Wine & Dine
Textual content and Images via Mallika Chandra.
Kartikeya Ratan, 32 and Rishabh Doshi, 32
Kiki & Pastor
Location: Bandra
Speciality: Mexican
Kartikeya, inform me about your beginnings as a chef and the way you co-founded Kiki & Pastor.
Kartikeya Ratan (KR): For the decade or so, I’ve labored at numerous high quality eating eating places in India and out of the country. And I more and more felt that I sought after to prepare dinner extra soul meals, convenience meals — meals that in truth satiates. After I returned to Mumbai from Delhi in 2019, I felt just like the pandemic had taken a large toll at the nightlife of the town. There wasn’t anywhere the place you need to simply hang around and now not have to sit down down and dine in. A taqueria used to be a good way of bringing that vibe in. However given the instances of COVID-19, issues had been very unsure round 2020-2021, and but Rishabh and I saved discussing how lets do it on a small scale.
Whilst I used to be house throughout the lockdown, I began promoting taco kits and there used to be a excellent reaction. However I wasn’t satisfied as a chef even if the product used to be doing high quality. I sought after extra keep watch over. So now, we not ship consumers the elements and ask them to collect it. We construct your taco and ship it to you. We also are large on catering as a result of tacos are so much like chaat, proper? You need to devour them contemporary. And but, the deliveries paintings as a result of we’ve got a excellent radius, being in Bandra.
So much has been spoken and written about how Mexican meals simply doesn’t do neatly in Mumbai. Do you assume there’s one thing specifically this is running for you?
KR: I feel something we realised beautiful early on used to be that there’s no substituting excellent elements. Operating in high quality eating taught me that no dish can also be more than the elements utilized in it. And I feel that with Mexican meals, this is especially true. You’ll’t simply make a mole (sauce) out of a Bhavnagri chilli, as an example. On occasion, sourcing a excellent, dried chilli from Mexico is an important. Freshness additionally performs an enormous position in parts which are nearly served uncooked, as is the case with maximum of our salsas and marinades. So freshness takes priority over the whole thing else and the standard of elements can by no means be compromised.
How have you ever attempted to lift or differentiate your meals from what’s to be had within the town?
KR: A large number of other people ask us for Indianised variations of items as a result of that’s what they’ve grown up consuming. You might have observed corn queso balls on our menu, however they received’t style like those to be had at New Yorker in Mumbai, as an example. Under no circumstances are we pronouncing that we’re higher or dissing an enjoy that we too have grown up consuming. However we’re providing a brand new enjoy in terms of consuming Mexican meals. There’s extra to Mexican meals than simply striking cheddar sauce over the whole thing.
Let us know how you’ll be able to ship the meals as contemporary as imaginable.
KR: Supply is a hard layout. Particularly throughout the monsoons, it turns into tricky for a rider to get your meals to you in easiest situation. However other people nonetheless be expecting to get piping-hot meals; contemporary meals shouldn’t get soggy, arduous or dry. Probably the most issues we do is that we upload both a layer of chilmole or a jam that we make with salsa verde between the beef and the tortilla in order that the juices from the beef don’t make the tortillas soggy. We additionally do a double tortilla in order that despite the fact that the primary tortilla will get soggy, you’ll be able to simply slap the second over it.
Rishabh Doshi (RD): Mainly, proportions topic. So, for those who sauce it up an excessive amount of or too little, it’ll alternate all your enjoy of the taco.
KR: Completely. Once we rent a brand new chef, we will be able to style the variation between them and somebody who’s been making it for 4 or 5 months and has understood what those sauces do. Everybody has their very own tastes and the dish will get its character from there. So, the query that arises is how do you give it that character whilst keeping up a prime usual? It comes from the bottom recipes, which can be attempted and examined for a very long time ahead of we put them in the market.
Let us know just a little extra about how you put up processes for the cloud kitchen style.
KR: Most commonly, it used to be about preserving in thoughts the taqueria idea and the freshness of the produce. Once we mounted on a supply style, the place the meals used to be going to be at the highway for 30 to 40 mins, we needed to do numerous exams. Rishabh lives in Bhandup and I reside in Wadala. So, I’d ship him dishes, and we’d word how they travelled. Did it get soggy? Did we want two tortillas or additional salsa? From that workout we made up our minds to ship the salsa one by one, for instance.
