Celebrating the Blue Sea

One exclusive banquet hall, hailed as the place to have beautiful receptions is Blue Sea. In a 15-year journey, this multi-celebration space in Bombay has seen a whole host of events ranging from outstanding to out of this world!

A beautiful banquet space was born 15 years ago. On August 14, 2004, to be exact. Blue Sea. A name appropriate enough, situated as it is right on the Arabian Sea, with just a road crossing to the beautiful promenade, the Worli Sea Face. Also the corporate house that launched it, went by the same name, same colour, called Blue Foods Pvt Ltd. Apart from this lovely blueness there is nothing blue about the boss of this and hundreds of other food and banquet establishments, Sunil Kapur, Joy to the whole world. That his company has undergone tremendous growth and is known today as K Hospitality is all due to Joy’s hard work, strengthened by his two young camera-shy sons, Karan and Varun. The down-to-earth boys who were being groomed to take charge, have done so admirably. Under their entrepreneurship, K Hospitality has now gone global in a big way. A couple of restaurants in London are scheduled for opening, plus at the airport in Kuala Lumpur. Soon you will also hear news about K Hospitality in Ghana, Africa. Yes, the father and sons are working overtime!

Joy Kapur, well-respected in the industry, is pretty much a wizard in the food and hospitality world. It all started for him from Copper Chimney, the reins of which he took over from his father, the well respected JK Kapur, when Joy was barely in his early 20s. One after another, he added to his repertoire of restaurants, catering units and then to banquet spaces. When asked how did the idea of Blue Sea come about, this is what Joy had to say, “Father meant everthing to me. We were right here in this same space celebrating his 75th birthday, in what was then the NAB (National Asssociation of the Blind) auditorium that I thought of doing something for him, the discerning foodie that he was. And Blue Sea happened. I am very sentimental about it.”

Blue Sea was much needed. Formerly it was only in banquet halls of 5-star hotels that the rich and the super rich had their receptions. With the entry of Blue Sea, suddenly there was a banquet hall outside of the 5-star hotels but with 5-star trappings. With food that was on par, if not better.

The multi-talented Nilima Daruwala was at the helm. The moving spirit behind the launch of  Blue Sea, she is one of Joy Kapur’s most trusted and loyal colleagues, someone who has been with him since years. Says Nilima, “You know, it’s not just I, but there are others around who have been with Blue Sea right since its launch. We are all so proud to be associated with it even today, though we have other additional duties. We all have a soft corner for Blue Sea because we have so many nostalgic memories associated with it.”

So what is it that makes Blue Sea stand apart? Five-star or no five-star… “When we created this space, we knew what we wanted. We wanted a reception hall that would be classy. Muted, subtle décor, with state-of-the-art fixtures and fittings, vast and expansive, with lighting that was not going to be in your face. No garish chandeliers which could get dated, no heavy drapes, no carpets. Just good flooring and a lot of  glass walls and tall doors,” says Nilima.

This was done so as to allow varied styles to be adapted to the décor. Be it the use of flowers or fabric or other decorating paraphernalia. A subtle interior also allowed the banquet hall to be used for various kinds of functions. Right from wedding receptions and sangeets to engagements and birthday parties, fashion shows, to even corporate events like AGMs, award functions as well as exhibitions. In fact, Neelu Kapur, the boss’s wife, has held some wonderful spiritual evenings, satsangs at the Blue Sea. As for the décor they have two specialist companies on board, Nazneen Gamadia’s Classic Concepts and Almas Chaiwala’s D Karmali & Co.

With these diverse banquet facilities it was only natural that Blue Sea would become a rage. “What actually led us to being ultra successful is the fact that 15 years ago things were rather different,” says Nilima. “In those days it was not just the bride or the groom who came in to see the venue, discuss the menu, sort out seating arrangements, etc, etc, but entire groups of people, family members, parents, uncles, aunts… We would sit with them, guide them, explain different concepts and so on. And then what would happen is, once that particular function got over, someone from the family who had come for one of the visits would say, ‘Oh, I have a son’s 21st birthday coming up, I think we will have his party at Blue Sea,’ or someone else would say, ‘The place works well for a sangeet, the hall is nice and large…’ honestly that is how we got established, word of mouth became our biggest asset.”

Without doubt, the USP of Blue Sea was its outdoor space and the fact that here you could get the food you ate at Copper Chimney.  The live cooking counters were and continue to be the reason for the runaway success. “What can be better than to have eager cooks baking numerous kinds of rotis right there in front of you, or barbecuing Chicken Reshmi Kebabs or skewering Mutton Seekh Kebabs and hauling them over slow burning coals and offering them to you when perfectly done. From then till now, the culinary repertoire of Blue Sea has only expanded. Today, you can ask for any cuisine, any special dish and you have it. Be it even Japanese, with sushi, sashimi complete,” says Ashay Desai, GM and Corporate Chef who heads the food and operations of Blue Sea.

Apart from the excellent fare that Blue Sea offers at its banquets, which can go up to a 1000 people, it also caters to functions outside its premises. The outdoor catering unit is capable of providing for banquets, both small and large. How large? Well, it catered to Vilasrao Deshmukh’s son’s wedding at the Turf Club. Number of guests: 45,000 only.

Ashay only smiles at the memory and the challenge and adds, “Three years ago we also launched a special catering arm, exclusively for vegetarians called Pavitra. Under this brand we have an extensive vegetarian menu incorporating Gujarati, Marwari and Jain foods, as also every other Indian regional fare. As well as popular international cuisines like Thai, Mexican, Japanese or Italian. The standards we maintain are really high and the same value is given across to all clients. We pride ourselves in curating superb menus in accordance to every customer’s needs,” says Ashay very sincerely. Well, I should know. I have dealt with Ashay and his team often enough. UpperCrust had two smashing parties there. When it turned 5 and then when it turned 10. I believe it is our lucky spot! It is my favourite for two reasons or make that three. It’s got great food, super service and the physical space has a charm, a noor which not many banquet spaces seem to possess. It’s bright by day and happily lit by night. The feeling of lightness and airiness is what contributes to its wonderful atmosphere. And the people associated with Blue Sea are simply fantastic. Come to think of it, that’s more than three reasons why I like Blue Sea so much.