Restaurant Awards 2024 Bengaluru Edition

Bengaluru Edition Our Speakers

Abhijit Saha

Chef-Entrepreneur, Restauranteur and Author

Abhijit Saha

Chef-Entrepreneur, Restauranteur and Author

He is the Founder & Principal Consultant of Ace Hospitality & Consulting and has recently opened his Neo Indian Fine Dining Restaurant ‘Ammakase’ at 1 Raffles Place, Singapore and LYFE Restaurant & Pizzeria in Whitefield, Bangalore.
Abhijit Saha was awarded “Chef of The Year 2023’ at the Times Food & Nightlife Awards. The coach and mentor of Team India for Bocuse d’Or Asia-Pacific 2018; Guest Judge of MasterChef India and Senior Judge of Young Chefs Olympiad – Abhijit Saha was inducted as a fellow of the ‘IIHM International College of Distinguished Fellows’ by International Hospitality Council, London in 2021. As the Principal F&B Consultant of Bangalore Airport, he has been leading the Food & Beverage Development work for Terminal 1 & Terminal 2 during the last five years.
As founder-director of Avant Garde Hospitality from 2008 to 2020 he conceptualized, executed and managed award-winning and critically acclaimed restaurants such as Caperberry (Modernist European Cuisine), and Fava (Mediterranean Cuisine) in Bangalore. His Michelin recommended Signature Indian Restaurant ‘SAHA’ (2014-18) in Singapore was awarded the Epicurean Star Award for Best New Restaurant, 2014 by the Restaurant Association of Singapore. He has provided consulting services and technical knowhow to several Red Rhino Craft Brewery, The Pizza Bakery, Tamara Resorts, Serai Resorts and Dream Cruises Hong Kong. Three of his recent projects Glass Kitchen & Bar, The Pet People Café and Over Coffee have won the ‘Times Food Award’ for Best Modern Indian Restaurant 2022, Best Plant Based-Healthy Restaurant 2022 and Best Cafe 2024.

Prasanna Kumar

Co-Founder and CEO, BLR Brewing Co

Teja Chekuri

Global Entrepreneur And Managing Partner, Ironhill India

Teja Chekuri

Global Entrepreneur And Managing Partner, Ironhill India

Teja Chekuri is a global entrepreneur who has set up unique restaurant chains across the world. He is currently the Managing Partner at Ironhill India and holds several board level positions in different companies. He co-founded the Godavari Group of Restaurants in the US and under this group he launched Madras Dosa Co (Boston ) , 1947 -Truly Indian (Boston) , Vaanga (Boston) and an Indian Gastrobar “Don’t Tell Aunty” in Boston along with establishing the flagship brand Godavari in 21 locations (Delaware, Toronto, Tampa , Jersey City, Minneapolis, Orange Country, Atlanta, Columbus, Woburn, Philadelphia, Naperville, Houston, Schaumburg, Kansas, Charlotte, Cincinnati , Edison, Hartford, Herndon, Morrisville and Rhode Island). After having established a robust empire on international.
shores, he turned his attention to India. He pioneered the concept of craftbeer in India with the launch of Prost in 2012. While it is still charting its own success story, Teja wanted to look at experimenting more with local favours and create unique mixes with Indian spices that can be added to the brews to bring about an interesting experience for beer connoisseurs. That’s how Ironhill India came about. Since its launch, the brand has established multiple footprints at a rapid pace under his leadership and is still on an expansion mode. This is today the largest and fastest growing chain in India. He continues to add more restaurants with unique flavours to his list with a South Indian specialty restaurant - United Telugu Kitchens ( Vijayawada & Hyderabad ) along with “ishtaa” – a pure vegetarian fine dining restaurant in Hyderabad (2022) that is wowing foodies with its unique menu. Launching a retail brand is on the cards in the near future.

