Meet the man behind India�s favourite coffee shop, Mocha Coffees & Conversations. �Men, actually,� Riyaaz Amlani corrects, referring to his two partners, Kiran Salaskar and Varun Sahni. The trio (Impresario Entertainment & Hospitality Pvt. Ltd.) has not only given India its 12 Mochas but also Bombay its Donut Co. outlets, Finale B2B desserts and coffees and the sea-facing restaurant � Salt Water Grill. The CEO and Managing Director of IEHPL, Riyaaz manages the day-to-day running of the four businesses. Salt Water Grill, his latest success, is Bombay�s first and only restaurant on the beach (Chowpatty). �It gives the feel of the sky above and the sand at your feet while you dine,� he smiles. He forgets to mention how wonderful the sea breeze feels in your hair. Maybe because he gets more of it while on his biking-out-of-the-city trips. �That�s the one fun thing I love to do, riding my motor bike all the way out of Bombay. But otherwise I am quite boring. It�s just work, work and work,� he admits. Salt Water Grill opened in May 2005. �As soon as we came here, we fell in love with this spot. We thought, �Why not this place?�,� he says, looking around. And soon that patch of beach turned into a posh restaurant. The cane and wood furniture, clay artefacts in the sand, a lot of plants, a hammock, minimal lighting and white cloth �shamianas��though the place is intentionally designed in a casual manner, it is very upscale. �The food makes it rich,� he says, �We have kept the d�cor very rustic. As natural as possible. But we didn�t want to serve regular cuisine. The food had to be something different.� No guesses that the man is a foodie. But it is not just the food he is passionate about. It is everything that goes with the food � the service, the d�cor, the ambience. �I even pick what music plays at each place,� he says.

Mocha makes him very proud. Inspired by the kawakhanas of the Middle East, these coffee shops were the first in the city to have introduced the �sheesha� (flavoured Indian smoke pipes). �The place is like an Irani caf� or a kawakhana with a contemporary twist,� Riyaaz says. Mocha seems like an extension of his personality. Casually stylish and quietly classy. The place has a familiar warmth that makes you comfortable at once. Even his favourite coffee (Kenyan AA) that he describes as the �best coffee in the world� is served here. �I like mine black, no sugar and strong. But my first morning cup has tea. The rest of the day I have about 3 to 4 cups of coffee.� And these are the only two things he can make. �A decent cup of tea and very good coffee,� he laughs.

He explains that the coffee culture was brought into Bombay by the Barista outlets. �If all you want is a cup of coffee, you can get it anywhere. Mocha is more that a coffee shop. It is not a restaurant, not a bar, not a pub� You can call it a coffee lounge. Mocha has made a niche for itself. I love to see that sometimes people just take off their footwear and put their feet up. We were the first ones to bring gaddas and cushions for seating. The guests hang out with friends for hours at the outlet and simply relax. It is this �mood� we are targeting. I like to believe that we pioneered the �lounge concept� with coffee.� The menu at Mocha is also personally picked by Riyaaz. �I love that Brainard, Brainard Colaco, the Executive Chef heading Mocha, comes up with crazy ideas like me. We like to try new things,� he reveals.

Riyaaz talks very little about himself but is happy to discuss his work. Donut Co. already has 12 outlets in Bombay. The tiny takeaway outlets serve a variety of doughnuts and milkshakes. �It is the only place in India that serves genuine quality doughnuts,� he says and gets into the whole process of making doughnuts and how it can go completely wrong with the slightest mistake, �Like the water that binds the dough, even if it is at a two-degree temperature difference, the doughnuts will go bad. It is the toughest item to make.�

Then �Finale� supplies about 100 restaurants in Bombay with desserts and coffee. �It started off as at B2B service but now we are opening up Finale outlets. They will be lower end coffee shops in the city. It works well in a highly populated colony. We are planning to have about 150 outlets in Bombay,� Riyaaz says. With Finale, he will bring the coffee culture to the larger population � the middle-class Bombay. So the man is very busy. Churning out one unbeaten eatery after another. For Riyaaz it is only work and travel. �I travel three weeks a month,� he says.

The young man likes food in Italy. And though he likes a lot of Indian foods, none of his places serve that. When he is eating at home, he loves his mom�s cooking, �She is a Parsi. She makes awesome Dhansak and the world�s best Biryani.� But Riyaaz doesn�t cook and he doesn�t host. �I never host at home. My work is hosting. So on my time I like to watch movies or take out my motor bike.