Take Five #30 - Build and lose a business w/ Malini and Rahul Akerkar

About the session

Having helmed one of the most successful restaurants in Mumbai in the 90s, Rahul Akerkar is a pioneer of the hospitality industry in India. With Qualia in Lower Parel, Rahul and Malini Akerkar have once again brought new experiences to the F&B scene in their inimitable style. During this session, Rahul and Malini will highlight what it takes to build and lose a restaurant brand, what makes a restaurant work, how to come back stronger and how to stay relevant with changing times.

About the speaker

Rahul Akerkar started his culinary journey 35 years ago working in some of New York’s top kitchens, over a ten-year period during the 1980s. He returned to India in 1989 and since then, has been busy changing the way we eat. Known for setting industry trends with his creative, ingredient-driven cuisine and warm attentive hospitality, Rahul’s award-winning

restaurants secured his position as one of India’s first successful, chef-restaurateur entrepreneurs.

Among his many accolades, he was featured in Asiaweek’s Survey of “Kitchen Gods” in 2001 and was #28 on San Pellegrino’s List of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2013. More recently, he won Chef of The Year at the Times Food Awards 2016, Mumbai. He has been a guest chef in several kitchens around the world, authored numerous articles, and frequently consults to the food and hospitality industry. In early 2015 he sold his hospitality company and after a two-year hiatus, opened Qualia, his return to the Indian culinary scene, in April 2019.

Five Key Takeaways:

1) Making a restaurant work

2) Mistakes made to lose a business

3) How our sabbatical helped us find our way forward

3) Coming back bigger than before

4) Staying relevant: then and now