While some of us can take a while to figure out what we want to do with our lives, 25-year-old Shivam Sehgal has hit the ground running, having racked up considerable experience in the restaurant business at a time when so many others are debating whether to start working or study further.
Sehgal got his foot in the door thanks to his father. “My father was always interested in the food business. So, he started a small restaurant in Kirti Nagar as a side business, and wanted me to go there after college and get some experience in the industry. At first, I started going there because he told me to, and later because I started enjoying it.”
Realising he had a knack for F&B, Sehgal began spending more time at his own, as well as others’ restaurants - for instance, tying up with veteran restaurateur Varun Puri for Too Indian and Duty Free, both of which saw their fair share of success. “It was not about who was the owner, who was the partner. I was there most nights doing the duties of a manager or plating the dishes in creative ways so as to learn all the aspects of running the restaurant, because I found a real passion for the business.”
It is this which led him to venture out on his own, opening his own restaurant The Marketplace, as well as Josh – The High Energy Bar, both of which are in West Delhi, with plans to expand the footprint of both brands across NCR.
The Marketplace is a concept Restaurant, having 11 mini restaurants under one roof, offering up the world on a plate as it were. Bolstered with a large bar setup, the space offers a large variety of dishes from various ‘eateries’ including from Kung Fuud for Asian lovers, Lebanese Food station Yalla Yalla, Brooklyn Bridge to Ciao Europa, Hungry Monk, Angeethi, Utsav, Supreme Chaat, Paan Banaras Wala, Shugga and Mrs Sippy.
“From the chaat of Delhi 6 to the pasta off the streets of Italy to the burgers of America to Lebanese Shawarmas, and steamed dumplings from Nepal to tastefully crafted cocktails...the Marketplace offers it all, in a fun buffet setup with our own twists and twirls”, says Sehgal.
Meanwhile, Josh as the High Energy Bar’s name suggests, has been a welcome addition to the nightlife of West Delhi, or at was till the virus began to roll back around. And despite the gloomy Covid-streaked present, the future seems bright, with Sehgal signing off, “We have two more high-street restaurants coming out in the next few years. There were supposed to be more, but Covid put constraints on that. There’s also a QSR concept, which I’m sure everyone is going to love, and we are looking to have 20 outlets of that brand up and running over the next five years.”