Meet Gauri Devidayal, the dynamic force behind Food Matters Group, home to thriving culinary brands like The Table and Mag St in Mumbai. With the recent expansion of Mag St from Colaba to a Bandra suburb, first-generation entrepreneur Gauri continues to make waves in India’s vibrant F&B scene. My Kolkata spoke to Devidayal about the new outpost and more…
My Kolkata: From the safe confines of Colaba to the new shores of Bandra, what made you take the leap?
Gauri Devidayal: Bandra’s been on our destination list for a long time, but it's one of the trickiest neighbourhoods to find the right property. And, you know, when we finally did find a property we loved and didn't have any issues associated with it, we took the plunge.
The space transforms from a cosy morning coffee spot to a lively cocktail destination by evening
Why did you choose to open a Mag St in Bandra instead of a new brand?
Mag St is something that we happened to create during Covid and it has just worked out well; it’s developed a decent fan following and so, why fix what’s not broken? Mumbai is becoming quite localised, in the sense that people want to go somewhere, but within a short travel distance, so we felt that we already had a product and a brand, so why reinvent something that is already working well? It’s a brand that we see growing more as well.
Why not The Table?
I don’t think there’s room for more than one The Table in the city!
The Table, at Colaba
Explain how the concept of community building through communal dining at The Table, art walks and your podcasts influenced your culinary journey?
At the end of the day, it’s about bringing together like-minded people with shared interests, whether it’s through wine tastings, heritage walks or food events with different chefs. I think that’s the aspect that we’re focussing on. While dining at a restaurant is still quite a solo or nuclear experience, in the sense that you are not necessarily sharing that with other people, these other things create a sense of community. For us, this is crucial — building something that goes beyond just food and beverage, and also serving as a marketing tool. In essence, it’s the combination of all these elements that defines our approach.
The menu at Mag St spans timeless breakfast classics to lunchtime crowd-pleasers
In the landscape of chef-led restaurants today, how important do you believe the chef is for a restaurant? We ask this because when chef Alex Sanchez moved on from The Table [and opened Americano in 2019], you spoke about the significance of handling public perception.
Obviously, it’s 100 per cent integral to the success of the restaurant to have the right chef. That’s what makes or breaks a restaurant. Having said that, I think that it's important to remember what a restaurant is there for, which is to give people an experience. Jay [Yousuf, co-founder and husband] and I had a theme, concept and a vision for The Table that we knew we had to sustain. Alex was the first chef we had, and after that we’ve had other chefs, and the idea is that each one should be able to execute the vision. To me, when a restaurant starts becoming about the chef or one person rather than the vision or the experience, that's when I think it kind of strays away from its true essence.
With Jay Yousuf, co-founder and husband
Your mother grew up in Kolkata. Tell us about that connection, and any other.
My mom grew up in Kolkata and did her schooling in Loreto House. I’ve been to Kolkata only once before, but it was literally an overnight trip while on transit to Bhutan. This time, for the NRAI Summit 2023, I got to explore the city a little more. My mother told me that I must visit The Good Companions on Russell Street. I walked in there and literally saw my entire childhood because it was like all the nighties my mother used to wear, and the tailor mats... I shopped my heart out. It’s one of my most favourite memories.
I had some amazing food in Kolkata. We went to The Blue Poppy and had the momos, we had biryani and kathi rolls and dined in Tangra. We visited the flower market, took a boat ride to Kumartuli, and even stayed a night in The Glenburn Penthouse that looks out to the Victoria Memorial. It was quite an adventure.
You’ve also been taking some of Kolkata to Mumbai!
I've really enjoyed doing that. We had Manzilat [Fatima] do a pop-up in Bombay because I loved the food when we went there. She had a proper set-up and kitchen and the whole professional team helping her out. It was fantastic; I can literally still taste the food.
We had the Sienna team come a few times; people love them here. We are actually now working with them on developing a product, just something sweet that we’re working on with their amazing pottery centre. It’s still a secret.
For someone who’s always said there’s no plan, what’s your next no plan?
(Laughs) If i knew that, things would be a lot easier! I was just having a chat with my colleague and she said, what’s the plan for April? And I said, I don’t know! Honestly, we’re doing everything at our own pace and having just opened a restaurant, we just want to pause, consolidate, refine and then see what else is out there.
The business of restaurantering is very opportunistic, especially in the premium space, so whenever something comes up and we feel like we have the bandwidth, that’s usually what drives the next project.