Mahesh Reddy

CEO, GoPizza India

Shakir Haq

CEO, NKP Empire Ventures

Nidhi Singh

Co-Founder, Samosa Singh

Sundeep Singh

Founder & CEO, Bogmalo Foods and Hospitality LLP

Anand Ramanathan

Partner and Leader, Consumer Products & Retail Sector, South Asia, Deloitte

Vinay Chandrashekar

Founder, Long Boat Brewing Co

Deepak Jeena

Director- Food and Beverage, JW Marriott Hotel Bengaluru

Avinash Kapoli

Co-Founder, Kompany

Sumit Wahall

COO, True Palate Pvt Ltd

Ramya Ravi

Co-Founder, RNR Donne Biryani

Abilash Bellur

Co-founder, Biggies Burger

Suvir Saran

Culinary Director, Bastian

Sumit Nair

GM, IFFCO Group

Nandakumar Janaki

ASM, Nestle

Jaineet Kalra

Key Account Manager- South, Nestle Professional

Mahesh Padala

Culinary Leader & Director of Operations

S. Ramakrishna Adiga

Owner, Vidyarthi Bhavan

S. Ramakrishna Adiga

Owner, Vidyarthi Bhavan

S. Ramakrishna Adiga, with over six decades of experience in the restaurant industry, stands as a pioneering figure, having achieved remarkable success. Hailing from a Vedic lineage of priests in Shankaranarayana village near Kundapura, Udupi district, Mr. Ramakrishna Adiga embarked on his journey to Bengaluru in 1962 at the age of 17, following the completion of his 10th standard education. Under the mentorship of Shandi Shankaranarayana Bhat at Hotel Lakshmi Bhavan in the Cantonment area of Bengaluru, Mr. Adiga gained comprehensive knowledge of restaurant operations, laying the groundwork for his future entrepreneurial endeavours. Driven by a profound passion for establishing his own restaurant, and recognizing an opportunity, Mr. Adiga bought over and took on the responsibility of managing Vidyarthi Bhavan in March 1970, which was previously under the stewardship of Parameshwara Ural. Since then, Vidyarthi Bhavan has evolved into a renowned establishment, garnering nationwide acclaim for its distinctive service style, impeccable cleanliness, delectable cuisine, and customer-centric approach. Originally established in 1943 as a humble eatery catering to students (hence its name), Vidyarthi Bhavan has transcended its origins to become an integral part of Bengaluru's culinary legacy. Despite a change in management, the restaurant has retained its name, traditions, and recipes, along with the steadfast dedication of many long-serving employees. Its enduring popularity and enduring demand stand as testaments to its unwavering commitment to taste, flavour, and culinary excellence. Beyond his contributions to the restaurant industry, Mr. Adiga has also made significant contributions to the society through his social service. He has been actively involved in various philanthropic initiatives aimed at supporting the underprivileged sections of society, promoting education, and fostering community development. Through his leadership and generosity, Mr. Adiga has left a lasting impact on the lives of many, embodying the spirit of compassion and service to others. In addition to his culinary achievements and philanthropic endeavours, Mr. Adiga also serves as the President of the Dakshina Kannada Sanatana Dharma Sangha, furthering his commitment to serving t he community and upholding traditional values.

Shubhankar Otta

Senior Brand Manager - Bakery & Food Services, Cargill

Previous Edition Jury & Speakers

Akshay Bector

Chairman & Managing Director, Cremica Food Industries Limited

Anahita Dhondy

Chef Partner, SodaBottleOpenerWala

Anahita Dhondy

Chef Partner, SodaBottleOpenerWala

Anahita N.Dhondy is the Chef Partner at SodaBottleOpenerWala. After studying at IHM – Aurangabad, Anahita worked in four different hotels in three different cities before she took off to pursue her dream to gain the Le Grand Diplome from Le Cordon Blue. Bakery and confectionary is her passion and her adventurous journey with food gets a homecoming with SodaBottleOpenerWala to be close to her Parsi roots. Says Anahita N. Dhondy laughingly, “We Parsis are a hard lot to get. I’ve been confused most of the time as I’m still pretty young, but they are complex characters, with highly developed senses, from humour to food! I come from a family of creative people (and crazy like any other Parsi home), where there is always something hustling and bustling and never a quiet moment. Like every household in India and across the globe, women hold a special place, and this is not because they cook, it’s because they care and thus cook for the family. My mother and grandmothers were more ambitious. They know lots and lots of dishes, different cuisines and been increasing their knowledge bank for years with magazines and books…Parsi cuisine is simple as its complex. I could go on and on, but simply it comes down to “say a small thank you everyday’ and ChaloJumwaChaloJi! – (come let’s have a meal). It has become the most important and popular chant at any Parsi celebration–we look forward to serving you

