Kaidi Kitchen, the prison-themed vegetarian restaurant steps into its 10th year. The Telegraph sat down for a chat with owners Rohit Ohja and Ankit Madhogaria, on the success story, memories and what lies ahead.
Ankit Madhogaria (left) and Rohit Ohja, owners of Kaidi Kitchen, also have the brewpub Scrapyard, the cafe Mirosh and nightclub Reality on their CV.
Congratulations on Kaidi Kitchen’s 10th year in Calcutta. How has the journey been?
Rohit Ohja: Pre-Covid, obviously it was good. If you’re running a restaurant for nine-10 years, it means people have accepted us in a very warm-hearted way. And, we are continuously providing what they require but during Covid, it was the toughest time for us.
Ankit Madhogaria: Ever since we’ve moved to 4/1 Camac Street, we’ve changed the decor. Previously it was more of a formal dining experience but now we have an urban chic look. Now, everybody sees a newness in the theme. The basic is still there....
What do you think has been the USP?
Ankit: See, there are reasons why a lot of places are shutting down but the key reason we are sustaining is that we look into the quality of everything regularly. The food quality, the guest experience. Our tag line was ‘experience the prison, experience the food’, where you come and you enjoy, you make memories. You only have memories when you enjoy the food, the ambience, the people you are coming along with.
Rohit: You create a 15,000sq ft outlet or a huge luxurious place, but again you have to give good food at a reasonable price, for them to come back to you again and again. We always wanted to give the dramatic experience with the food so that people come back again and again. It’s not only just the food or the ambience. People will come for ambience once or twice, not more than that. But if you have good food and service, a good team, a good ambience, all in all, it gives a dramatic experience. That’s what we have created.
A lot of themed restaurants come and go, but Kaidi Kitchen has remained one of the top themed restaurants around. It’s a unique idea that’s stood fresh against time. How does that make you both feel?
Ankit: Of course, it’s a proud feeling. If 10 outlets have come to Calcutta in the last 10 years, nine have gone out and one is still there. It comes to show our resilience, our temperament, our hard work and also shows the quality of the brand.
With Kaidi Kitchen turning 10, what does the future look like for the chain?
Ankit: Kaidi Kitchen is already a pan-India brand. We have a vision of expanding to several cities, in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. And it’s not that Kaidi Kitchen is a pure vegetarian brand. Of course, it is based on a geographically based policy. Like, if you go to Kaidi Kitchen in Siliguri, we are serving non-veg there. If we are opening in some city where people are more into non-vegetarian food, we are open to that as well. We have to adapt. We have to be flexible in that and we are.
What’s something you’ve come to cherish or value the most through this journey and something that you’ve learnt along the way?
Rohit: We both did not ever have a background in the food industry. In the initial years, we were learning about this industry a lot and we also were learning about the typical restaurants, but gradually when we were exploring new cities, new countries, we saw what was coming up. So that’s how we also created our other brands as well such as the microbrewery, nightclub, and then we came up with a lot of fusion food as well where you get different cuisines but suitable for the Bengal palate.
What has been the most popular pick over the years?
Rohit: Sizzlers. Mexican sizzlers.
What is the weirdest request you’ve got from a customer?
Rohit: This incident took place seven-eight years back when I used to stay in the kitchen. There was an order for an onion kulcha. My staff then said: ‘This will be no onion, no garlic.’ Baffled, I said, ‘Onion kulcha without onion, without garlic, what kind of kulcha is that?’. I told him “Please at least explain to him, “onion kulcha doesn’t have any filling, it just has the onion on it. So if I remove that, it becomes a normal kulcha.’ It was quite a funny moment for me. Onion kulcha with no onion, there was a garlic naan without garlic. These are the things that happened and coincidentally I was in the kitchen and it was quite the funny moment, not just for me but for the chef as well. The entire team used to laugh and say ‘What kind of order is this?’
Pictures: Pabitra Das