Destiny's grandchild

Samyukta Nair runs top restaurants in London and has stayed true to her Indian roots. Grandpa CP Nair, who founded the Leela hotels, would have been most proud

- VIR SANGHVI

The first time I had an authentic Peking Duck in India was at the Great Wall restaurant at the Leela Palace in Mumbai, twenty years ago. I was having lunch with Captain CP Krishnan Nair, the Leela group's charismatic founder, and was surprised to see that the restaurant served the real thing over three courses: The duck carved at your table, a soup made from the bones, and a stir fry cooked from the leftover duck meat.

Two weeks ago, I found myself eating another authentic Peking Duck. This time it was in London at a restaurant called MiMi Mei Fair, run fittingly enough by Samyukta Nair, granddaughter of Captain Nair. The duck was outstanding. It has to be ordered 24 hours in advance and is widely regarded as the best in London.

Why is a member of Mumbai's Leela/ Nair family selling ducks in England? The late Captain Nair had two sons. The older son, Vivek, helped his father with the hotel business. The younger son, Dinesh, ran the family's garment export business. But he is an extremely well-travelled foodie.

Eventually, the Nairs sold the garment business and Dinesh became involved with the hotel company; the later Leela restaurants owe a lot to his vision. Madhu and Dinesh have one child, Samyukta, who studied hotel management in Lausanne.