Chef Koushik

Chef

Chef Koushik

Chef

Some people know their calling almost as soon as they are born. Some people realize it when they turn five – like Chef Koushik, or The Mad Chef. In fact, for him the urge to cook and create was more than a passion: it was a compulsion. School done, he went straight to IHM, Bangalore. He was in the right place at the right time. Indians were just beginning to explore new flavours and culinary experiences. Restaurants were THE ‘thing’. The Mad Chef was on a roll. Small kiosks, wayside bakeries, fine dining restaurants, or 100 seater casual diners sought him out. His magic at the stoves quickly became legendary. Today, his company, Eatitude has the right attitude towards food and hospitality. Chef Koushik’s projects span India, his expertise touches all aspects of food. Projects he’s worked on include restaurants and cafes such as Fromage, The Tickle Truck (an Ice Cream Truck concept)Maplai-Savour SouthIndia, Jonah’s Bistro, Cleo’s Grill, Koala Joes, Sloppy Joes, Illusions-The Madras Pub,Peaches, Gokulams, Java Green, Dewberry’s, Soup and Salad Café, the Bayleaf, Mash atBesant Nagar, and several others. His current projects include a revamp of the menu at The Mayflower in T. Nagar, Chennai where he has introduced a variety of Pan-Asian dishes, thin crust pizzas and more, and a new south Indian restaurant, Aadhirai which offers traditional vegetarian and meat dishes with a contemporary spin. With several exciting projects in the pipeline, his repertoire is increasing and his demand grows.

Harshvardhan Neotia

Chairman, Ambuja Neotia Group

Karan Kapur

Executive Director, K Hospitality

Karan Kapur

Executive Director, K Hospitality

Karan Kapur has been with K Hospitality Corp since the past decade, and is part of the strategic decision making, business development and operations strategy roll out for the group. With an expertise in business administration, finance and economics, backed by his education in various universities abroad, Karan believes in being a hands-on leader and believes in actively participating in the operations of the group to facilitate growth and expansion. Karan Kapur is the Executive Director of K Hospitality Corp, one of India’s largest home-grown hospitality and food service corporations. A graduate from Northwestern University in Economics, and from Kellogg School of Management, where he received a Certification in Finance. After setting up new businesses for the organization, Karan returned back to the US to acquire his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He played an active part in the setup and launch of Travel Food Services, the travel retail vertical under K Hospitality Corp. Karan currently heads the Indian and International food services verticals of K Hospitality Corp which include some of the acclaimed brands – Copper Chimney, Bombay Brasserie, Punkah House, Bombay Borough, Blue Sea Banquets, Pavitra Catering, amongst others; along with the recent foray into International QSR growth with the launch of Domino's Pizza in the African subcontinent.

Ranveer Brar

Celebrity Chef

Sahil Jain

Co-founder, Dineout

Sanjeev Kapoor

Celebrity Chef

Saransh Goila

Celebrity Chef

Tarak Bhattacharya

Executive Director, Mad Over Donuts

Tarak Bhattacharya

Executive Director, Mad Over Donuts

With rich experience in the field of F&B, Tarak Bhattacharya has to his credit the growth of Mad Over Donuts from a mere 12 store set-up in Mumbai to a chain of 60 stores across the country today. A multi-faceted personality, Tarak is at the helm of activities at Mad Over Donuts handling diverse aspects of operations, planning and human resources. Under Tarak’s leadership, Mad Over Donuts has won many awards and accolades across various platforms with over 10 million delighted guests. Having started his career at RKHS as a Management Trainee, Tarak then moved to one of India’s first and most successful coffee brands - Barista where he then went on to Head Operations for India and International Business. He was later appointed as the COO by MGH Restaurants Pvt. Ltd. to handle 2 of their popular brands Nando’s (South African Peri-peri brand of Restaurants) and Barista for their Bangladesh and Nepal markets. In the year 2011 Tarak took up the position of COO at Himesh Foods Pvt. Ltd. for their Singaporean based gourmet brand, Mad Over Donuts which is one of the first entrants in the donuts industry in India. He recently got promoted to Executive Director, a complete people’s person, Tarak loves networking and is always up to date with the latest in the Industry. An avid traveler, Tarak’s favorite destinations include Dubai & Langkawi.

