Debashish Ghosh — the one who places the 'unique' in Speciality Cafés

The brand's senior supervisor relates his excursion with the association he's called home for over twenty years

He joined Speciality Restaurants in 2000 when he was 35 and the holding company had two brands (Oh! Calcutta and Mainland China) and four outlets. Over 22 years, he’s become synonymous with Speciality, putting the ‘special’ into the dining experience for the customer at any of the 21 brands and 120-plus outlets the group boasts of today. He’s also a proud father — his son Debayan plays a key role in London’s Chourangi.

JR[JALEEL RAWTHER]  ‘works the talk’ with the man who’s on speed dial for many A-team Kolkatans, about his personal journey alongside the big brand.

JR[JALEEL RAWTHER]: You’ve been with Speciality Restaurants for more than two decades.

I had requested Mr Anjan Chatterjee (chairman and managing director of Speciality Restaurants) for that because usually in the hospitality world, festivals are always hectic. Mr Chatterjee always said that he wanted a five-star restaurant with three-star pricing. As general manager of Speciality Restaurants today, you juggle many roles.

How would you describe the growth of Speciality Restaurants?

Mainland China on Gurusaday Road was already the brand’s fourth restaurant along with Oh! Now, after 22 years, we have Cafe Mezzuna, Flame and Grill, Riyasat, Episode One (in Mumbai) and so many more brands and outlets. [Speciality Restaurants has 21 brands with 120+ outlets spread over multiple cities in India like Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore and more, along with outlets in Dhaka (Bangladesh), Dar-es-Salaam (Tanzania), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Dubai (UAE) and London (UK)]

With so many restaurants under the Speciality brand, which ones were the most exciting to launch and why?

Cafe Mezzaluna was exciting to launch because the concept and dining experience was completely new. On the other hand, launching Riyasat was exciting because of how unique the cuisine is. Anyone who has walked into Riyasat (South City Mall) has always had good things to say about the food. The most challenging brand to launch was Chourangi, because Oh!

He wanted to launch the brand in London, but due to some copyright issues, we couldn’t procure the name ‘Oh! Being the speed-dial person for so many A-list Kolkatans, is it pressure, privilege or both?

Which is your personal favourite brand and outlet?

My personal favourite brand would have to be Oh! Calcutta, but my favourite outlet of all time would be Mainland China at Gurusaday Road. This outlet has won the brand name, love and lots of respect! Whenever he is in Kolkata, we love to go and hang out in Mocambo, or at Gurusaday Road where we order biryani and chaap and have a good adda session!

As someone who has seen the evolution of the F&B industry over the past few decades in Kolkata, which period, according to you, had the strongest turn?

The eating-out graph turned during this time with new outlets and restaurants opening, along with so many nightclubs, and many new chefs came to the surface. It was a good change. 

Now a question for a proud father — how does it feel to see your son playing a key role in Chourangi?

We were working on Chourangi at the time and Mr Chatterjee used to interact with him whenever he was in London.

When he started looking for a job, Mr Chatterjee said, “We are opening a restaurant in London, how can he work anywhere else but here?”

He started work at Riyasat and then moved to London to work in Chourangi. It feels really good to see him work and enjoy his work! With so many years of experience in the F&B industry, name three things today’s consumer is looking for.

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