What's cooking for staff meals at India's restaurants?

In 2011, Spanish chef Ferran Adrià came out with a book on staff meals titled The Family Meal. He drew inspiration from the home-style dishes cooked by his team at the three Michelin star restaurant (closed the same year) El Bulli. Earlier in 1999, in The French Laundry Cookbook, chef Thomas Keller of The French Laundry restaurant in California included a section on the importance of staff meals, which the team eats together before service. Keeping aside the talk of the work culture at Copenhagen’s Noma restaurant, one of its most talked-about rituals is the staff meal, which the kitchen team takes turns to cook, often dishes from their own countries. Chef Niyati Rao of Mumbai’s Ekaa restaurant remembers preparing the classic imli chutney for one such family meal during her internship in 2019, and it turned out to be a hit.

Staff meals, or family meals, are considered crucial to build community, adding a moment of pause before the chaos of service takes over the restaurant. They also become a platform to showcase lesser-known regional dishes from a chef’s community or hometown, and spark moments of chance innovations that sometimes find their way on to the menu.

Lounge asked some of India’s chefs about staff meal rituals at their restaurants, and the dishes that nourish and keep them together before peak business hours begin.

KOYEL ROY NANDY, CO-HEAD CHEF, SIENNA CALCUTTA

On most days, the staff meal is either everyday Bengali food or dishes from the hometowns of different team members. We are a Bengal-forward restaurant so it makes sense to introduce those from other parts of the country to how we eat at our homes. There are designated days for fish or egg curry, often accompanied by seasonal vegetables— shukto or macher jhol prepared with winter carrots and cauliflower. Come summer, the menu shifts to panta bhaat, a fermented rice gruel, and aamer tok dal flavoured with raw mango. The team also brings in flavours from their own homes. Chef Joyjit Meitei once carried smoked tilapia from Manipur to make a fiery salad with raja mircha and fish mint leaves. We improvised the dish into tacos made of chaler ruti (rice rotis), and eventually put it on the restaurant’s menu.

HUSSAIN SHAHZAD, EXECUTIVE CHEF, HUNGER INC. HOSPITALITY

What gets cooked for family meals at The Bombay Canteen/O Pedro is guided by a monthly roster that the senior chefs put together. The day starts with regional favourites such as idli, upma, poha, besan cheela, anda bhurji and so on. Lunch is basic but balanced in terms of a dal, sabzi, salad or raita, pickles and papad along with rice and chapati. They may sometimes comprise pav bhaji, Thai curry or even Indian Chinese. Late night supper is usually simple and a little indulgent with fried rice, noodles, frankies, sandwiches or masala pav, the kind of food anyone would reach for at the end of a long day. The team also brings festivals into the kitchen, so there is biryani around Eid and jalebi during Diwali, or even an impromptu chaat spread. A ritual that we encourage is everyone sitting down and eating together rather than eating in isolation or scrolling on a phone.

REGI MATHEW, CULINARY DIRECTOR & CO-OWNER, KAPPA CHAKKA KANDHARI

Most of our team come from different parts of the country, so food becomes their daily comfort and connection to home. Whether it’s a commis or a senior chef, everyone participates in the process. Lunch usually follows a cyclic menu with rice, curry and thoran or dry vegetable dish. The team brings their own influences, often through a dish that reminds someone of their mother’s cooking. On festival days, there is biryani or parotta with a curry, and always something sweet to round it off. What’s important is that everyone from the kitchen to the management, including me, sit down and share the same meal. Every month the team hosts a “puff party”, where all of us gather over tea and puffs. It gives everyone a chance to unwind and connect beyond the pressures of service.

MANAV KHANNA, HEAD CHEF, BANNG

Family meals often give us a chance to use leftovers or kitchen scraps in the most imaginative ways. This way the team understands how one ingredient can be eaten in different ways. For instance, the stems of morning glory, kale or bok choy, which people usually don’t eat, are turned into a Thai-style stir-fry with garlic, chilli, fermented soybean and sauces. It’s simple and something you’d eat as street food or even at home in Thailand. Another thing we do is take the trimmings of fish or meat, season it with Thai ingredients, wrap in banana leaf and grill it. Even the relishes we make by pounding garlic, shallots, chilli, eggplant or maybe protein trimmings become dips to have along with the meal. During festivals, we make biryani or chicken curry. I think the most exciting part is those small things that we make for everyone to taste and eat together.

ANSAB KHAN, DIRECTOR OF CULINARY OPERATIONS, BURMA BURMA

Since we operate across different cities, the menu naturally adapts to local tastes. For instance, the staff in Delhi prefer dishes like soya chaap and rajma. In Bengaluru, dishes like bisi bele bhaat and vegetables with a curry leaf tadka are popular. There is something seasonal especially during festivals. For instance, gujiya on Holi, jalebi-fafda for Dusshera in Mumbai/Ahmedabad and sheer korma during Eid. Usually on Sundays, we switch things up with a more indulgent spread that includes vegetable biryani, chole bhature or pav bhaji. And twice a month, our pastry team makes fruit trifle, puddings, caramel custard and mousse. There’s also an unspoken understanding that this time matters. Most people wait for others to join before starting, and that way there are always a few extra minutes to spend at the table.