Vicky Ratnani

Celebrity Chef

Vikrant Batra

Owner, Café Delhi Heights

Zorawar kalra

Founder & Managing Director, Massive Restaurants Pvt. Ltd.

Zorawar kalra

Founder & Managing Director, Massive Restaurants Pvt. Ltd.

Perfecting the science of molecular gastronomy with India’s spice and flavour, Zorawar Kalra is a name that commands respect in the Indian hospitality industry. The face of Massive Restaurants, Zorawar Kalra proudly tells the tale of a brand that majestically owns and operates trendsetting and critically acclaimed brands. Spearheading Massive Restaurants that includes Farzi Café, KODE, Masala Library by Jiggs Kalra, Made In Punjab, BO-TAI and PaPa Ya under its wing, it has been an adrenaline-charged journey for him as he watches it grow exponentially. Owing to its success stories, the brand has recently raised INR 160 crores from Gaja Capital for the purpose of expansion. With strong foresight, he is a visionary who aims to launch properties in 10 new cities within this year end. Spread over 10 outlets in India, Farzi Café gets ready to spread its wings to London and 6 other cities in the Middle East. Extending to 5 outlets in the country, PaPa Ya sets the Asian notes right, while other brands like KODE and Made in Punjab are in the nascent stages for an international launch soon enough. With USA, UK and the Middle East on Kalra’s radar for international expansions, it is safe to assume that Massive Restaurants is going the right way. Considered as the ‘Man with a Vision on a Mission’ &‘The Prince of Indian Cuisine’, he has been recognized amongst the 50 Most Influential Young Indians by GQ India(thrice);GQ Men of the Year – Restaurateur of 2017;Economic Times 40 Under 40; Forbes Tycoons of Tomorrow; Restaurateur of the Year Award, 2014 & 2017,Times of India & Vir Sanghvi Awards; a Finalist in E&Y Entrepreneur of the year 2017; HT Crystals, 2014 and Entrepreneur of the Year in Service Business - F & B Services, Entrepreneur India Awards, 2014. December 2012 was a milestone for him, as it saw the launch of his latest venture Massive Restaurants Pvt. Ltd., which in its first year of operations won over 19 prestigious awards under various categories. Zorawar Kalra has also been a judge on Masterchef India Season 5.

Rajeev Varman

CEO, Burger King India

Amit Bagga

Co-founder, Daryaganj Hospitality

Amit Bagga

Co-founder, Daryaganj Hospitality

Hospitality success stories are often dominated by those strongly associated with the industry. However, Amit Bagga, with his roots in a family business of automobiles, is an exception. He has cemented his place, one successful venture after the other since 2010 through sheer business acumen and love for excellence. Today he is CEO and co-founder of Daryaganj Hospitality, which owns the much-loved brand Daryaganj - By the Inventors of Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani. From a single restaurant in April 2019, it grew to 4 outlets across top locations in Delhi-NCR in just 1 year and is growing further. It also recovered fast from COVID-19 implications and has proven to be resilient. International locations like Sydney, Dubai and Toronto are planned for 2021. Amit’s enterprising nature has helped him find success in other industries as well. He is the co-founder of a digital out-of-home (DOOH) media business called EyeTalk Media Ventures which owns 2,500-plus digital displays in 30 cities across India and around the globe. He has been venerated as Fastest Growing Entrepreneur by a leading publication in India, while the India Today Group has featured him in a list of Top 50 Young Leaders of Delhi in their Mail Today newspaper. He has also been awarded as the Entrepreneur of the year for the F & B industry by Indian Achievers Forum to name a few. A forward-thinking and visionary individual, Amit Bagga is, without a doubt, a restaurateur to watch out

