Owner Monish Gujral

Born in Delhi, India 1965 Career : Monish Gujral graduated from Delhi University, majoring in Business studies. He then studied Hotel Management at Pusa Institute at Delhi, before sweating it out in the kitchen of world famous Moti Mahal restaurant to understand the first hand concept of inventory management and learning recipes directly from his grandfather. Monish took charge of his grandfather Kundan Lal's famous Moti Mahal in Delhi where Butter Chicken first appeared, and he "first branded Moti Mahal by rechristening it as Moti Mahal Tandoori Trail, created a core team of master chefs and standardised quality" before appointing franchisees to branch out when the retail boom happened. Result? He inherited four restaurants and now owns more than 100 outlets - 88 in India and others in USA, Europe, Middle East, Canada and China. Monish is also a columnist with India's number one news paper – The Hindustan Times and also writes a food column on food trends of India and recipes in The Hindu . He is also actively involved in helping and training students in Institute of Hotel Management, Catering & Nutrition, Pusa, Delhi in Tandoori and Mughlai cuisine. Monish admits his biggest challenge is to keep the flag of this historic brand flying high. And his greatest ambition? "To take Moti Mahal's tandoori trail, which started in 1920 in Peshawar and reached Delhi in 1947, to far corners of the globe. He has written two books, "Moti Mahal's Tandoori Trail" (2004) and the recent "Moti Mahal On the Butter Chicken Trail" - brought out by Penguin - to share with masses the recipes of his legendary kitchen. and won the World Gourmand Cookbook Award 2010. Awarded the Coca Cola Golden Spoon Award for Most Admired F&B Retailer of the Year: Dine-in Indian Origin in India 2010. Moti Mahal Tandoori Trail continues to expand, with expected openings in the UAE and the U.S. around July-August 2010, and an agreement on the anvil in Canada as well, due this September. A patent was applied for in the U.K. for chicken tikka masala but that is all solved to the satisfaction of the Gujral family. “It's been acknowledged worldwide that butter chicken was adapted to make chicken tikka masala for the U.K. kitchens ,” he says. The patent, he says, was not given, and “it's enough for us to be happy now.”