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| 10th August, 23. Link: https://www.instagram.com/thefinelychopped/?img_index=1 |
I wrote an Instagram post after I visited Folk Eatery in August. Folk is a 6 month old, 50 seater restaurant which is located in Kala Ghoda, Mumbai. Its co-owner and chef is my friend, Jasleen Marwah.
The post read:
‘I was @folk.kalaghoda the day before yesterday to have lunch with Jasleen @namakswaadanusaar who is the chef and co-owner of the restaurant.
I faced a ‘problem’ that afternoon.
The lights were not Instagram-friendly. Nor was the look of the food or the plating.
They had ‘unfortunately’ focussed just on the home-like quality of the food & the sumptuousness of its portions.
Not on Instagram-oriented aesthetics…
…All that I got out of the afternoon was:
a taste of the Folk thali with its homelike dal, earnest bajra roti, a kalonji alu beans sabzi which reminded me of our home kitchen and a beetroot sabzi which reminded me of the veg chops of Kolkata
– A Goan ros omelette with omelettes nestled in a rather calming Caldinh gravy
– mutton rogan, which is combined with rice, to give the comforting feel of a Sunday mutton curry rice meal. The mutton was #tultule (tender)
– A Konkan chicken sukka which was not like the fiery, desiccated coconut-based chicken sukka of Malwani restaurants. This had onions rendered innocently sweet through slow cooking and offered juicy bites of leg pieces of chicken. The chicken was served with very beautifully done neer dosas.
To make matters worse, one has to use one’s fingers to enjoy the food which made it even more difficult to take pics for the Gram.
I did not get a single Instagram-worthy picture of the food that afternoon, but that’s just me.
I am sorry guys, but you have to make do with the false candid picture of us chatting.
I had gone there earlier once for a dinner party on Jasleen’s birthday. Loved the galauti kebab, Kasauli bun tikka, prawn curry Champaran mutton, then. The last is the only spicy dish on the menu.’ (Abridged)
The highlighted part made some of Jasleen and my common friends write in to me. They were concerned that people might think I was criticising the restaurant. They asserted that the food at Folk was very good (no questions there) and that they had taken lovely pictures of its food (my bad).
Thankfully Jasleen had caught the irony in what I wrote. I DM’d her asking whether she wanted me to delete the post. She said she was fine with it being there.
I added the following qualifier in recognition of the sentiment of those who wrote to me.
‘Please note: This is a wry post & my take on the world of Instagram. I love Folk, its food & the fact that none of it is presented on a bed of pebbles or rajma. Folks have indeed taken good pics there.
What follows is a satire.’
Folk Eatery is possibly the only restaurant in the country which is run by a home chef. As I had mentioned earlier, Jasleen is a co-owner of the place.
Jasleen Marwah’s story is an interesting one. She is a Kashmiri who came to Mumbai to work as a media professional. She was not much of a cook and missed the food of her childhood after moving in. She began to call her mother for recipes and cooked from them to feel at home in her new home.
Then came the home chef movement. Jasleen was one of the pioneering home chefs in the city. She brought the food of Kashmir to the table. The home-like feel of her food won hearts. As did its distinctiveness.
Jasleen was encouraged by her early success. She continued her day job but her trips to home had a purpose now. She would spend her time observing and learning from those who lovingly cooked and fed her. Her aim was to improve on what she cooked. She was not one to rest on her laurels.
Then came the pandemic. Jasleen was locked in at home as was the rest of the world. Work had dried up. The silence got to her. She decided to launch a home chef business. She introduced menus featuring Kashmiri dishes with whatever was accessible (mutton came in later as it was not available during the early days of the pandemic). The food became a big hit. Jasleen Marwah, the Kashmiri home chef, had come of age. From weekend menus she moved into private catering and began to focus on the latter, especially once restaurants opened again. Her home chef brand is called ‘Namak Swad Anusar.’
I was excited when Jasleen first told me about Folk. This was while the restaurant was WIP. I assumed it would be a Kashmiri restaurant. As would anyone else who knew Jasleen.
I was gobsmacked when she said that it would feature food from different parts of India, not just Kashmir, even though she was the chef.
She explained that Folk is aimed at the working professionals who work around Fort and Kalaghoda. The original CBD of Mumbai. The menu would focus on set/ complete meals…a main with sides. Something which would work for solo diners. Groups could order multiple dishes and share them. The median pricing per meal is within Rs 300 to 600. A la carte dishes are available as well.
The aim is to present food that has the integrity of home kitchens. Comfort food, served in ample portions. Nothing complicated or pretentious. Just simple ghar ka khana.
This formula has worked. Folk has become a runaway hit, touchwood. It attracts the working crowd on weekdays. The clientele at weekends consists of family groups. The queue to get in can be long.
This brings me back to the Instagram post that I had started the story with. It was a satirical take on the barrage of new restaurants that Mumbai has seen of late. These are launched with high-powered social media campaigns. Influencers are engaged to show off the menu in the prettiest way possible on Instagram. Food often takes the backstage. It is no surprise that most unfortunately run empty after the initial buzz.
No man is an island, said the poet. Jasleen has a business to run, and marketing plays an important role in this. She has invited her friends (including me) to her restaurant. Most of us are not influencers and do not have millions of followers. We love food and are happy to talk about it when we like it.
We need more restaurants like Folk. Places which which fill you joy and leave you well fed.
I am not sure if Folk will win awards or feature in restaurant guides. I hope that it does.
You know what? It does not matter!
Jasleen Marwah is a friend of mine and both my meals there have been by invitation. I am happy to vouch for the food there.
Address: Maharashtra Chambers, 14, New Bakehouse, Lane, Kala Ghoda, Fort, Mumbai