Sabyasachi Gorai

Chef and Restaurateur

Sabyasachi Gorai

Chef and Restaurateur

Saby, who has a cult following in the culinary world, hails from a mofussil town in West Bengal – Asansol. As the President of the Young Chefs’ Forum of the Indian Federation of Culinary Associations (IFCA), the dynamic Chef also happens to be the youngest Indian Chef to don the hat of a Corporate Chef while at Olive Bar and Restaurants. Armed with the knowledge that he has gathered over the years, Saby is almost an institution in himself. Chef finds reminiscent of his contribution to the profession, though his biggest reward comes from “cooking for a fellow human being.” Incidentally, he has wowed the likes of the Ambani's and the Bachchan’s with his culinary skills. A philanthropist, an educator and mentor to young Chefs, this dynamic Chef-entrepreneur is the founder member of prominent Indian Chef’s associations – IFCA, WICA (West India), SICA (South India) – and is also a member of and mentor in the Indian Culinary Federation (ICF). Promoting sustainable food and slow food brings him on the global Slow Food alliance – Craft Chef’s Guild. Featured prominently in all contemporary electronic and print media – Fat ya Fit Chef (CNN-IBN), a culinary judge on MasterChef India, among others – Chef Saby has wowed audiences with his new age cookery show – The Urban Cook (Zee Khanna Khazana, which is now Living Foodz). Chef Saby is the only recipient of the most coveted National Tourism Award, for “Best Chef of India”, awarded by the President of India. Through Fabrica by Chef Saby – his restaurant solutions venture – he has curated some of the most-talked about restaurant brands now running successfully across the length and breadth of the country.

Rakesh Ranjan

Chief Sales Officer, Zomato

Moksh Chopra

CMO, KFC India

Syesha Kapoor

Associate Director, Silver Beach Entertainment & Hospitality

Syesha Kapoor

Associate Director, Silver Beach Entertainment & Hospitality

Syesha Kapoor is the Associate Director at Silver Beach Entertainment and Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. She spearheads the Marketing, Sales, Communications, Content, Creatives and more with over 10 brands across 18 restaurants under the company. She has worked for over 10 years and gained knowledge and experience in the Hospitality industry. After pursuing her bachelors at at London School of Marketing, Syesha applied to Les Roches School of Hotel Management for MBA in Hospitality. After completing her education, she pursued her passion for the Hospitality sector, working at JSM, where she spearheaded Shiro, California Pizza Kitchen, Pinkberry & Trader Vics and also was part of the pre-opening team for a few restaurants involving herself in all the aspects for gaining knowledge in the field. In 2014, she moved to Dubai and worked with Zomato as a key accounts Manager. She has worked with some of the key mega corporates like Starwood, Whistle Group, Namshi & Dubizzle whilst her stint in the UAE. Towards the end of 2014, she came back to Mumbai and joined Silver Beach Entertainment and Hospitality full-time. Her passion for the industry is so strong that she single handedly looks into most of the work at all the restaurants. Some key restaurants are Opa Kipos, Estella, Radio Bar, Nom Nom (Bandra and Versova), Silver Beach Café (Juhu, Lokhandwala and Dubai), Copa, Ministry of Salads to name a few. She looks into every detail from the menu to the sales to the promotions and offers at each outlet. Her innovation and love for food has been the core to her success as her vision for the company stays strong with quality and creativity.

Akshay Jatia

Chief Strategy Officer, McDonald’s India (West and South)

Akshay Jatia

Chief Strategy Officer, McDonald’s India (West and South)

Akshay Jatia is leading Business Strategy, Consumer Technology and Innovation for the company. Akshay joined McDonald’s India in 2015 and over the last 7 years has worked cross-functionally to understand the nuances of strategy, operations, marketing, IT and synergized them to grow the brand and has successfully led many business critical projects. Akshay’s McDonald’s journey started as General Manager – Business Extension and he played a key role in growing and consolidating the company’s brand extensions - McDelivery, McCafé and McBreakfast. He led the launch of the digital delivery business for McDonald’s, in early 2015, when the Online Home Delivery Market in India was almost non-existent. Akshay set up a ‘digital delivery’ team at HRPL that comprised a group of cross-functional experts across customer insight, analytics, operations, logistics, digital marketing and technolog and launched the McDonald’s digital delivery platform – McDelivery app in 2016. Akshay’s also spearheaded the project to offer customer a new McDonald’s experience and thus launched the ‘Experience of The Future’ (EOTF) restaurants. These new restaurants gave customers a dramatically different McDonald’s with the contemporary design and the cool, new look integrate technology across all customer touchpoints. These restaurants had self-ordering kiosks, tablets and air chargers and a table tracker to enable table service – a first for a QSR in India. During the pandemic, while McDelivery ensured business continuity, Akshay also led the launch of an innovative new channel – On-The-Go, that enabled customers to order food on the McDelivery app and collect it from a pre-designated spot close to the restaurant. This new format became a key growth driver during the lockdown and grew 3 times in 3 quarters, bringing new customers to the brand fold. Akshay holds a Bachelor of Science degree with majors in Finance and International Business from Leonard N. Stern School of Business, New York University. In his free time, he enjoys listening to music, reading, and keeping himself fit while indulging in food. He has been recognised as the 21st century Inspirational Icon and bagged the Dedicated Stalwart Award for bringing in the tech revolution at Westlife and McDonald's

