Engineering good food

If you see Manish Bilakhia at Spring Blossom, a new restaurant in BKC's Bharat Diamond Bourse complex, you may mistake him for a diamond market businessmen in office clothes–a simple, well-ironed shirt and pair of trousers. But this is only till he turns his enthusiastic attention to your table with suggestions and directs the staff about your order. That's when you realise he's the brain behind the unusual offerings on the menu and the quirky, pointed messages about global warming, work, food...framed in the restaurant–one painting with water running from a tap asks, "How would you feel if someone turned you on, and left?". He won't hestitate in requesting you to use the same plate even for a new order. His argument, "If we can eat everything in a plate at home, why not at a restaurant?

Why waste water?"But what's most interesting is how he uses his engineering background to execute his ethos and his need to be different and mindful. For instance, combining Indians' desire to share food, and his, to prevent people from taking new plates, he sketched and custom-made a pizza plate, which allows you to take a serving by pulling out a triangular wooden wedge (the size of the slice on it). He has designed the garlic-bread plate such that it can be flattened while stacking, to save space. He also created a machine that bores a hole into a pumpkin, making little, uniform cups of it, which are batter-fried and stuffed, for their crunchy-yet-soft delicacy Funny Bunny. His latest innovation–a unique toaster! "A toast sandwich is usually cut in six pieces, so heat escapes from either two or three sides of a piece and by the time you eat the last one, it's cold. My toaster seals pieces from all sides ensuring a hot bite, right till the end." The list is long and his innovations generally make for convenience, distinct presentation and utility. Looking at them, you'd think he was passionate about civil engineering during his days at Bharati Vidyapeeth, Pune. But he says, "I took it up to contribute to the family business of construction, with specialised knowledge. But I couldn't wait for it to end, the course didn't excite me. So before joining business, I worked briefly as a door-to-door salesman for a direct marketing company." Where else does he draw inspiration from? "Daily life. Staircases, interior and architecture magazines, TV shows, everything... If anything captures my mind, I try to apply it to food. I've always loved it. Earlier I'd eat seven meals a day, trying things at different places." Health and hygiene are a priority. "I use more of nachni and whole wheat flour, less maida, oil etc. and don't serve aerated drinks. I don't offer other kids what I wouldn't give my daughter. But I never compromise on taste, I experiment till the recipe is perfect."

Manish quit construction for his gastronomic interests in 2003 and started the first Spring Blossoms–a street-side booth that still offers everything from sizzlers and khow suey to a variety of beverages–at Vikrant Circle, Ghatkopar. He dreams of creating an alternative to plastic, for parcels, "Documentaries on global warming scared me, so I've now adopted eco-friendly ways and educate my customers. I used bagasse plates at one exhibition as it decomposes in 45 days, but haven't found a leak-proof alternative to plastic containers. Someday I'll have guilt free packaging..."