Garlic bread
CHENNAI: After a long hard day, it’s always comforting to head to your favourite pizza place and gobble a nice, warm pizza. But, have you imagined it being served in a mug — with all its glorious layers of cheese, sauce and vegetables? The Food Project, a brand new eatery located off Sterling Road has done just that. Run by two young entrepreneurs, Vishal Dugar and Nitin Chopra, the eatery serves fusion dishes like the Jamaican devil, Breadizza, Maggie pasta, red puffed rice, and vanilla chocolate cake, all in giant vibrant mugs.
The cozy 400 sq ft vegetarian restaurant opened its doors on May 13 and has been creating ripples in the city’s food circle. “I have always wanted to open a food joint. It has been my dream since I was a teenager,” says 21-year-old, Vishal, a Bcom (Corporate Secretaryship) graduate.
Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, establishing a business was quite natural for Vishal, but, it took shape when his cousin Nitin came on board and endorsed his food dreams. “I was also interested in food. When Vishal discussed his idea with me, I readily agreed. We knew that it couldn’t be a one-man show and decided to join hands and work together towards our dream,” smiles Nitin, a former IT professional.
In October 2017, the ideation of their pet project — The Food Project began. “Our motto was to bring people together over food, to have conversations and create interactions. That’s our tagline — ‘Building food friends’,” smiles Vishal, seated in a bright red chair.
Tungsten lights, cute food-related doodles, bright blue walls, raised stools, chalkboard menu and post-its with testimonials, adorn the cafe and ups the style quotient of the ambiance. “When we started working on this, we travelled to cities like Mumbai and Bengaluru for research, not only about food, but ambiance also. We visited numerous restaurants, small eateries and street food shops to explore different tastes and discover the pulse of the consumers,” explains Vishal.
Nitin nods in agreement. “We wanted to add those dishes on our menu which were new. We wanted to be different. From the responses we have been receiving, we now know that we are,” he beams.
Intrigued by their choice of dishes and menu, we ask them if it was curated by a food consultant and Vishal shakes his head. They both are foodies who enjoy cooking. All the 16 dishes in TFP’s menu have been developed by them. “There were some really funny mishaps, and some dishes even got burnt in the beginning. We had about 40 dishes in our initial list. After a lot of trial, error and testing, we narrowed it down to 16,” shares Vishal.
The crackling chocolate sandwich, cheese garlic bread and Breadizza are some of their fast sellers. “We are working to add new dishes to the menu. But, we want to take it slow. We also have customisations for Jains,” he says.
The café is close to many schools and colleges, keeping it buzzing with activity throughout the week. “We get family crowd during the weekend. Despite schools and colleges being closed for summer, we have been seeing a good footfall. Once it reopens, we are hoping to see more customers,” shares Vishal.
The dishes are priced between `45 and `150. “We wanted it to be pocket friendly and we will be sticking to these rates,” says Nitin.
Some of their finger foods are served along with their signature cheese-mayonnaise dip and the foxberry drink is a must try. “Customers are expecting something different from the market and we want to deliver that. We have also got enquiries for franchises but currently, we are focused on developing our brand,” he adds.
(The Food Project is located at 4th street, Sterling Road, Nungambakkam. For details, call: 08056048039)