Thomas Fenn

Co-Founder, Mahabelly

Pawan Shahri

Managing Partner, Chrome Communications & Media India LLP

Pawan Shahri

Managing Partner, Chrome Communications & Media India LLP

He is currently a partner at some of the most popular casual dining bars in the city such as Butterfly High, The Bigg Small Cafe + Bar, Oi Lat-Am Kitchen & Bar and LILT. It was during his education at the HR College Of Commerce & Economics, at the age of 16 years when his passion for food, urge to try new cuisines & new restaurants drove him to start his own company – Chrome Asia which was an events & marketing consultancy agency. Operating with Chrome for over 9 years now, it was soon enough that Pawan saw a huge gap in the market where a lot of great concepts couldn’t sustain themselves. Pawan’s first restaurant venture ‘Butterfly High’ started with an instant connect between him and food industry veteran Narayan Poojari (20+ Outlets Of Shiv Sagar & Mahesh Lunch Home). It was Mr.Narayan’s existing outlet Fish’n’Bait in BKC which was rebranded and re-launched as Butterfly High – An All Day Casual Dining Bar where Pawan was roped in as Managing Partner. In early 2019, Pawan started Oi Kitchen & Bar in Khar, which was an ingredient focussed & Chef Driven casual dining bar. A zero-waste concept where all ingredients that come to the restaurant are reused across multiple areas to produce no or minimal waste from the kitchen or the bar. Over the last 9 years of being in business, Pawan’s entrepreneurial journey has been nothing short of a mountain hike with a learning curve on each step. These experiences have been recognized by many from and outside the industry who have invited him to be a guest speaker and panelist at various events, including the Chef’s Connect 2017, DY Patil College Of Hospitality in 2018, TiE Smash Up At ISDI in 2018, RD National College in 2019 & many more. He was also awarded the Mid-Day Young Achievers award in 2019.

Rajneet Kohli

President & CBO, Domino's Pizza

Raghav Verma

Co-Founder, Chaayos

Parthiv Patel

CEO, Petpooja

Jasper Reid

Wendy's & Jamie's Italian India

Jimmy Mistry

Entrepreneur, Hotelier & Designer

Jimmy Mistry

Entrepreneur, Hotelier & Designer

‘If a great business is a coin, innovation and social impact must be its two sides.’ These words by Jimmy Mistry resonate with his three-decade-long entrepreneurial journey. Synonymous with the brand Della, Jimmy is the founder of Della Group. He is an avid Designer, Hotelier, and Social Entrepreneur at heart, he started his journey in 1991 with a pest control company, not afraid of taking up challenges and facing failures and today, he has formed his 25 year legacy across various verticals. In 2021, he founded Della Leaders Club (DLC) –and innovated the World's 1st Business Platform that is currently present in 15 major Global cities such as New York, London, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok and plans to expand in 120 chapter cities in the next 5 years, currently having its offices set up in 7 countries across the world. With 25 years of unmatched experience and expertise in research, design, manufacturing, supply and execution his designs are created with the commitment to human centric approach to design, his passion, purpose, sensitivity and humility. It is with this belief that he has conceptualized one of India’s largest high-end turnkey luxury design concept and complete supply solutions for Home, Offices and Hotels. His adroit edifices have let no room for doubt. With no background in real estate or hospitality, he is a pioneer in experiential hospitality and won several accolades and awards for it. Today, Della Resorts ranks #1 on Trip Advisor in India and #2 in Asia as ‘Most Valued Luxury Resort’ With over 150+ features and 25+ awards in his name, Jimmy Mistry is indeed a multi faceted man.

