Celebrating Britain's 101 Most Influential Asians 2021

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Shamil Thakrar


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THE joy of food has always been a constant in restaurateur Shamil Thakrar’s life – both in business and on the family kitchen table.

Best known as the brains behind the hugely successful Dishoom restaurants, the mix of food and family started at a young age. One of his earliest memories is of his grandmother (fondly named baa), who would “always be cooking up a storm” in the joint house where he and his family lived. “Wherever she was, there would be a big table full of food,” he reminisces. “It was pretty central to me.”

Since launching in 2010, Dishoom has become a resounding success story. Initially founded by Thakrar and three others – the brand has expanded to seven restaurants across three major cities, including London and Manchester. Inspired by old Irani cafes which were popular in 19th century Bombay, it is notable for its intricate detail and design concept in each restaurant space, as they are all specially designed with their own back-story.

Has Dishoom’s popularity surprised Thakrar? “Yes, it has,” Thakrar, who attended Harvard Business School in 1999, laughs. “You just go along and do stuff, and hopefully, people will like it. You have to be focused on the work that you have to do and do right by the team, and you’ll receive some measure of success.”

Since its debut, the eatery was voted the best UK restaurant by Yelp users in 2015-2016 and was given the Best Small Group by the Good Food Guide in 2016. The restaurant was featured in The Sunday Times 2019 Best Companies to Work For – an especially important accolade to Thakrar.

Dishoom is also known for giving back to the community. During the height of the coronavirus crisis, all seven Dishoom branches closed – but the team worked

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