati Tea Stall;the chaat outlet which was my second venture was also named as The Bhagwati Chaat Centre. So when we were planning to inaugurate our hotel we had released an advertisement inviting people to suggest names for our hotel with a cash reward of INR 10,000/- for the best name. In response to the same we received a number of hilarious suggestions carrying names of the Bollywood Khans.  But then someone from the core team suggested that we continue with our tag name ‘Bhagwati’ as it’s stood us in good stead till date; plus it would be foolish to diluteour brand by giving our new initiative some other name…but yes in sync with the grandeur and ambience of the hotel perhaps we could name it – The Grand Bhagwati. And that’s how TGB came into existence!” 

The man who offers a plethora of cuisine and dishes to his guests is quite simple in his tastes - ‘daal-rice’ is something that Narendra can eat 365 days of the year; and from the TGB menu it is potato roasties which are his all-time favourite!

Narendra shares, “I am very passionate about food and a firm espouser of vegetarian cuisine. I have travelled around the globe and have viewed multiple cuisines and dishes - both vegetarian and non- vegetarian. I challenge you to select any food item from any cuisine be it Mexican, Italian or Lebanese – and I’ll offer you its vegetarian version without compromising on the taste!”

In the current phase of unlock, TGB is strictly adhering to the SOPs issued by the government and has in place norms like – thermal screening of staff, vendors and guests; donning of masks, face shields, hair nets etc. by staff; maintaining social distancing among staff and guests; frequent sanitization of premises et al. Employees are regularly tested for COVID-19 and in case of an employee being indisposed he/she is not allowed to work until perfectly fit to resume duties.

Opining on the on-going pandemic and its effect on businesses in general and the hospitality industry in particular Narendra says “As everyone knows the worst impact of the various phases of the lockdown has been experienced by the hospitality and food industry. But slowly and gradually the economy is gearing up and we hope and pray that by April 2021 matters stabilise and everything returns to normal. In the recently announced Unlock 5 guidelines the government too has given us a bit of leeway by allowing gatherings of up to 200 people in open spaces like party plots and lawns; we await their guidelines with regards to closed spaces like banquet halls”But he continues on an optimistic note “We haven’t lost anything in this pandemic… in fact we as a team have used this as an opportunity to research and evolve in a different manner. I have myself learned so much from this pandemic that I am positive that it will definitely help me in my future endeavours.”

There’s a popular management quote ‘When the times are tough, the tough get going’! The TGB Team epitomises this to the T! While their peers were lamenting the loss of business due to the pandemic and the lockdowns announced to arrest its growth TGB turned this disaster into an opportunity by brainstorming on various ideas. One of their brainchild is an innovative venture –‘Frozen Food Factory’through which they aim to supply safe and ready-to-use packaged food products. With everyone busy with their careers in today’s fast-paced lifestyle this initiative offers patrons an opportunity to save their time and energy without compromising on their cravings for delicious homemade food. This product is targeted at the - youngster, student, working parent and couple segments.

Narendra intends to launch this venture in the month of January. Food items on offer would comprise - manchurian, hara bhara kebab, aloo paneer, mutter paneer, kachoris and much more… hmm sounds sinfully tempting, doesn’t it!

Then again understanding that the various phases of the lockdown would have wreaked havoc with household budgets, TGB under its baking sector expansion plan has launched cakes and cream rolls starting at INR 5/- and INR 10/- only! 

Another innovation has been brought about in the menu card of TGB; adopting the western food culture they’ve come up with a platter style menu where everyone can order curries of their own choice nullifying the need (and risk in the pandemic times) of sharing one curry. This is akin to a combo platter

Narendra ends with a warm message for our home chefs “Even we at TGB have learnt so much from homechefs be it how to make less oily food items or how to prepare the healthy versions of any recipe… and lots more! So I would like to tell them to go ahead and have a shot at the big market out there in the industry. My best wishes are always with the homechefs and home bakers who are planning to open their ventures and take a professional step into the hospitality industry.”

 

About The Grand Bhagwati…

Set up in the year 1989 for providing quality, excellent food and great services in the food and catering segment, TGB Banquets and Hotels Ltd, through its catering division pioneered the concept of professional catering. The same has resulted in TGB Banquets and Hotels Ltd being among the few select organized corporate catering companies across India providing food and hospitality service pan-India and also at the global level (Hong Kong, Dubai, Macau et al)

Your search for a superlative and safe gastronomic experience ends with TGB