ADITI DUGAR PLATING UP FOR THE WORLD'S BEST

The ace restaurateur's journey from boutique catering to building a culinary empire is a lesson in innovation, intuition and integrity.

- BY PRASAD RAMAMURTHY PHOTOGRAPHS BY SARANG GUPTA STYLED BY OJAS KOLVANKAR

On a recent night in Mumbai, as a collabora- tion between critically acclaimed restaurant Masque and Michelin-starred Japanese chef Hiroyasu Kawate played out, Aditi Dugar sat at the next table juggling between stay- ing on top of an Ambani family gig she was jetting off to the next morning; listening to and asking questions as the chefs presented each course; and ensuring two of her three sons, who were at the table, were eating well.

Husband and business partner, Aditya, kept up the banter, even as he played consummate host to every table of the packed restaurant. The scene, in a way, encapsulates Dugar's life. As co-founder of Urban Gourmet India, with four food businesses in Mumbai—Sage and Saffron, a catering business that's her oldest venture; TwentySeven Bakehouse, a mass premium dining concept; its newest baby, Bar Paradox, a “paradox to Masque”, as she calls it; and, of course, Masque, a pioneer in Indian fine dining—Dugar has her fingers in more pies than some of us will bake in a lifetime.