Oudh 1590 completes a decade — from one outlet in 2013 to 13 outlets in 2023. How did it all start?
It all started with the emotion of creating something that Calcutta had not experienced then. Research crowned biryani and kebabs to be the most preferred cuisine so we zeroed down on that. We wanted the cuisine to be distinctive. Research also revealed the huge gap as one has legendary restaurants like Aminia, Sabir’s Hotel, Shiraz Golden Restaurant and others on one hand and on the other, there were premium dining dens such as Dum Pukht in ITC (Sonar) and so on, but the middle segment was largely unfilled as one had no options to celebrate family gatherings in these places. During this time, we visited Lucknow and to our surprise, we were overwhelmed to come across the array of kebabs, especially the Galawati Kebab, Kakori Kebab and numerous kebabs made with fish and the entire repertoire of aromatic Awadhi biryani which was an unexplored treasure to the gourmands of Calcutta. We strongly felt that this was a goldmine for us that if we could bring the taste of the same to Calcutta, it will definitely rock.
Disco King Bappi Lahiri with Shiladitya and Debaditya at Oudh 1590 Oudh 1590
What were some of the initial challenges in setting up?
The initial challenge was monumental. The first outlet of Oudh 1590 was opened at Deshapriya Park after multiple restaurants shut shop at the same place. So the landlord was sceptical about renting it out. Furthermore, the first outlet was inside a lane so everyone discouraged us saying no restaurant would run well if its location was not properly visible grabbing the eyeballs of the passersby. But we were determined on the fact that if we could create a destination and rebuild a part of Lucknow somewhere in South Calcutta, it would be the centre of attraction for many, hence the first outlet of Oudh saw the light of the day.
Actor Prasenjit Chatterjee and Ditipriya Roy sharing a biryani moment at Oudh 1590 Oudh 1590
The outlets have a distinct decor and ambience and echoes a vibe of period dining. What was the thought behind that?
When we were conceptualising the brand, we came across Kheyrul Islam, an interior designer and fabricator who was also involved in building the Ramoji Rao Film City then and it was he who was designing it for us. Kheyrul introduced us to Nitish Ray and then Nitishda added more value to the design of Oudh 1590. We basically designed an SOP (standard operating procedure) to create a slice of Lucknow in Calcutta. The SOP was designed in terms of the interior, the crockery and cutlery, the costumes for the floor staff, the lilting musical ambience made by the thumris and ghazals so on and so forth. The initial manpower beamed with rakabdars who were specially roped in from Lucknow to supervise the kitchen here. They are still with us. It was seen that among these bawarchis, a major share is from Malda, West Bengal, whose families have been serving in the streets of Lucknow for many many years; we got them back here in Bengal.
Singer Arijit Singh at Oudh 1590 Oudh 1590
You share a great sibling bonding and love for food. What is it like working with each other?
Both of us are foodies. Hardcore gastronomes. Food played a crucial role in the family as our grandmother used to cook delicious items and so did our mother. As kids, we were taken to Zakaria Street before Id and we were certainly spoilt for choices as the array there was aplenty with cuisine that did not only fill our tummies, it also inspired us to become food entrepreneurs in future.
From a middle-class family background where no one dared to venture into business for many generations, what made you think differently and become food entrepreneurs?
Shiladitya: I started my career with a job in Delhi; I left that job, came back to Calcutta and started my own business in communications. Debaditya was in college and was helping me set up a communication consultancy firm. After that, he started his own brand, Chowman. We felt the urge to do something together in the food space....
Veteran Actor Soumitra Chatterjee at Oudh 1590 Oudh 1590
What was the initial success and subsequent growth of Oudh 1590 like?
The first week was dull; the crowd came from the second weekend actually, so much so that we could not provide enough chairs for the people who waited in the long queue in front of the restaurant. This growing interest compelled us to open new outlets of Oudh 1590 across the length and breadth of the city. After the first outlet opened in Deshapriya Park, we got many requests from Salt Lake and North Calcutta to come up with new branches, so the next outlet came up in Salt Lake.
A theme music video of Oudh 1590 has been created to mark the 10th anniversary. What is that about?
The video showcases the Awadhi “pehle aap” culture and the period dining experience for which Oudh 1590 is known. The music has been composed by one of the leading jingle composers from Mumbai, Subhajit Mukherjee; the song is rendered by Raghab Chatterjee and the lyrics are written by Azazul Haque. We roped in filmmaker Riingo who is also a dear friend to do the shoot which has been completely shot on Samsung S23 Ultra and with cine lenses. The final product will send out a message that Oudh 1590 is not only a restaurant brand but also an emotion for gourmands who love Awadhi cuisine and want to take back happy memories after they dine with us. The lead characters in the video are actors Aishwarya Sen and Rajiv Bose who perfectly showcased the gourmet patrons of Oudh 1590. We hope to launch the video in September.
Ron 'Bumblefoot' Thal, the lead guitarist of Guns N' Roses, at Oudh 1590 Oudh 1590
What are your expansion plans and how many new outlets of Oudh 1590 can we expect?
Our expansion plans look enormous. This year, we did a record of opening three back-to-back outlets in three consecutive months — in May we opened the Rajarhat outlet, in June the cloud kitchen at Ruby, and in July Paikpara, BT Road, became operational. By 2025, we have plans to open 25 Oudh outlets across India. The Calcutta zone is almost completed, maybe a couple of more here and we are already in Delhi; by 2025 we want to have more footprints in South Delhi and Trans Yamuna areas followed by Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai, completing 25 outlets by December 2025. Our target turnover is 75 crore.
The brand is launching something for the NRB diaspora globally...
Because of the repeated requests that we keep receiving from the NRB diaspora, mostly our friends and colleagues staying abroad, especially in places like North America, London and Singapore, we are launching something really interesting called E-gifts card. So you can order the food using the card from whichever country you are in, we will be delivering the food to your loved ones.
Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma get a taste of Oudh 1590 biryani at The Telegraph office The Telegraph
The 10-year celebrations also mark the beginning of a sumptuous new menu. How much R&D went behind curating the new additions to the menu?
We did extensive research before drawing up the new menu. With a heavy heart, we had to bid adieu to some of the old favourites. We visited Lucknow multiple times, visited households of different people where we came to know about the legacy of the cuisine and then they were introduced to the new menu. There are dishes like Gosht Shorba, Hajratganj Keema Golgappe, Murgh Khade Masala, Murgh Harisha Reshmi, Gosht Tehari, Jigarpur Masala, Adraki Lobster, Jheenga Dum Nisha, Achari Paneer Tikka, Zafrani Badami Aloo, Shahi Kheer, Strawberry Phirni and Zarda to name just a few from the new menu.