An early Saturday morning led us to The Bombay Canteen in Mumbai, to catch up with celebrity chef Floyd Cardoz and his team before he left for his home in New York the next day. The coronavirus had not yet made inroads into India the way it now has; Cardoz had been in town for the better part of a month, launching the company’s newest offering, Bombay Sweet Shop.
Hunger Inc (parent company to The Bombay Canteen, O Pedro and The Bombay Sweet Shop), co-owned by Cardoz, had just hit the five-year milestone, and Forbes India was looking to trace how the company has been pushing the envelope for making Indian food trendy, while remaining sustainable and responsible.
Along with chef Cardoz, we sat down for chats and a photoshoot with the company’s core team: Co-founders Yash Bhanage and Sameer Seth, and chefs Thomas Zacharias and Hussain Shahzad. Ten days later, Bhanage called us late at night to inform that Cardoz had just tested positive for Covid-19; on March 25, he passed away from the illness, leaving the industry devastated and in shock.
From what was meant to be a forward-looking piece on the company’s next few years, the interview now remains as one of Cardoz’s last. Soft-spoken and unassuming, he spoke about identifying true passion and core philosophy, and why authenticity will always triumph over trends. Edited excerpts:
Q You worked in the US for decades, introducing the market to Indian flavours. What made you take the leap to start a restaurant in India with the Bombay canteen?
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 24, 2020 من Forbes India.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 24, 2020 من Forbes India.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Home-Cooked Meal Is Now Greatly Valued
The pandemic has also brought with it an improved focus on hygiene, use of technology in dining, rise of cloud kitchens and resurgence in popularity of Indian ingredients
Paytm 3.0 - Reaching Near Breakeven In Two Years
As of 2020, Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s super app for financial services had run up losses in thousands of crores. Now, as digital payments gets yet another boost courtesy Covid-19, he’s hopeful of reaching near breakeven in two years
THE PANDEMIC HAS CAUSED WOMEN GREATER LABOUR PAIN
Covid-19 has shown that women are more likely to face the brunt of job losses than men, and find fewer opportunities when they want to resume. That apart, several have to deal with increased hours of unpaid work at home and even domestic abuse
LEADERSHIP WILL BE ABOUT SEEING THE BIGGER PICTURE
Leaders must not only guard their teams first during a crisis, but also deal with stakeholders with respect and dignity. And apart from pursuing business goals, they should remain committed to our planet and the environment
PHILANTHROPY SHOULD BE HUMBLE, BUT NOT MODEST
Apart from building a flexible and resilient framework for the future, philanthropists, civil society and the government must work in tandem so that every rupee is absorbed on the ground
INTEGRATED HEALTH CARE, TECH WILL DISRUPT SECTOR
While clinical research will get a boost, having a skilled workforce and public spending on health care will be challenges in the near term
DIGITALISATION WILL HELP IN VALUE CREATION
As the pandemic brings technology and innovation to the core of business and daily life, the next decade will see about 150 million digital-first families in India
Industry 4.0: Climate Revolution?
Augmenting sustainability alongside digital capabilities is an economic, competitive and global opportunity for India’s businesses, but regulations need to reflect intent
EV Dream Still Miles Away
Electric vehicles have remained a buzzword in India for years. But not much has moved on ground due to high upfront costs, range anxiety and charging infrastructure
Living Waters
A virus has caused us to scramble for oxygen but our chokehold on the environment is slowly strangling the very waters that breathe life into us. The virus is a timely reminder: We are merely consumers, not producers of life’s breath on this planet
