Chef Saransh Goila takes local Indian flavours global this season. Goila Butter Chicken makes strategic expansion in London

20^th November, Mumbai:Chef Saransh Goila’s world-renowned butter chicken, a dish which has garnered a cult-like following since it first arrived in Mumbai five years ago, has setit’sroots in London with the launch of a delivery-only concept. This is the first time Saransh’s lauded signature menu will find it’s way into homes beyond India.

Creating an unforgettable experience for all Londoners, Goila Butter Chicken deliveries will come with an accompanying Dal Makhani – a comforting, creamy mix of lentils – as well as sourdough naan, developed especially for the London launch and fired in a pizza oven, pickled sweet and sour shallots, coriander chutney and jeera rice. Vegetarians can replace the chicken with paneer, whilst optional extras of each individual element are also available.

The London opening comes as a pivotal step in strengthening the brand’s footprint across the globe and is backed by a long-term partnership with the Templeton brothers. The operations will begin life on Blandford Street before expanding out across London.

With Ghost Kitchen’s recently announced equity stake in Goila Butter Chicken – a brainchild of SaranshGoila and VivekSahani, the brand plans to upscale it’s network to 10 outlets by the end of 2020. They have recently inaugrated outlets in Mumbai, Pune – Baner and Magarpatta and will soon be opening doors in Bangalore and Vashi by end of this year. With the pandemic turning the tables on cloud kitchen formats, the brand anticipates a catapulted growth with a projection of 85 outlets by 2021 and 100 by 2023.

Commenting on the launch Saransh Goila said, “I have always worked hard towards ensuring the survival of authentic Indian flavors. Indian has a rich culinary heritage and we can leave the world astounded with the flavors and richness of our delicacies. For me, I’ve lived to bask in the glory of global citizens relishing Indian cuisines and our expansion in London seems nothing short of a dream.”

Whilst he will never divulge the recipe in full, Saransh reveals that his butter chicken secret is down to the ratio of tomato and dairy used (80:20 as opposed to the more traditional 60:40), and the all-important infusion of smoke. By limiting the recipe’s butter quantities and steering clear of any sugar or artificial colourings, Saransh’s recipe has successfully cut through the competition.

Karan Tanna of Ghost Kitchen India said, “GBC is truly an international brand as it endorses India through butter chicken. Our internal focus in to leverage tech backed up by standardised menu engineering to be able to scale quickly at any given part of the world. In the last 60 days we have double our number of stores and we plan to keep doing so in 2021 as well.”

Following the launch of the Goila Butter Chicken by Saransh Goila in Mumbai 2016, a frenzy for his namesake dish ensued, earning Saransh an army of avid followers and high-profile chef fans across the world. As well as appearing as a guest judge on Masterchef Australia in 2018, last year Saransh was listed in the Forbes 2019 Celebrity 100 list and amongst Facebook’s 100 Future Tycoons of India. In 2019, Goila Butter Chicken won the ‘people’s choice’ prize at India’s famed food festival, World on a Plate (WOAP).

As the tagline denotes, it is ‘Quite simply the best butter chicken in the world…’

Goila Butter Chicken London will be available online (www.goilabutterchicken.co.uk) and via Deliveroo, 7 days a week, from 5.30-10pm.