Getting Close to Gaurav Anand
Gaurav Anand, chef and owner of three acclaimed Indian restaurants in Manhattan, has achieved unquestionable success despite having no formal culinary training and only arriving in the U.S. less than ten years ago. Born in India, Gaurav studied business and law, only discovering his love for the restaurant industry after working with his brother Saurabh.
In 2006, Gaurav came to New York city and opened Bhatti Indian Grill, a restaurant that quickly became known among foodies and was an Open Table Diners’ Choice in 2012. The latest addition to his growing empire was Moti Mahal Delux, the first U.S. location of a popular New Delhi–based chain with more than 100 locations in India, Nepal, and London. The cuisine here is both rich and balanced, with complex flavors and interesting spices, and as global franchisers of Moti Mahal Delux, the Anand brothers are looking to open other locations in New York City as well as other metro areas.
Gaurav first came to New York City (NYC) for his 2 loves – his wife Shagun who was working there at the time, and the abundance of restaurants and interesti
ng food. He knew that if he wanted to make it in the restaurant business, he would need to be in this incredible city where there are so many opportunities. When asked what he thought made NYC a good place to start, he expressed, “This is a good place to open an Indian restaurant because there are never enough restaurants here. New Yorkers will always want to eat out, and as long as you are serving high quality food at reasonable prices, you have a shot.” His experience, however, has been very different from what he expected. “I expected the NYC restaurant business to be like India – smooth sailing. But it is quite the opposite. The restaurant business here is intense and you have to be on your toes at all times. There are thousands of moving parts that you have to constantly be aware of. It’s not a business for the light hearted. You need to have a dream, and a passion to implement it.”
While he has certainly achieved success in the market, Gaurav admits there are several challenges, including finding good cooking staff in NYC. Because there is so much competition, he’s motivated to be in the kitchen more himself and learn every recipe so he can teach his staff new tricks. As an experimenter, Gaurav makes it a priority to look for staff that isn’t afraid to try new recipes or flavor combinations that are out of the ordinary. Personally, he likes using spices such as yellow chili powder and saffron in his cooking, with one of his specialties being kabobs marinated in pomegranate. In addition, he enjoys Persian and Lebanese cuisine and looks to these cooking techniques to understand how to preserve the natural flavors in various food.
So what keeps Gaurav motivated? When it comes to role models in his life, Gaurav credits Jiggs Kalra, a master chef/restaurateur in Delhi who he trained with and has a tremendous amount of respect for. He also looks to Daniel Boulud, a prominent industry leader who worked his way up the French culinary ladder and made a worldwide name for himself, while remaining a very humble and kind human being. Gaurav continues to find inspiration everywhere and push his dreams further with each new venture, as further evidenced by his new upcoming restaurant, Awad. When it opens, Awad will draw on various food concepts and Gaurav’s learnings thus far to create a truly new experience for diners. It’s this continuous drive that keeps him on top of the Indian restaurant scene, competitive in the ever-changing NYC market, and a restaurateur that is certainly worthy of watching for years to come.