A celebrity Indian chef built his first dream business venture in York.
Jaswant Mehra and his wife Arpit Arora have opened '29 States - The Indian Kitchen' opposite Clifford's Tower in Tower Street, in what used to be a Chinese restaurant. The couple along with their co-director Naiya Khatri have taken on the remainder of a 20-year lease on the premises.
Mr. Mehra is a well- known chef in his native land in India. He was featured in more than 300 episodes on local television cooking shows , according to The Press. He also appeared in some cooking demonstration along with celebrity chef's James Martin and Kenny Atkinson.
When he was in UK, he worked as a head chef at the Yorkshire Aagrah chain of restaurants and a Chef de Partie at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Leeds.
As he is now getting excited with the new venture, Mr. Mehra believes that the Tower Street property had a great potential because of its good location. He told The Press, "We really liked the look of the premises and decided to go ahead and develop a restaurant serving authentic Indian cuisine with a modern twist."
The '29' States' of India will be serving new delicacies soon, creators of the restaurant are planning to add more flavours to its menu over time. They're also remodeling the two storey property, including the beer garden area.
He said, "We hope to provide our customers with a different Indian restaurant experience which is not all about curries as well as offering careers to young people looking to go into the hospitality sector."
James Bradley, an associate in commercial property at Langleys, York said, "This is an exciting new venture for the 29 States team which I'm sure will attract interest from both tourists and the residents of York given its celebrity status and great central location."