This Mother’s Day, Dineout conducted a ‘MOMs for CEO’ campaign to celebrate mothers’ journeys of motherhood and work and their contributions to all our lives.
Gauri Devdayal spoke to Dineout’s Sanjula Miglani about her journey as a mother and a restaurateur, future plans, and strategies post lockdown. In addition to being a mother to a doting daughter, Gauri is one of the 50 most influential young Indians according to GQ, partner at Food Matters India, and the face behind many of India’s most celebrated restaurants – an inspiration to all working women!
Here are the excerpts from their Insta Live.
Motherhood And Work: Finding The Perfect Balance
Being your own boss allows more flexibility but makes one deeply invested “24×7” in business; perhaps a double-edged sword. Gauri’s company allows her ample space to devote enough time to family matters. Every mother will find work-life balance on her own terms, which is easier said than done. A “pivotal” moment is when you realise and accept the best that you can do and what you can’t, thereby striving towards your own work-life goals.
The World Is Not Enough
After her astonishing academic, business, and corporate achievements, she devoted herself full-time to her restaurant project and has achieved immense success over ten years. Her background in law and finance aided her in partnering up with her entrepreneurial husband. From an employee, she donned the restaurant entrepreneur’s garb; every step has been a learning curve.
Introducing The Concept Of Casual And Chic Restaurant
Gauri’s restaurant The Table offers small and large shared plates and community dining tables to encourage and interact with each other. Inspired by Californian dining, ingredient-driven menu and community-style dining; this idea was inspired by dining experience from all around the world and which then gained popularity in Mumbai.
Dining Plans Post Lockdown
- Restriction on capacity allows the spacing out of tables
- Increased use of technology; QSRs will be heavily tech-reliant; restaurants driven by human dining experience will be more tech-reliant but cannot be entirely replaced by technology
- Key for restaurant hospitality is transparency, honesty, sincerity, and integrity; steps towards customer reassurance about sanitation and hygiene steps will be crucial
- Flexibility in order placement: via apps or social media platforms will be the next step
- Along with staff training on sanitation and hygiene, mental well-being, and financial stability of staff are essential. Organising interactive sessions with experts to address and alleviate anxiety and sensitise people to the “new normal.”
Measures For Safe Delivery
Inspired by the magazine street kitchen, the delivery team has moved to the kitchen. The dining room has been converted into living space for the entire restaurant team, to reassure people that staff remain in-house and feel less alienated. Hence, minimised the risk of external contamination. Usage of masks, gloves, and regular temperature checks is mandatory. Delivery partners have been advised to maintain appropriate distance by marking standing space. An extra layer of protection is ensured by double packaging, contactless handover of products picked from trays by riders, riders leaving packages with apartment guards to be picked up by the diners.
