Avik Chatterjee

Director, Speciality Restaurants

Young and focused, he’s a man on a mission – to carry forward his father’s legacy of Mainland China while taking Speciality Restaurants to a whole new innovative level. Avik Chatterjee is a trailblazer for sure

The Mainland Man

Interviewed by LYLE MICHAEL

What else could it be for the boy who was born into a legacy of one of Bombay’s finest Chinese restaurants, started in 1994 by his father… the boy who is now a very able man carrying the torch forward and infusing it with fresh air, with an innovative flair to bring in a varied crowd to stay. Mainland China is as much Avik Chatterjee as the brand is him, and there’s much more to the Director of Speciality Restaurants. 

He started a cloud kitchen when the term was still in ambiguity – with no Swiggy or Zomato in existence – with his Mad Bites just for those post-midnight hunger pangs. That was at 18. Today, 11 years later, he’s in charge of 23 Mainland Chinas across the country, other brands under Speciality which include Oh! Calcutta, Asia Kitchen, Sigree, the fun Hoppipola, and many more, a restaurant in London and two in Dubai, too. But he’s most excited about his latest venture. He fills us in.

“Episode One is in Powai and we are expanding it as we go along. Episode Two will arrive next and so on and so forth. Each city will begin with an Episode One and carry on. Next up is Poona,” says a proud Avik. “Episode One is inspired by the gymkhanas of Bombay during the British Raj, minus the formality. It has ballrooms and chambers and taprooms and the like.” Innovation and new formats while keeping the old in check, that’s how Avik rolls. Let’s take a look at the heritage he holds in his hands.

Mainland China is on an update button with Avik introducing new formats and has been the most difficult brand for him to work on, quite naturally so. Avik elaborates. “It’s the same emotion at Mainland China but with an uplift. The dining set-up is a little more spacious, feel is the same, but we’ve added a trendy new bar. Smaller plates, portions that offer better value for your money. At the end of the day, it’s the same authentic Chinese cuisine you’re used to at Mainland China.” Food lovers like us can expect a modern take on the authentic but no fusion, Avik ensures. And plenty of Dim sums in a wide assortment. Those Edamame Dumplings with Truffle Oil, silken delightful bites!

Avik has learnt a lot along the way, right from when his sister and he were kids watching their dad, Anjan Chatterjee, run his first Mainland China in Sakinaka – they even spent nights there as a family so dad could give it his all – to learning the ropes of the industry at 20, from the food to the décor to the service. Then, opening his own brand Hoppipola in Bangalore after a lot of R&D done during his Bachelors in Business Administration from Kingston College, London. It was short-lived as bars have a shorter shelf life and Avik admits to knowing less than he does now. Hoppipola still runs four outlets across cities. Move on down the line to the exciting new Episode One and add a catering division called Speciality Experiences for those intimate home affairs which is run by his beautiful wife, Rhea.

A fellow foodie and high school sweetheart, Rhea and Avik were wed recently in a fairytale affair in Jaipur. The couple love exchanging foodie ideas, doing their R&D and cooking at home. Avik is a good cook, we learn, makes a mean Japanese meal. Travel is another common element in their relationship which is constant, either for work or pleasure or both. “Whenever I travel to London for work, Rhea will assist me, then to Dubai, and we recently travelled to the picturesque Burgenstock Mountains in Switzerland and Paris as well. Travel becomes a learning experience.” Their two kids are furry little ones – a Beagle named Bong and a Husky named Loki, Avik smiles as he answers our next question.

Rhea and Avik also love house parties and rarely go out to eat, surprisingly, but when Avik does, it’s mostly Soho House with his cronies, he informs us. Time for oneself can get sparse when you’re heading an empire and it’s F&B at that. Avik enlightens us on his workday. “My day starts at 1 am actually when we look at the sales for the day and the ideating begins. This is followed with a chat with the top team to discuss new formats with new restaurants and their locations. Lunch is mainly tastings, at Oh! Calcutta or Asia Kitchen – no dal, chawal, sabzi dabba – and then marketing plans for the rest of the day.” But he stays true to his fitness regime, working out four times a week and keeping to healthier options in his diet, along with Rhea to keep him in check. Unless it’s those Korean Lamb Chops from Mainland China, right Avik?

Avik knows how tough the restaurant business can get and advises young entrepreneurs who would like to follow suit to: A) Be careful about why you’re doing what you are as restaurants and fame should not be confused as one. B) Excitement and math go hand in hand, so you have to know your figures well. Do not lose sight of your P&L accounts! With that, he signs off.