Pricol Gourmet is a premium and casual dining restaurants brand
BY RUPALI DEAN
Founded in 2017, Pricol Gourmet is the product of a common dream shared by three restaurateurs running two independent food and beverage companies.
When founders Vikram Mohan of VM Hospitality and Japtej Ahluwalia and Nikesh Lamba of Infusion Hospitality met they realised a common goal to bring the people of Chennai – and eventually the rest of India and the world – new and exciting food and beverage concepts.
Having already run successful independent ventures like Double Roti, they decided to join forces. Today, Pricol Gourmet is a respected brand operating premium and casual dining restaurants as well as boutique resorts in Chennai.
The brand portfolio includes epicurean offerings across a panorama of cuisines with top drawer food and beverage offerings like Savya Rasa, a South Indian fine-dining restaurant; Soy Soi, an Asian eat street with six different cuisines from South East Asia; Quaint and Cute Little Soi with a reputation for serving a top-notch menu that showcases a diverse selection of Chinese and other popular Asian dishes; Double Roti, an easy-breezy mini-chain of American style diner, best known for its burgers; Delish, an epicurean dessert studio; Bread and Chocolate, a gastronomy experience through a global lens of culinary influences; and finally Green Meadows a boutique resort that houses Origin Bar, an unflawed balance of contentment with class, where craft cocktails are at the soul!
And not to forget Bayroot, a Mediterranean restaurant offering honest, good food, cooked from the heart with local sustainable produce.
The partners cohesively research and study trends to create gastronomic experiences. As the portfolio expands, the company is focussing at strengthening its presence in Chennai, Pune, Delhi and Kochi. The brand is also entering Bengaluru and exploring upcoming cities like Coimbatore and Mysuru.
At Pricol Gourmet, the collective mission remains unified – to take India on top of the world culinary map.
They have also forayed into pop-ups in 2022 to test waters in international markets.
#Originshakeup a series of collaborations started in 2022, invites mixologists from across the globe for a unique cultural exchange, pushing the teams to discover flavours beyond their range.
#SavyaRasaTravels a series of collaborations started in 2022, Savya Rasa pops up and invites chefs from across the globe for a unique cultural exchange to produce a one of a kind tasting menu prepared with the best of home-grown produce, showcasing the diner what the best of South Indian cuisine has to offer and vice versa.
VIKRAM MOHAN
Culinary Anthropologist and Restaurateur
Vikram Mohan is a seasoned entrepreneur who has created over 10 companies in the past 20 years. To his credit goes the setting up of India’s first integrated vegetable processing business.
Armed with ample experience in executing exemplary ideas into successful businesses, Vikram started VM hospitality in 2015 which has since morphed to become Pricol Gourmet.
Vikram is a keen culinary anthropologist on the cuisine of peninsular India. His culinary ventures include Savya Rasa; Soy Soi; Bharat Bistro; Double Roti; Abyssinian, India’s first Ethiopian restaurant; Origin; Bayroot; Delish and an upmarket cafe Bread and Chocolate.
An active member of Round Table India, Vikram has held many important positions within the National Executive Council of the body. He has been actively involved in the board of Confederation of Indian Industries and the Automotive Components Manufacturers Association.
Vikram shares a vision of philanthropy along with his wife Lakshmi and both of them are actively involved in many social causes for the underserved such as facilitating purified drinking water, creating primary health centres, providing sanitary facilities in remote schools, planting tree parks and creating computer literacy centres in tribal schools.
NIKESH LAMBA
Sommelier, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Pricol Gourmet
Nikesh Lamba comes from a family of army doctors. His passion towards hospitality propelled him to carve a career in the gourmet industry.
Nikesh became the first in his family to venture into entrepreneurship and took the tough call of quitting a high-profile job at Walmart. He began his entrepreneurial journey in 2013 with Double Roti, a cutesy café in Galleria Market, Gurugram.
Nikesh’s foundation was cemented through his outstanding journey at ITC Hotels. An alumnus of Indian School of Business, Nikesh learnt the business academia while his early ventures helped him gain the practical expertise. His aptitude to study market trends made him tap the potential of growing markets. He along with his partners ventured into the city of Chennai and opened Chennai’s first Double Roti in 2015.
The success swiftly led them to expand to three more locations within the next year and a half. As the co-founder of Pricol Gourmet, Nikesh currently runs over 15 popular restaurants across four major cities. His flagship brand, Savya Rasa, consistently chosen amongst the top 50 restaurants in the country serves as a testimony to his epicurean understanding.
Other ventures such as Soy Soi, and Bayroot enhance the comestible repertoire in the country.
Nikesh also runs a resort and more than 20 cloud kitchens. A trained sommelier, Nikesh loves collecting wines. When not thinking of his next culinary exploration, Nikesh loves cycling along the coast of Chennai and soaking in the moist breeze!
JAPTEJ AHLUWALIA
Gastronomist, Executive Director and Co-Founder, Pricol Gourmet
Japtej Ahluwalia is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Pricol Gourmet. An alumnus of the prestigious ITC Hotels Management Training Institute, Japtej has a
decade long experience working as manager, food and beverage with the group.
An MBA in marketing from ICFAI, he is also a Level 2 Sommelier from Wine & Spirit Education Trust UK. A believer in gaining hands-on skills, Japtej managed various branded cuisines of the second largest hotel chain in the country.
His work across multiple hotels at ITC served as a perfect mood board for him to start his own venture with his best friend and fellow-visionary Nikesh Lamba. The duo launched their first brand Double Roti in 2013 in Delhi.
The success of their charming eatery was followed by setting up of other award-winning brands like Savya Rasa, Soy Soi, Little Soi, Origin, Delish, Bayroot and Epicure – a bespoke catering brand – all under the umbrella of Pricol Gourmet.
At Pricol Gourmet, Japtej acts as the harbinger of creativity. Responsible for brand operations of Double Roti, Savya Rasa, Delish as well as strategic expansion of Pricol Gourmet, Japtej continues to set newer goals in excellence.
He is also a Managing Committee member at NRAI and Chennai Chapter head. A food bon vivant, when he is not working, he likes exploring the world.
