Haldiram's new diner to bring mithai, namkeen to London's Leicester Square
Haldiram's is set to open the doors to its first UK restaurant in London, with a vision to make mithai and namkeen cross over into mainstream consciousness in the country.
Rhea Agarwal, the Gen Z professional behind the international expansion plans of her family business, has been hard at work giving the final touches to welcome the first diners to the Leicester Square eatery from next Thursday.
The 24-year-old has been fine-tuning all aspects of the brand's traditional format combined with modernity over the course of her student days in London.
Also Read: TSC India announces expansion into hotels and visa services
"It's going to be a mix of our traditional tastes and also a little bit of a modernisation," Agarwal told PTI.
"I don't mean fusion. We haven't touched our authentic dishes that we are known for, or even India is known for. We are just trying to bring something extra.
"We wanted to sell an experience, not just food... it's a balance between what Haldiram's is and what Haldiram's wants to be," she said.
As a 110-seater flagship store in one of London's most iconic squares, the new diner expects to attract a much wider customer base beyond those already familiar with the nuances of the flavours associated with different regions of India.
Also Read: Flying internationally with Air India? Here's what you should know about the new ‘Easy Connect’ rule
"I have seen the popularity of Indian cuisine increase year on year in this country," said London-based Agarwal.
"But while everyone is very familiar with curries, there are still many aspects of Indian cuisine that are untapped in the UK. We want to use our Leicester Square platform where our goods are readily available to increase awareness, not only about Haldiram's products but about Indian products in general. We want to make mithai well known and products like even namkeen for that matter," she said.
The brand, with a manufacturing presence in London's Southall since 2018, had products on sale in some niche ethnic stores in the UK over the years. It was over the COVID lockdown period, during a lull in classes at her university, that Agarwal started a part-time, minimum wage job at the factory, which was to pave the way for her latest project.
"I have loved food ever since I was a kid. I would just always be in the kitchen, and I think every summer vacation I've been in our R&D kitchens, even celebrating my birthdays in factories. So that's how deeply it's rooted in me," recalls the young entrepreneur.
"But it was never a plan, or I was never thinking about the future. I always wanted to grow something and getting into the family business, I was a little against it only because I saw the scale of it in India. I always questioned what value I would bring.
"But here I saw a perfect balance - I get to be a part of this legacy, but also build something completely new. I'm really glad I stuck with it," she shared.
Rhea Agarwal, the Gen Z professional behind the international expansion plans of her family business, has been hard at work giving the final touches to welcome the first diners to the Leicester Square eatery from next Thursday.
The 24-year-old has been fine-tuning all aspects of the brand's traditional format combined with modernity over the course of her student days in London.
Also Read: TSC India announces expansion into hotels and visa services
"It's going to be a mix of our traditional tastes and also a little bit of a modernisation," Agarwal told PTI.
"I don't mean fusion. We haven't touched our authentic dishes that we are known for, or even India is known for. We are just trying to bring something extra.
"We wanted to sell an experience, not just food... it's a balance between what Haldiram's is and what Haldiram's wants to be," she said.
As a 110-seater flagship store in one of London's most iconic squares, the new diner expects to attract a much wider customer base beyond those already familiar with the nuances of the flavours associated with different regions of India.
Also Read: Flying internationally with Air India? Here's what you should know about the new ‘Easy Connect’ rule
"I have seen the popularity of Indian cuisine increase year on year in this country," said London-based Agarwal.
"But while everyone is very familiar with curries, there are still many aspects of Indian cuisine that are untapped in the UK. We want to use our Leicester Square platform where our goods are readily available to increase awareness, not only about Haldiram's products but about Indian products in general. We want to make mithai well known and products like even namkeen for that matter," she said.
The brand, with a manufacturing presence in London's Southall since 2018, had products on sale in some niche ethnic stores in the UK over the years. It was over the COVID lockdown period, during a lull in classes at her university, that Agarwal started a part-time, minimum wage job at the factory, which was to pave the way for her latest project.
"I have loved food ever since I was a kid. I would just always be in the kitchen, and I think every summer vacation I've been in our R&D kitchens, even celebrating my birthdays in factories. So that's how deeply it's rooted in me," recalls the young entrepreneur.
"But it was never a plan, or I was never thinking about the future. I always wanted to grow something and getting into the family business, I was a little against it only because I saw the scale of it in India. I always questioned what value I would bring.
"But here I saw a perfect balance - I get to be a part of this legacy, but also build something completely new. I'm really glad I stuck with it," she shared.
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