Vineet Manocha

Sr. VP- Culinary, Lite Bite Foods

Sagar Daryani

Celebrity Chef

Sagar Daryani

CEO & Co-Founder, Wow! Momo

Two young friends from Kolkata transformed a simple dumpling to a national phenomenon and cooked up an amazing success story within a span of 10 years. Established by Binod Homagai and Sagar Daryani, alumni of St. Xavier's College, Wow! Momo, a 280-crore company was built out of sheer passion and love. In their college, these two passionate individuals shared one more thing other than their classrooms; their love for the Tibetan dumpling. Sagar owed his love to a momo seller outside his school where he sampled a number of dumplings. When they discussed about their future plans, the idea to turn their favourite dish into a business model appealed to them. Although they were both offered lucrative jobs, they wanted to try their luck in business. Initial hiccups included the raising of funds where the respective families came to their rescue and the business started with an initial investment of Rs 30,000. Today Wow! Momo sells 2 lakh momos across the country every day with a whopping 85,000 being consumed in Kolkata alone. They have employed 1500 people in various outlets across India of which about 60% are specially-abled people from different NGOs. Variety and vision go hand in hand in Wow! Momo and by 2021, the brand aspires to go global with outlets in US, UK, Canada and other countries. A passionate speaker, Sagar has given business & motivational talks at various Business Schools & Entrepreneurship Cells across the country

Farman Beig

Founder & CEO, Wat-a Burger

Farman Beig

Founder & CEO, Wat-a Burger

Farman Beig is the founder and CEO of Wat-a-Burger a dynamic burger joint, incepted and run by young minds with a sole mission to take fresh, delicious, yet affordable burgers to people. He takes care of the overall growth strategy at the brand and also manages the day-to-day operations. He ensures that the brand is firmly marching towards growth while ensuring quality, taste and uniqueness. Under the leadership of Farman, the brand has become the largest homegrown Burger Brand of India, spreadacross 16 cities and 9 states serving 8,000+ delicious burgers on a daily basis With a B.Tech degree from Amity University Delhi, Farman went on to bag a Master’s Degree in IT Business from Alliance Manchester Business School, England. After completing his education, Farman joined Sigma Enterprise in 2013 as a partner. He always knew that being into business is his true calling, but he still felt a little gap. As it is said, one needs to explore to find the right fit. Farman wanted to begin something from the scratch to global. After spending considerable time in research, a junk food lover Farman along with his friend Rajat decided to build a burger chain that would not only offer unique burgers but also maintain quality within the means. The idea was to build largest home-grown food chain. Apart from being an entrepreneur, Farman has also been on advisory board of a number of startups. He has also been an angel investor to a NCR based, supply chain automation startup- Adcount Technologies.

Kabir Suri

President, NRAI & Co-Founder & Director, Azure Hospitality Pvt. Ltd.

Sameer Bhasin

CEO, Nando's India

Speakers

Bengaluru Edition Our Speakers

Pravesh Pandey

Abhijit Saha

Teja Chekuri

Mahesh Reddy

Shakir Haq

Nidhi Singh

Sundeep Singh

Anand Ramanathan

Vinay Chandrashekar

Deepak Jeena

Avinash Kapoli

Sumit Wahall

Ramya Ravi

Abilash Bellur

Suvir Saran

Sumit Nair

Nandakumar Janaki

Jaineet Kalra

Mahesh Padala

S. Ramakrishna Adiga

Shubhankar Otta

Previous Edition Jury & Speakers

Akshay Bector

Anahita Dhondy

Chef Koushik

Harshvardhan Neotia

Karan Kapur

Ranveer Brar

Sahil Jain

Sanjeev Kapoor

Saransh Goila

Tarak Bhattacharya

Vicky Ratnani

Vikrant Batra

Zorawar kalra

Rajeev Varman

Amit Bagga

Sabyasachi Gorai

Rakesh Ranjan

Moksh Chopra

Syesha Kapoor

Akshay Jatia

Thomas Fenn

Pawan Shahri

Rajneet Kohli

Raghav Verma

Parthiv Patel

Jasper Reid

Jimmy Mistry

Vineet Manocha

Sagar Daryani

Farman Beig

Kabir Suri

Sameer Bhasin

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