It’s been a decade of fun: Akerkars'

They’re on a high alright! For the duo that have set about establishing one of the premier fine dining options  in the city — Indigo — complete a decade of running it, and as affable owner Rahul Akerkar teases his wife Malini, “It’s been a decade of fun, but who would have thought we’d still be around? I remember when we first started out Camellia Panjabi (food author), told me it was a gutsy move and asked if it would work. Four crores later, it has,” he laughs, adding, “No seriously, I think if you have the clarity of vision you’ve made the right decision.”

It would seem they have, for their gourmet enterprise has served some of the ‘mostest’ with everyone from The Rolling Stones, to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Chelsea Clinton, Salman Rushdie and many Bollywood folk dining there.

But more than the names itself it’s friendships that they forged over the years that come to mind quickest, like Malini recalls one of her fondest memories of slain journalist Daniel Pearl, “Who used to play the violin when he came in here,” she smiles.

An entrepreneur herself, it is Malini who he calls “His bouncing board for my ideas,” who shares a synergy of thought with him that has been part of their journey — from a restaurant, to a deli, a catering service and their newest restaurant that’s slated to open soon at the Turf Club.

Of course, with that constant debate, work goes home, “Sometimes too much of it,” groans Rahul.

With the restaurant  opening done, it will be travel on the agenda. But it’s not the usual diving break they look forward to.  “Europe this time,” he says of his many gourmandising experiences. “It has some great food places to look forward to. You know, last year I had one of the finest meals ever — at Degustation, New York.”