Food entrepreneur Rajeev Paul provides a sneak peek into the challenges of running 23 restaurants at one go

Bhoiter Raja Dilo Bor has recently launched an experience named Shundi Rajar Darbar which includes two silver thalis named after the princesses Manimala and Muktomala
Rajeev Paul and Bhooter Raja Dilo Bor
Rajeev Paul and Bhooter Raja Dilo Bor

Entrepreneur Rajeev Paul’s family background in the food industry, and his inherent affinity towards food of all kinds nurtured a wish to open multi chain, multi brand restaurants when he grows up. Coming from the house of legendary sweetmeat shop Hindustan Sweets, the basics of the industry was imbibed early on in him. It was during his three month break after his 10th grade board exams that he used to explore street food of Kolkata and establish connections with chefs who would eventually help him open one of the most popular fast food chains in Kolkata- Bawarchi in the year 1999. Exactly five years later, he stumbled upon an empty space in Patuli which eventually turned into his next chain based on lost Bengali recipes- Bhooter Raja Dilo Bor. Today, including Hindustan Sweets, Bawarchi, Bhooter Raja Dilo Bor and his newest buffet based Bengali bistro- Posto, he runs a total of 23 restaurants in Bengal and abroad. Rajeev is an exceptionally adept and unstoppable entrepreneur in this field as he is continuously coming up with more inclusions such as a cafeteria called Nest Café, an eggless bakery named We Bake U Take and more. Rajeev shares with us his vision of revolutionising the food business in Kolkata.

Running 23 restaurants, with more coming up is not an easy task. What quality parameters do you maintain?

Most multi-chain restaurants run on a central kitchen model these days, whereas we focus on a centralised training pattern for our in-house chefs for each cuisine. We regulate the chefs within the outlets every two months in order to maintain a uniformity in taste. Ingredients on the other hand are never compromised, no matter what.

There are two Bengali restaurants, amongst all your brands. How would you separate these two?

Bhooter Raja Dilo Bor is a theme based dine-in restaurant that is known for serving thalis and a-la-carte whereas Posto, our newest Bengali food chain is a buffet based diner. Posto offers a-la-carte too, but mainly focuses on buffets. The bill-of-fare is slightly different for each of them since Posto offers a lot with poppy based dishes, whereas Bhooter Raja Dilo Bor is more about an all-encompassing experience and recipes passed down from previous generations that are not cooked in Bengali households anymore.

Take us through Shundi Rajar Darbar that you have introduced under the umbrella of Bhooter Raja Dilo Bor

Anybody who is acquainted with Satyajit Ray’s Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne will know how Shundir Raja was an integral part of the story development. Once Goopy and Bagha were granted wishes of food, travel and music they travelled to the kingdom of Shundi in order to participate in a musical show-off there. Shundi Rajar Darbar at Bhooter Raja Dilo Bor was launched right ahead of Durga Puja this year and visually replicates the palace of Shundi with a white and gold décor. In order to incorporate story elements here, we have also introduced two premium thalis named after the princesses Monimala and Muktamala, both of which are served on a silver platter.

What would you consider as the most unique aspect of your themed Bengali restaurant Bhooter Raja Dilo Bor?

The diner from the moment of its inception has been thoroughly unique, especially because of its name. It is a word that I exclaimed when I first stumbled upon the space it was opened in near Baishnabghata-Patuli, as the rent for the space was less than half of what I had expected. The word literally means the boon of the Ghost King, in reference to a character from Ray’s masterpiece. What makes Bhooter Raja Dilo Bor different is not only in terms of its offerings that uphold lost traditions, but also rituals that are slowly vanishing as a result of globalisation. We were one of the pioneering restaurants to start offering holy ritual services as a part of theme such as Aiburobhaat, Jamai Shashti, Bhoot Choturdoshi and so on adhering to all the authentic rules of each. The fact that we are also getting to reach out to the newest generations with Ray’s greatness and cinematic magnificence is also something that sets us apart. In order to do so, we bring in an act of Bhooter Raja every weekend who roams around the restaurant making sure everyone is gastronomically happy, and also grants wishes if he feels so. These often intrigue children who are unaware of such sentiments such as Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne. 

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