Celebrity chef & author Vicky Ratnani has been appointed as a culinary director at F&B Asia Ventures Ltd, a pan Asian food and beverage business platform promoted and controlled by private equity firm Everstone Capital, according to a press statement.
Everstone's limited partner Verlinvest is the other shareholder in F&B Asia, which has under it fold assets such as Pind BalluchI, Harry's, The Disgruntled Chef, besides local franchise of Domino's in Indonesia and Burger King in India.
“We are delighted to welcome chef Ratnani and his culinary wealth and expertise into the Everstone domain. His extensive experience in multiple cuisines will help Everstone bring F&B Asia’s brands to India and strengthen the existing food & beverage portfolio,” said Philip Walters, chairman, F&B Asia.
Ratnani, author of 'Vicky Goes Veg’, most recently was head chef at Nido. Prior to Nido, Ratnani worked as a consultant at Dish Hospitality’s restaurant Aurus in Mumbai where he was responsible for designing the restaurant’s menu.
With 14 years of experience in cruise ship kitchens, including Queen Elizabeth 2, Ratnani anchored cookery shows on TV including, ‘Do it Sweet,’ ‘Gourmet Central,’ ‘Vicky Goes Veg’ and ‘Vicky Goes Foreign.’
“At F&B Asia, not only will I enjoy bringing the Disgruntled Chef brand to India with my own expressions, but I will also get to use my creativity on the Burger King menu in India, especially the vegetarian options. With Harry's, I plan to launch a special bar and brunch menu, and with Pind Balluchi, a new way of looking at Indian cuisine,” said Ratnani.
Everstone Capital also owns and operates several other brands under its Cuisine Asia and Blue Foods subsidiaries like ‘Spaghetti Kitchen’, ‘Noodle Bar’, ‘Copper Chimney’, ‘Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf’, ‘Bombay Blue’ and ‘Gelato Italiano’.
The seven-year-old India and South East Asia-focused fund with $2 billion of assets currently under management owns 75 per cent stake in F&B Asia, while remaining 25 per cent stake is held by a Belgian family office named Verlinvest SA.
(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)
