If you have been to Mesa @ Lodhi Restaurant in Lodhi Colony that has Jamun, Tres and Guppy as its celebrated neighbours, you know that the cuisine is different here with Healthy Food written all over. ‘This has been by choice,’ declares Chef Sandeep with a twinkle in his eyes. ‘In fact, this has been our USP and a differentiator since an increasing number of clients are getting health conscious. Over 80-90% of our Menu has been designed to cater for such people. Of course, every dish that I curate also keeps the taste buds of our clients in mind and has to be tasty,’ he says.

The young Sandeep has Chef Manish Malhotra to thank for his style of cooking. Selected personally by the iconic Chef of Indian Accent during its Manor days-it shifted to its current location at Hotel Lodi, personally interviewed and selected him during College Placement at Institute of Hotel Management (IHM) Pusa, ‘I owe everything I am today to Chef Malhotra, my mentor. I learnt so much about his techniques at Manor and my core cooking style has many of his characteristics.’ Because of his communicating skills and gentle demeanour, he has been sent to the Ambani family and several Bollywood celebrities as a part of the catering team.

Before joining IHM Pusa, Sandeep went to St. Columba’s in Delhi. In fact, his family is from Kerala (and hence his name Namboodiry). But he was raised in Delhi (and hence perhaps his first name is Sandeep). He has been cooking since the age of 8, he sees gleefully. No wonder, he won the Promising Young Chef Award 2013 where Chef Manjit Gill was the Chief Judge.

He always wanted to be a Chef Entrepreneur. The opportunity came as the father of his fiancé, Mr. Kalsia invested significantly in the Mesa group of restaurants and wine bars-the first one was opened by the founder partner Ranjit gupta in Aerocity and is still running as a wine bar and lounge; the third one is planned on Golf Course Road in Gurgaon.

He believes gourmet cooking cannot be complete without wine and his wish is to make Mesa @Lodhi a wine destination with great food to boot-In fact the restaurant already has a fairly decent collection of wines and uses 2 Enomatic-type of machines to serve wine-by-the-glass. He has curated a French-styled 4-course Menu with 4 high quality food-paired French wines at Rs. 5,000 (AI) per head, which is very fair in today’s market conditions

Like many millennials, Sandeep believes in sustainable cooking. He likes to use one ingredient in many dishes.  He travelled within India after college to see different cooking styles before getting his personal style. He does not believe in authentic cooking.  ‘I am an Indian and know our palate. Although I use  80-90% imported ingredients, I add my personal touch to every dish. My mool mantra is to make the client happy. I am very particular about every client’s problems, allergies, preference for plant based food etc. I aim to have my food as in a 5-star hotel but in a casual fine dining style.’

He has his eyes on starting Omakase– Japanese Chef’s Table- an interactive table where the Menu is set by the Chef for each guest who he chats with, before going to his table of maximum 10 persons at Mesa. A meal that is seasonal, elegant, artistic and uses the finest ingredients available, is what excites him

Interestingly, he has no ambitions of expanding, making his name popular or expanding his business. He does want to open a restaurant in Mumbai to give the People of Mumbai a taste of his cooking style. He likes to be alone and would love to live in the hills. But he is very passionate about his crew. And he likes to keep his customers happy.

Liquor license came recently only and during the wait the restaurant has been catering to clients who can be happy only with non- alcoholic drinks. During this period, he has been able to attract customers in all age segments due to his cooking personality and charm.

People who love to try different foods and love wine with their food will be very happy to visit the restaurant, though even teetotalers will find it an exciting restaurant to visit. The prices may seem to be slightly high but are very reasonable since the portions are large and generally cater for more than one person-even two.

Subhash Arora