BEST WISHES FROM

*International Women’s Day Special

U. Bharath (cbedit@imaws.org)

Shivani Sharma, the visionary founder of Gourmestan, is on a mission to revolutionize the way we approach food with her signature millet mantra. Drawing inspiration from her global sojourns, particularly in London, Shivani has recognised a gap between everyday staple foods and elevated gastronomic experiences, propelling her to redefine this landscape.

 Shivani’s journey unfolded in the realm of cloud kitchens and a cafe in Dubai, strategically leveraging the cloud kitchen model to perfect her offerings before establishing Gourmestan. Celebrated for its millet-based confectionery, boulangerie, and fromagerie, Gourmestan has taken the scene by storm, boasting gluten-free options at the forefront—a testament to Shivani’s dedication to accommodating changing lifestyle preferences towards clean eating.

 Shivani also envisions championing women in the F&B industry through insightful blogs.  Her expansive vision transcends borders, as she plans to introduce her gastronomic creations to regions like the GCC, the UK, and Japan. Simultaneously, Shivani aims to establish an F&B consultancy, providing guidance and support to aspiring entrepreneurs.

Boasting of Masters in Culinary from Le Cordon Bleu, London, Masters in Business and Economics from London School of Economics, and two more degrees from Yale and Michigan state University, Shivani is well-equipped to take on the culinary world by storm and her innovative products and strategies are something of an inspiration for any woman who wants her chart her career path in the hospitality industry..

Chefpreneur Shivani Sharama, in a chat with Kitchen Herald, touched upon various aspects of her long and eventful journey in the hospitality industry and her initial challenges as something every woman entrepreneur should face and tide over. Eventually, her experience in the industry propelled her to found the cloud kitchen chain, Gourmestan, with branches in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Goa.

It was evident that Shivani Sharma, despite being a globetrotter, has rooted Indian family values as she described her journey in as many words. “ I believe in the culinary shift that Indians should make toward healthy and clean eating, and millets are the mantra I chose to go with in my offerings”.  Shivani says she wants to expand her culinary footprint further down south into cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai to inspire Southern India to eat right.

Cloud kitchen is the future.

Stressing on the need to shift to Millet- based foods by Indians, which is known as the “diabetes capital” of the world Shivani said that “Clean eating has to catch up in a big way in our country which is known for variety of millets including Sorghum, Pearl Millet, Barnyard Millet and Ragi. Millets are a wonder cereal with high fibre and water content. It cleans the guts and gives satiety, and also washes away cholesterol from one’s body.

“Known for its high fibre and water content, Millets are the go-to staple in this modern era with the majority of the population afflicted by lifestyle diseases including diabetes, heart disease, etc”, Shivani says.

“Through Gourmestan, I am offering Millet and cheese-based foods and staples to the Indian restaurants and households as I am conscious of the health-boosting qualities of these items; the word should spread, and healthy eating should become a norm”, Shivani noted

While noting that the cloud kitchen is the future, Shivani says that creating new products through the cloud kitchen would be beneficial for sustainability and healthy eating.

“We have adopted authentic sourcing and began to procure directly from the farmers to ensure quality control”, Shivani said when queried about her sourcing channels.

Women in Hospitality

When asked about the increased participation of women in the workforce in the culinary industry, Shivani said that women are getting into the industry as chefs and in other capacities, more in numbers. I would say that the women workforce will catch up sooner than later and form 50% of the total workforce in the hospitality segment in India.

“Even though countries such as Australia, Malaysia, and Vietnam are way ahead in women participation as chefs and other roles in hospitality industry, India will catch up sooner than later”, she noted

While stressing that women should opt for the hospitality industry as a career option, she cited her example and success story as an inspiration to pursue a career in the hospitality industry, which is bristling with many possibilities now.

“To inspire more women to shape their careers and streamline their business models, I have so far trained more than 20 women in the past two years. I inspire them to tide over the initial challenges and write their success story in the culinary industry. More women should come forward and become trailblazers in the Indian culinary industry,’ Shivani says.

A trailblazer

A trailblazer herself, she has also initiated a feeding programme for children in the impoverished regions of Kenya in Africa.

“I launched my charity work through my foundation named ‘Agam’ in April 2024, and so far, 3000 impoverished school children in Maasai Mara–Nakuru region have been benefited under this programme. I am looking forward to extending this initiative into Eastern Europe,” Shivani says.

When asked why she didn’t choose India for her charitable initiative, she says, “Here in India,  governments in respective states conduct such feeding programmes to needy children. Humanity is after all one: so I chose the much impoverished African continent,” Shivani says.

While Shivani’s distinctive approach lies in elevating and refining food-oriented basics into gourmet experiences, placing a strong emphasis on clean eating, sustainability, and authentic sourcing has drawn praise from many quarters..

Not surprisingly, her client roster includes high-profile figures like Karishma Kapoor, Praful Patel, Madhuri Dixit, and Masaba Gupta, which only reflects the widespread recognition and trust in her expertise.

Shivani’s journey as a Chefpreneur has set a benchmark in inspiring global consumers to adopt clean, mindful eating, and she is sure to dominate the gourmet market in the coming years..

Shivani’s journey is a testament to her relentless pursuit of innovation and education and her commitment to redefining the dining experience for a conscious global audience seeking gluten-free and clean eating alternatives.

However, Shivani adds that her initial days as a chefpreneur were challenging: “ I almost started from scratch, and funding my cloud kitchen initiative has been a problem.” But since then, she has come a long way and has inspired many aspiring women in India to take up entrepreneurship in the culinary industry.