In the case of prep, it used to be very other from once I labored in eating places that served tasting menus. At 11 Madison Park in New York, as an example, we knew that 120 other people had been going to be coming in for dinner every night time and that 14 dishes could be going out to every visitor. In a cloud kitchen, you won’t get orders for, say, two hours instantly, after which they’ll are available continuous till nighttime. A fit would possibly imply persons are ordering in or if it’s a protracted weekend and persons are out travelling, then orders cut back. Nonetheless, there’s no means of gauging the quantity of commercial for a specific day.
We attempt to stay the prep contemporary, however we stability that with some back-up, which can final just a little longer. We’re very specific in regards to the shelf lifetime of our guacamole and pico de gallo. It’s higher to lead them to two times an afternoon, slightly than to serve them the day after. While we make refried beans in bulk as it tastes higher day after today. Like dal makhani. Our beef carnitas and lamb barbacoa are made in large batches as a result of they wish to be cooked for 4 to 6 hours within the oven. So, we freeze them in batches. For the tortillas, we in truth have this woman coming in on a daily basis. She makes them contemporary for the lunch and night time products and services. We all know now that we will be able to want about 200 tortillas from Tuesdays to Thursdays. On weekends, we want extra.
I’d’ve concept that as a chef-driven taqueria you possibly can be making the tortillas in-house.
KR: In the beginning, we attempted to make the tortillas ourselves but it surely’s tricky to get it proper each and every unmarried time. On the identical time, we had been in search of somebody to make a tiffin for our group of workers lunch. It struck us then that the one that makes the rotis that got here in our tiffin may most likely be skilled to make our tortillas. So, we took a possibility and reached out to her. It took a while for her to get used to the other flour however she became out to be a professional. Even as of late, if I inform my chefs to make the tortillas, they’ll take most probably 4 hours to do what she does in a single.
Other folks ask us, “How come your tortillas aren’t masa?” Originally, there’s no corn to be had in India. There are some farms which are doing it, but it surely’s now not the similar. Even the calcium that you just get in India, the chuna, it’s now not the similar high quality. We attempted a couple of batches and there’s a protracted approach to pass when it comes to sourcing and discovering the best grinder as a result of you want that volcanic stone. So, after we do get it proper, we’ll do it however we didn’t need to do it half-baked.
How did you take into accounts the branding, the naming and positioning of your taqueria?
KR: Kiki used to be my nickname once I lived in Goa a few years in the past. We then came upon that Kiki additionally manner “get-together”. In African-American slang, the LGBTQIA+ group calls it a “Kiki” while you’re getting collectively to gossip, drink and feature a laugh. The pastor, then again, is regarded as via some to be the best of all tacos; it’s a subject of discussion in Mexico Town. We simply sought after to provide a a laugh title.
RD: In that very same spirit, we do a couple of specials, particularly on fit days. We additionally do a Taco Tuesday particular, the place you’ll be able to make your personal combinations. That pushes other people to take a look at new issues as a result of you’ll be able to get a unmarried piece as a substitute of ordering a complete portion. It’s additionally as a result of Tuesdays are usually regarded as slower when it comes to industry.
KR: Plus, the guacamole is unfastened on Tuesdays.
RD: In the case of the design, our fashion designer flaked on us and it used to be too with regards to release to search out somebody else. The best choice used to be to do it ourselves. We did a couple of iterations in line with an inventory of key phrases that we needed the emblem to be related to, like “approachable” and “contemporary”. That resulted in the principle color of the branding being a muted inexperienced. The brand itself is hand-drawn and in it, the taco is bitten into already as a result of we need to painting it as so excellent that you just overlook to take a photograph.
KR: Which is in truth observed in numerous Instagram posts the place we’re tagged. We see numerous bitten tacos.
RD: Now we have a couple of individuals who’ve taken a photograph of an empty plate and mentioned, “I forgot to click on it, but it surely used to be wonderful.” And that’s precisely what we wish.
