Saransh's menu includes innovative twists
Celebrity chef Saransh Goila is the founder of the Mumbai-based restaurant Goila Butter Chicken. Amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, he has taken his brand global.
His restaurant has continued to run through the pandemic, operating as a delivery-only business.
However, it has been the last thing on his mind.
But Saransh started receiving dozens of messages each day from Covid-19 patients and their families, asking him for help on healthy meal ideas.
Saransh said: “You don’t think of people being stuck for home-cooked meals in India.
“We are a country where you have your neighbours, friends, family always ready to help.”
But due to Covid-19, those networks were not of much help.
As a result, Saransh launched a non-profit platform called Covid Meals for India in April 2021.
It connected thousands of volunteer home cooks with Covid-19 patients and frontline workers in approximately 400 Indian cities.
He has also managed to open his second London restaurant in Shoreditch.
Saransh’s menu includes innovative twists on the iconic butter chicken, which his secret is the tomato to dairy ratio (80:20).
Customers can order the classic butter chicken but other dishes include a butter chicken burger and chips with butter gravy.
Saransh Goila came into the limelight in 2018 when he appeared on Masterchef Australia as a guest judge.
Contestants were asked to recreate his signature dish, dubbed the world’s “best butter chicken”.
There are eight Goila Butter Chicken restaurants across India and the UK.
The dish is a restaurant staple but according to Saransh, its flavour is like “a hug in a bowl”.
Despite helping others throughout the pandemic, Saransh has experienced his own difficult times.
As well as turning his restaurants into delivery businesses, Saransh has had to cut orders at his Indian outlets by 30% and has had to lay off 10% of his staff.
He said: “It’s a tricky, tricky spot for the hospitality industry.”
But his London restaurants have seen him receive dozens of orders a day.
Following his two London restaurants, Saransh Goila plans to open outlets in New York, Los Angeles and Melbourne.
As India’s Covid-19 situation gradually improves, Saransh’s relief initiative continues to go strong.
He added: “I mostly use social media for my own benefit, you know, to promote my work… But this is different.
“You can actually make a change if you want to. That’s what I have realised.”
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