Anjan Chatterjee at Mainland China in Silver Spring Arcade; (below) the Oh! Calcutta at the same address. Pictures by Pabitra Das and Rashbehari Das

Your first job… what’s the one lesson it taught you which has helped in your later career?

My first job was with the Taj group of hotels in Mumbai, soon after I passed out from IHM. I learnt a lot from there — it taught me to be sensitive towards guests. It taught me to always put myself in the guest’s shoes and understand what he needs and expects.

I must mention here that I also learnt one of the most important lessons from my second job — with the ABP Group. There, I learnt how to maintain the human touch in business.

When and why did you decide to take the business plunge?

I was very happy with my marketing job with ABP. But I was only 25 and I thought I was getting too comfortable for my liking. I had offers for marketing jobs from other companies but I decided to do something on my own. In ABP, I was on the other side of the ad business — I was selling ad space to companies, but I decided to take up the challenge of opening an ad agency. So, in 1985 I opened Situations Advertising. It was a path I hadn’t travelled earlier but I loved it. Between 1985 and 1991, the agency did very well with campaigns for Ujala, Cello pens and Gulf Air.

When and why did you decide to go into the food business?

From my childhood I had a good understanding of Bengali food. My father, who was a research scientist, loved to treat guests with traditional Bengali dishes and my mother was also a good cook. My wife Suchhanda also cooks good traditional Bengali food and I used to make experimental dishes like chingri malai curry with red wine or a cheesy daab chingri. Between the two of us we would dish out food festival-quality feasts at home for friends and colleagues and got great appreciation. So, we thought why not market that kind of food.

Your first restaurant was Only Fish (in Mumbai). Why?

When we decided to open a Bengali food restaurant in Mumbai, we first thought of calling it Bongo. Then we thought that would be cliched, plus Bengali food was not on the national map then and we didn’t want the non-Bengalis to be put off by the name. So we decided to call it Only Fish, so that the name didn’t have an only-Bengali flavour. But under the garb of fish, it was all of Bengali food.

Mainland China at Silver Spring Arcade. Picture by Rashbehari Das

Mainland China, the most successful brand from the Speciality Restaurant bouquet — what made it an instant hit everywhere it went?

There were no good standalone Chinese restaurants in India when we launched Mainland China. In Calcutta, there was only Tangra but even that was a very different kind of Chinese food. And with the Chinese community migrating out of Calcutta, even Tangra was going down. Because it lends itself to adaptation, Chinese food, I feel, has been badly abused in India. No thought has been spared for the authenticity of the cuisine. That’s where Mainland China scored. The combination of food that we offered and the consistency made Mainland China click.

What’s your favourite brand from the Speciality Restaurant stable?

Oh! Calcutta. It’s straight from my heart.

From the conception of a restaurant to finally upping the shutters, what’s the most difficult stage?

A restaurant is like an aircraft — you need to do all the checks before you take off. From the moment you take off to the first six months — that’s the most difficult phase. It can never be on auto-pilot, you’ll have to see to each and every thing personally.

Which is the most difficult city to crack?

In terms of pleasing the palate, Calcutta is the biggest challenge. You can’t sell B-grade food to Calcuttans; they have grown up in a city where there are restaurants like Shiraz, Aminia and Royal. In terms of setting up a restaurant — real estate, permits etc — Delhi and Mumbai are both equally tough.

What are the expansion plans for this year?

People are aborting their operations everywhere, but I’m very bullish. We are No. 1 in the restaurant industry and I have to maintain that lead. This year we are going to open 18 to 19 new restaurants nationally — some new formats and some existing ones. In Calcutta, we have plans for five new restaurants. There will be a new-format restaurant in four-five months. Then there will be another theme restaurant, two Hakas and a Flame & Grill.

The Mainland China at Silver Spring Arcade will be transformed to New World Mainland China. This is a new format restaurant we opened in Delhi recently. It incorporates the new flavours from China. In India we are stuck with the same old Chinese food, but we must understand that Chinese cuisine has also undergone changes through influences of other cuisines like American, Japanese and Thai.

That apart, expansion through franchisees will continue. Also, we are getting into outdoor catering in a big way. We are starting with Calcutta and West Bengal now and we have formed a set-up in Sankrail for this. We are equipped to handle orders for 200 to 5,000 people.

Why the decision to go for franchisee arrangements? Don’t you think it will dilute the quality that you have managed to maintain?

No, because all these restaurants are franchisee owned but company operated. The franchisee has no say at all in the running of the restaurant.

Speciality Restaurants just bagged the Coca Cola Golden Spoon Awards 2009. What do awards mean to you?

The Golden Spoon award is by the Indian Retail Food Forum, based on a consumer survey. We have won this award two years in a row. Awards are definitely a shot in the arm, especially researched consumer awards.

You just catered for the Somnath Chatterjee farewell dinner at the Prime Minister’s residence…

We have been doing it for the Prime Minister for a while. Earlier on, only the five-stars would do the catering at the PM’s residence, but ours was the only standalone brand that was selected. Actually, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi love the Oh! Calcutta in Delhi; they drop in at least once a month and she loves the Gondhoraj Bhetki and Hilsa.

At the Somnath Chatterjee farewell dinner we catered for 100 people and there were all the Oh! Calcutta specialities on the menu — Kakra-Chingri Bhapa, Gondhoraj Bhetki, Kacha Lanka Mangsho, Basmati Pulao, Gobindobhog Bhaat, Payesh and Bhapa Sandesh among others.

Your advise to restaurateurs during the downturn…

Be sensitive and ensure that the guest gets a good meal at a good value. This year, don’t look at the bottomline. Even if there is a variance of two per cent in your business, you will earn goodwill for the long-term.

Your dream destination for a restaurant…

I want to have a sprawling Oh! Calcutta in the heart of Champ-Elysees in Paris.

the basics

Name: Anjan Chatterjee
Date of birth: February 16, 1960
Grew up in: Delhi, Mysore, Orissa and Calcutta
School: Modern School, Delhi
College: Ravenshaw College, Cuttack, and Institute of Hotel Management (IHM), Calcutta

he defines his dens

Mainland China: A fine-dining Chinese experience
Oh! Calcutta: A celebration of Calcutta food
Sigree: It’s the authenticity of Indian cuisine without the grease
Haka: A restro that offers a value-for-money Chinese meal
Flame & Grill: Kebabs the way they are made
Shack: The Goan experience
Machaan: Enchanted dining

Quick 10

Favourite cuisine: Bengali
Favourite Bengali dish: Gondhoraj Bhetki
A staple on your table: Fish, particularly Rui
Favourite restaurant globally: Yauatcha in London
Favourite city: Calcutta
Favourite travel destination: England
Other interests: Music and films
Favourite film: Gupi Gayen Bagha Bayen
Favourite cricketer: Sachin Tendulkar
Celeb you’ve felt happiest feeding: Mithun Chakraborty