KR: Tacos are ceaselessly known as “unsightly scrumptious” in order that they don’t wish to glance easiest. We don’t lower our tortillas with a cookie cutter both as a result of we wish that natural form. That imperfection makes it approachable.
How do you use social media?
RD: In contrast to in a cafe, issues aren’t taking place with us always. We additionally don’t need to crush our fans. So, we average our social media uploads. Reels that proportion a glimpse of the kitchen and the behind-the-scenes actions usually do neatly so on a daily basis at midday, we publish one thing from the kitchen that asserts we’re open for orders.
KR: We do need to put a face to this another way invisible operation.
RD: Our kitchen is saved spotlessly blank via the workforce. We in truth had a few consumers are available simply to peer the kitchen. One among them sought after to do catering and certainly one of them sought after to position an order. He sought after to peer where that he’s ordering from.
Would you assert convincing your consumers to reserve the most efficient advice is your greatest problem?
KR: While you’re in a cafe, you might have a server who recommends dishes. And when other people name us, we do the similar. However maximum of our orders come thru Swiggy, Zomato or our web page. So, there’s no room for suggestions. There’s no room for figuring out what they’re in search of. Additionally it is difficult to keep up a correspondence the scale of our parts. Other folks have a wide variety of expectancies. It’s more uncomplicated to regulate the ones expectancies face-to-face.
Do you’re feeling like there’s drive to make use of social media and put your personality in the market?
KR: This takes me again to when Instagram began. Pals, each cooks and another way, advised me to publish extra. But if I used to be running in kitchens, we simply weren’t allowed to make use of our telephones at the task and that’s one thing that’s caught with me. So, it doesn’t come naturally to me to take a photograph and publish about one thing I prepare dinner. After I’m cooking, I’m cooking.
Rishabh has regarded as creating a emblem out of me as a chef however for me the meals is sufficient. I’m now not Mexican. I haven’t grown up round this meals. It’s one thing I’m extraordinarily . I experience consuming tacos myself. However for those who take a look at my private Instagram, persons are disillusioned not to to find any meals there.
I’m now k with being in entrance of the digicam as a result of I do realise that individuals need to see the faces in the back of the meals. Differently, you’re simply some other cloud kitchen. So, after we do occasions, we make certain that a minimum of certainly one of us is attending. It is sensible for other people to learn about you. While you know the tale in the back of why somebody is doing one thing, you admire it extra.
Did you look forward to that cloud kitchens would turn into an enduring layout?
KR: I feel so as a result of even somebody like me, who used to be by no means an individual to reserve in, did so throughout the pandemic. Put up-pandemic, there are such a large amount of cloud kitchens opening up, and such a lot of shutting regularly as neatly. However there are a couple of that experience caught as a result of they have got changed their product to suit the supply style. A large number of eating places have additionally realised {that a} chew in their industry is coming from supply. The tradition has shifted significantly. There could also be an passion in making an attempt one thing new. I feel persons are going to proceed ordering in. However the product, and the way in which that kitchens take into accounts their product whilst handing over it, goes to make the variation and be the deciding think about whether or not that emblem succeeds or now not.
RD: The belief of a ghost kitchen or a cloud kitchen ahead of the pandemic used to be that it should be a small position, most probably now not very hygienic. The meals wasn’t intended to be nice, simply reasonable. However over the past 3 years, other people have realised that those small kitchens are ceaselessly serving higher meals than established eating places. And so they’ve allowed them to come back into their lives every day.
What’s the easiest order from Kiki & Pastor?
KR: My favorite buyer’s order is identical each and every time and he doesn’t alter anything else. It’s 3 of this, two of this, 4 of this…. And he provides us an hour’s heads-up. I believe like that’s the easiest order. It’s a large price ticket. It’s simple.
So, you’re now not specific about what’s being ordered?
KR: No, order anything else from my menu and I’m satisfied. It simply will get difficult when a buyer makes too many adjustments and the meals loses its essence.
KR: Our different favorite buyer orders a burrito bowl each and every week and says, “No corn please and thanks,” and I really like that. We’re fairly emotional about our orders.
Earlier: Rehan Mehta, East seventh Pizza & Deli
Subsequent: Divesh Aswani, Commis Station
