Why Taftoon, you ask?
Visit small independent bakeries from Kabul to Kolkata and you may find a common element: Taftoon. Freshly leavened bread, made with flour, infused with saffron and cardamom. Warm, filling, and aromatic, more than just a flatbread, it is the thread that binds disparate regions all along the Indian sub-continent.
Rudyard Kipling described the Grand Trunk Road as ‘such a river of life as nowhere else exists in the world’. A ceaseless stream that runs from Kabul and Peshawar in the West, through the heart and hinterlands of northern India, to Kolkata in the East, carrying people, cultures and traditions, and cuisines, along this living route.
In Mumbai, Taftoon is an ode to the flavors of this northern axis of the Indian subcontinent from the 16th Century. It is an exploration of authentic recipes recreated for the modern day.
And when you visit, Nooshe Jan. May your soul be nourished.
Team Taftoon
Pankaj Gupta
Pankaj Gupta grew up in Mumbai after his father migrated from a town called Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh and started a small business selling grains. He joined his father’s business at a young age and helped him grow it while simultaneously pursuing his education. Watching his mother cook at a young age is what inspired him and he decided that he would open his own chain of restaurants someday.
After attaining his master’s degree he left his family business and embarked on a food trail across Punjab after which he made his first mark in the F&B industry with Oye Kake which specializes in vegetarian Amritsari food and instantly became a hit amongst the foodies of the city. Taftoon is his second passion project representing his love for regional Indian cuisine and history, and was the outcome of extensive travels across the current physicality of the Grand Trunk Road.
Having been in the hospitality industry for more than over a decade, his dream is to constantly provide high quality, value-based products, and memorable dining experiences.
Avinash Gupta
Avinash Gupta like his brother Pankaj, was also born and brought up in Mumbai. It is when he was in college that he took a more active role in his father’s business and juggled an active college life alongside it. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management Studies and it was an obvious move when he also joined the Oye Kake team in its nascent stage. Providing guests with a meaningful, exciting, and positive experience is his Mantra and he strives to achieve it in all his business dealings. With the success of Oye Kake, Avinash was present for the conceptualising Café Haqq Se & Taftoon.
What he brings to the table is the mind of a Business Analyst with extensive knowledge acquired through the years from his hands-on approach to business. He is the overseer of the procurement of raw materials through vendors and operates autonomously in all facets of business.
From Kabul to Chittagong, and finally onto your plate in Mumbai. Nooshe Jan.
