Chef Hemant Bhabawani shares his recipe to success

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Hemant Bhagwani is a master chef, restaurateur sommelier, and entrepreneur who has created a variety of famous eateries in Toronto.

Hemant Bhagwani remembers vividly his first week at culinary school in Switzerland, in 1991. It’s the first time the 18-year-old has been away from his home in Delhi, India, and he’s struggling. The boy who grew up with servants in his house must learn to not only cook, but also make his bed and clean washroom.

Bhagwani calls to his father and begs to go home. No dice.

“The amount of money I spent on your education, I could have married my daughter,” says his dad. Bhagwani begins to howl. A family from India who was walking by took pity on him and invited him to dinner. “Make the best of it,”They suggest. The next morning Bhagwani is determined to make his father proud and succeed. He resolves to succeed.

Bhagwani is more than living up to his promise. The master chef and entrepreneur, who is also a sommelier, has opened 61 new restaurants in Toronto, Ottawa, New York and Ottawa.

But his storied professional career began as an accident. In high school Bhagwani’s life plans were more about cricket and girls. Then, a girlfriend who was interested in attending chef school inspired him. He applied to the Alpina School of Hotel Management at Parpan, Switzerland where he earned a culinary and hotel management degree. The school not only taught him classical French cooking, it also cultivated discipline in  the previously pampered youth.

After completing the program, Bhagwani moved to Australia in 1994 where he completed a master’s in marketing, and then to Dubai in 1996 to operate restaurants and hotels. In 2000 he moved to Canada to experience a multicultural lifestyle.

Bhagwani’s first job in Toronto was at the CN Tower’s restaurant, where he worked as a manager of food and beverage. There he developed a new enthusiasm – fine wines – and embarked on a course to become a sommelier.

But Bhagwani yearned for entrepreneurship. “I’m not good working for somebody else,”He says. “I want to express myself.”He had a vision in a city with 99 per cent Indian restaurants that only served buffet food. “fine dining” atmosphere. Bhagwani quit his job the day he was not promoted and purchased a restaurant that served Indian and Chinese cuisine in Brampton.

His first few ventures failed. Bhagwani acknowledges that he made mistakes. “obsessive”In his control of the restaurant, he failed to trust the instincts and knowledge of his team. “Sometimes the leader has to actually follow others,”He says. He also blamed poor location choices and incomplete business plans.

In 2006, Bhagwani was on the brink of bankruptcy and contemplated quitting the restaurant business. Fatima convinced him to give it another try. “You’re very good at this,”She told him. “Just do one more and this will work out for you.”

It was a wise decision. Amaya was the first of many successful restaurants. Today, Bhagwani’s restaurants run the gamut from casual outlets in food courts (the Amaya Express) to elegant eateries (the Tribeca in New York). Some restaurants, including the Kolkata, serve regional food while others, such as Popa (which fuses Indian flavors with Burmese), combine ingredients from various cultures. His numerous business ventures have earned him the distinction as a finalist in the 2015 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur Award.

In the following years, his relationships with his staff changed his goals. The young entrepreneur once aspired for success. “the most powerful guy in Indian food,”Now he felt a responsibility to his team. Bhagwani treats his employees like family, and they have access to his cell phone number. He hires many Indian chefs, and their Canadian dollar earnings boost their standard-of-living.

Bhagwani takes great pleasure in creating entrepreneurs from his staff. “I have struggled so much, I don’t want someone else to struggle,”He says.

When Bhagwani and Bhagwani met for the first time “timid”Sakshi was 22 years old and had just immigrated from India to Canada. She was desperate to find a job. Bhagwani first hired her as a waitress, then promoted her to manager and finally made her a co-owner at the Bar Goa Restaurant. “That makes me proud,” says Bhagwani.

Successes like Sakshi’s drive Bhagwani to keep buying new restaurants to co-own with members of his staff. “If I can create more and more entrepreneurs…that’s my goal in life,”He says.

Even the energetic Bhagwani was unable to cope with the 15-hour workdays. He was suffering from sleepless nights, sore muscle pain, and burnout by 2017. “I just felt that I couldn’t do it anymore,”He says.

He decided to take a six-month vacation and head to Goa, India where he cooked alongside the locals. As he absorbed the locals’ dedication, his own joy returned. “I started realizing, wow, I love what I do.”

The restaurateur’s greatest joy is making his customers happy. The dishes in his restaurants, all cooked with the freshest and finest ingredients, help turn around a client’s day. The warm atmosphere also helps. “It’s almost like …a mom or somebody who loves you is feeding you,”He says. Bhagwani engages in conversation with patrons at every table and greets them by hugging and kissing them. “We’ve changed your mood, even if you were going through stress,” says Bhagwani. “It’s very heartwarming.”

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