“KOCA Is A Celebration Of Food, Friends And Flavour” – Yuvraj Singh Talks About His Restaurant Debut Debut

Shubham: The launch is lastly right here – congratulations! It is opening within the coronary heart of Gurgaon. What would you like your friends to really feel once they stroll into KOCA?
Yuvraj: For me, the entire thought was to create a spot that felt like dwelling. I needed folks to expertise ghar ka khana. There are days when you don’t want something fancy – you simply need meals that makes you are feeling good. That is the place our ‘desi’ menu is available in. Considered one of our six cuisines is constructed by me personally, with dishes like kadhi chawal and rajma chawal, however with a little bit aptitude. These are dishes all of us grew up loving, and I needed to convey these nostalgic flavours again in a premium setting.

Shubham: And but the vibe is elevated – persons are not simply right here to eat, proper?
Yuvraj:Completely. You want nice meals, however you additionally want an ideal area. Our capability is about 350, with brunches, lunches, and lengthy night hangs. The highest flooring alone is 10,000 sq ft – it is a huge bar area. There’s indoor and outside seating, and we’re fortunate to have discovered such an ideal location. Deepak ji, considered one of my companions, has been a visionary in serving to create this area.

Shubham: You talked about consistency, and I believe that is one thing many celeb eating places battle with.
Yuvraj: 100 per cent. I inform my workforce – the style must be constant each single time. It’s simple to begin robust when a celeb is concerned, however except the meals holds up, folks will cease coming. So for me, the workforce is the whole lot. That mindset comes from cricket too – if the workforce is sweet and the vibe is correct, the outcomes will observe.

Shubham: Talking of meals, why rajma and kadhi particularly? North Indian meals is huge.
Yuvraj: True, there’s chole bhature, dal makhani – however rajma chawal and kadhi chawal are the center of most North Indian houses. You stroll into any home on a Sunday afternoon, and it’s both of these two. I needed to convey these classics again in a premium restaurant setting, one thing nobody actually anticipated.

Shubham: Let’s discuss your food plan for a second. Just a few years in the past, you made headlines for going vegan. Was it a well being name? And the way exhausting was it to surrender butter rooster?
Yuvraj: (Laughs) I don’t need to hold anybody at nighttime. I used to be vegan for six months and vegetarian for a yr. It was primarily a well being determination – I’ve some dietary points and felt higher consuming clear at dwelling. However it was exhausting to maintain with my coaching and sports activities schedule. So now, I eat vegetarian or vegan after I can, particularly at dwelling. However when wanted, I eat the whole lot.

Shubham: The interiors are beautiful – plush, moody, and nonetheless inviting. I particularly liked the central space with all the daylight. Have been you concerned within the design?
Yuvraj: Sure, I authorised all of the design parts. The skylight – or pagoda, as we jokingly known as it – was one thing I actually favored. You get pure daylight upstairs, and the sundown views are superb. After sunset, you may all the time come downstairs. The thought was to make it really feel open, heat and protected.

Shubham: You talked about security – I heard you might be additionally providing occasion drivers? That could be a first.
Yuvraj: Sure, security is a giant concern, particularly in Delhi-NCR. If somebody drinks an excessive amount of, we’ll organize a driver for them. The thought is that individuals ought to come right here stress-free, have enjoyable, and get dwelling protected.

Shubham: Now for a enjoyable one. My mother needed me to ask – you’ve got confronted the world’s fiercest bowlers. Now you are serving a number of the pickiest diners. What’s extra intimidating: the pitch or the plate?
Yuvraj: (Laughs) The spouse! Spouse’s bouncers are the toughest to face, as a result of when she bowls at you, you can’t go away the ball.

Shubham: Any plans to increase? Mumbai? Chandigarh?
Yuvraj: We need to first make KOCA Gurgaon sustainable and profitable. The restaurant enterprise is hard. If this does nicely, then sure – I might like to take it west or south. However first, the bottom must be robust. You can’t construct and not using a strong basis.

Shubham: How does KOCA match into your life proper now? Will you be round extra?
Yuvraj: I am in Gurgaon typically, so sure. I would like my pals – cricketers I’ve performed with, pals from my life – to return and revel in it. After IPL, I plan to throw a celebration right here for them. That’s the finest feeling – when folks you like get pleasure from what you’ve got constructed.

Shubham: When you needed to eat one dish from KOCA for the remainder of the yr, what would it not be?
Yuvraj:Kadhi chawal. No query. That dish is dwelling. It is soothing, tangy, heat – it is the whole lot.

Shubham: That is such a candy reply. And truthfully, I believe lots of people would agree. Meals actually is reminiscence.
Yuvraj:Precisely. Meals ought to make you are feeling one thing. That is the entire level. Whether or not it is reminding you of dwelling, stunning you, or simply making your day higher – that is the type of meals I need to serve.

Shubham: Properly, you are undoubtedly doing that right here. I am already planning my subsequent go to.
Yuvraj: You are all the time welcome. I will make sure that there’s recent kadhi chawal ready for you.

KOCA is positioned in Golf Avenue 42, Golf Course Rd, Sector 42, Gurugram, Haryana 122103.