End of the seven-year-itch

Egg chatternee, a local Iraqi dish. It comes with a tangy chutney, slow roasted marbled eggs and mejadra, a lentil and brown onion pulao

I never imagined I would do this, again," Moshe Shek says to us with utmost sincerity. He looks around his brand new cafe and bakery housed on the first floor of an old building in Ropewalk Lane. Dressed in his favourite shade of grey, he is colour-coordinated with the walls of Knead. The sprawling cafe space is dressed with sturdy wooden furniture and black outlines. In a corner, sits an old typewriter, and another supports a standing fan. We could have been in a cafe in any part of the world.

Culinary entrepreneur and chef Moshe Shek says he opened Knead in Kala Ghoda to support his cooking school in Alibaug. Pics/Bipin Kokate

Seven years ago, Shek signed a non-competition bond after selling his share of Moshe outlets and packed off to the town of Alibaug where he continues to run a cooking studio in a glass house by the sea; aptly named A World Away.

"When I sold the company, I was so happy that I was done! I had decided I will never get back to this. That is why the non-competition bond I signed was a long one. I told them to put any date on it and I would sign it," says Shek, now 53.

He says a few reasons are responsible for changing his mind. "First, I was very aware that there is an absence of a good cafe in the city. Every time I spent time in Mumbai, I got bored of eating at the same places, the same sandwiches," he says.

Second, he identifies a personal need. If given a choice, I would have chosen to stay in Alibaug, but the lockdown meant that they were shut for almost a year. To keep the studio running, he had to balance it out with something in Mumbai. "During the last stint, I was confined mostly to the office. I have missed customer interaction and the gratification of serving something and getting instant response for the food I put out."

Baklava

This July, Shek makes a mental calculation, will be seven years since his exit. "Once the clause ended, it took me a while to find a place, to allow the idea of getting back into the cafe space sink in and rebuild our production unit in New Bombay," says Shek, who was slated to open last March before the pandemic stalled his plans.

Knead is centred around his love for baking. He defines it as a large, casual, easy and simple place. "The idea behind it is based around the kind of cafe I would like to go to. It is a projection of my world: there is a kitchen, a studio and a small roastery to brew fresh coffee from beans I source from South India."

The menu steers clear of the past. Shek has turned vegetarian and the cafe only makes room for eggs. "Everything you eat and buy here, totalling 80 products, is homemade," he says of the jams, sauces, dips and breads. "Except the Tabasco sauce, we outsource nothing. No packaged food or ingredients come in through that door." The focus here is on healthy options, adding natural elements to the plate, with a thrust on baked items which are an ode to his weakness for bakery products, puff pastries and flatbreads. Within two days of opening, Shek has been bombarded with requests for the fondue from his older menu. "We will serve this on demand, maybe as a special," he hints.

A batch of cream cheese brownies

What about desserts? Are they healthy too? He looks at us with a serious face. "When someone says healthy dessert, I tell them don't eat chocolate cake every day. Have it once a week. Don't ask me to make a healthy version," he smiles, handing us a menu to order from. When we ask for recommendations, he grins. "Everything is good," walking away to give his kitchen staff the day's brief. We are pleased to see the menu has a whole section dedicated to hummus. Three years ago, we took a class in Israeli cooking at his studio where he taught us how to make baba ghanoush, three types of hummus and a hands-on assignment of try-to-make-your-own-pita. We still have the recipe file stained with our kitchen experiments stacked somewhere. Shek's hummus comes with kibbeh and nachni pita bread; the egg chatternee is a local Iraqi rice dish that comes with roasted marbled eggs. And we love the simple egg roll which comes with the airiest wrap we've had in long. For dessert, we try the cashew nut and coconut tart - bite full of decadence, as is the rich New York cheesecake.

At Knead, Shek is sole owner. "No more partnerships. This will be the only cafe. I will be here most of the time, and we will do different things. This space is less about business and more about my creativity," he says, with a satisfied look of a man having taken the long road home.

Moshe in Mumbai
Shek was one of the first to introduce the concept of the resto-lounge in India, beginning with Athena in 2001. He opened Cafe Basilico in 2002, and in 2003, he opened a franchise-model restaurant in Delhi named Moshe's Oliva. This paved the way for the first Moshe at Cuffe Parade, followed by 12 other outlets. In 2013, he pulled out of the business entirely.