TV actress Addite Malik shares her mantra for running successful eateries

Excel at providing a fine dining experience and your customers will have no choice but to come back to yourdquo says actorrestaurateur Addite Malik at the newly opened Que Sera Sera in Andheri Itrsquos her seventh restaurant in the city and aims to embody the soul of Italy with a cobblestone section that harks back to the picturesque homes of Sicily The large painting of Monica Bellucci that hangs over the bar was her husband Mohitrsquos idea and the menu has a lineup of Italian and Mediterranean dishes such as lemon basil ricotta pasta Spanish paella fish burgers avocado hummus and her personal favourite Margherita pizzaTV actress Addite Malik believes that running restaurants is about capturing an experience that will linger on long after the taste of the food is forgotten Malikrsquos favouriteKnown for playing Meeta in the TV series Shararat 20032007 the actress has starred in several shows since her debut in the early 2000s including Ekta Kapoorrsquos Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki and Dekho Magar Pyaar Se Malik who started acting when she was 16 says that her roots in the FampB industry stem from her love for interior decoration ldquoI love doing up spacesmdashIrsquod change my home interiors every six monthsrdquo she laughs while sipping on an almond milk latte ldquoHosting people is also something Irsquom fond of and so the two add up in creating a dining experience at a restaurant that you want to keep coming back tordquoAvocado hummus with pita breadOn a trip to Milan 13 years ago she came across family restaurants where the owners interact with patrons and catch up with tourists over coffee and wine ldquoThat was my inspiration for Homemade Cafeacute in Juhu which we started in October 2015 As my interest and knowledge of running a cafe grew I started six more restaurantsrdquo she adds Homemade Cafe has an outlet in Oshiwara next was 1BHK Brew House Kitchen in Oshiwara Vashi and Bengaluru and Baoji Asian Home Oshiwara known for its openface baosMediterranean staple also features on the menuDuring COVID as the world around us came to a standstill Doris Dayrsquos Que Sera Sera became Malikrsquos therapy ldquoI sang it like a lullaby to my son and it immediately put him and me at ease The song transports me to Italy a place where I want to spend my retirement days enjoying a simple life and the importance given to living as opposed to chasing careersrdquoSo whatrsquos the secret to running a successful chain of restaurants ldquoItrsquos about delving into the experiencerdquo she replies adding ldquoYou canrsquot have good food with a bad ambience and viceversa Todayrsquos generation doesnrsquot want just good food they want a vibe As for food while it is fun to experiment too many fusions can spoil the dish I bear that in mind while curating a menu For instance at home I eat hot dosas with aamrasmdashit works As a foodie I know what ingredient goes well with another Running a restaurant is a collaborative process much like running a home a space that one comes back to The operations and kitchen need to be insyncmdashif they arenrsquot the wait time increases and thatrsquos never a good thing Food arriving in time at the table is the most important thing for any restaurantmdashfor customers and business both We take negative reviews very seriouslyrdquoFrom left Business partners Suraj Shetty Addite Malik and Sumit Govind SharmaCofounder Sumit Sharma director of Monarch Liberty Hospitality Pvt Ltd is a fairly new entrant into the FampB space ldquoWhen we startedrdquo says Sharma who also owns cafe Eve in Powai ldquowersquod come down four or five times a week only to talk to customers and take their feedback and also to get to know our staff and their strengths well In this industry patience is keymdasha lot of things never go as plannedrdquo Malik interjects ldquoThatrsquos why I never plan and only go with the flow I also believe in accepting mistakesrdquo For business partner Suraj Shetty a restaurant will succeed as long as the owners consider it a passion and not just a business ldquoAs a restaurateur it gives me satisfaction to see guests enjoy the foodmdashyou must aim for a happy customer Understanding finance is a big plusrdquo he addsA purebred Goan Malikrsquos a fish curryandrice girl ldquoI can have fish fry and prawns rawa fry for breakfast too The best thing about Goa is that the curries change as you travel from North to South The masalas have variations You could place five curries in front of me and Irsquod know where theyrsquore fromrdquoQuiz her about her favourite dish in the city and she responds instantly ldquoMahesh Lunch Homersquos butter garlic crab There was also Flora at Worlirdquo she says ldquoa Chinese eatery where my father used to take me every weekend as a child Juhu Chowpatty and Haji Ali Juice Centre spells nostalgia particularly the latter Chowpatty I go to when I need to disconnect from anything It is the essence of Mumbairdquo Haji Ali is special because itrsquos there that Mohit proposed to her ldquoWe still go there for the strawberry creamrdquo