why Indian Italian?
Where did you get the idea for the Indian Italian fusion?
That's the question I get asked on a daily basis and to give you the real answer, we have to throw it back to 2018. It had been a while since we had had a family holiday. Life had been a grind, my son Karan was nine years old at the time and we were just coming to peace with the fact that he may never speak again after suffering from absence seizures since 2014. He had lost his ability to speak, chew or any independent skills for that matter. On top of that, we were also battling with a serious eating disorder, an after-effect of him suffering from years of misdiagnosed GERD, so food was and is still a sensitive subject in our house. My wife Manpreet and I love it, the kids not so much.
I had also purchased a franchise of The Little Gym in 2016, but wasn't having any luck with finding a site. All I wanted was a nice relaxing holiday and Bari was the perfect place. For the first time in years, this was a proper holiday. With communication being tricky with Karan, we struggle to know what he wants or likes so we’re guessing most of the time. It was on this holiday that we noticed Karan wasn't so fussy at mealtimes any more. At one particular restaurant, he ate pretty much whatever we put in front of him. Naturally, I asked the owner if he would open a restaurant in London with me so Karan can have a place to eat.
That’s how the Italian bit came about. Yes, really.
But who knew that trip would eventually lead to the idea behind East West’s pizzeria and Indian Italian fusion pizzas in London.
Why combine Indian with Italian cuisine?
Fast forward a few months and we were researching local Italian restaurants, looking for a site to open a restaurant in partnership with our favourite restaurant in Italy. I fell in love with our current site at Tufnell Park. It was right around the corner from my house and we thought it was perfect. Meanwhile, the partnership never materialised. I decided to take the lease and figure it out as I went along.
I didn't think people would accept an Indian guy doing Italian food so we discounted that right away. We thought about a burger restaurant but decided that it was too boring. One day, an idea came up. Why don't we combine both of our favourite cuisines, Indian and Italian?
We were already doing it at home: cooking pasta with masala; adding our own toppings to the supermarket pizzas. I mean Domino’s have been doing a Tandoori Hot for years now, but what if we did that but better? Finally, we settled on a concept where we would combine the things Manpreet and I both loved. Arguably, two of the most loved foods of all time, combined. Indian and Italian, but done properly, not a combination for the sake of novelty.
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Why the Indian Italian fusion works
Honestly, I didn’t think much at the time about why it would work, but it’s something that has become clear to me over our six years running our Indian Italian pizza restaurant.
There are a huge number of similarities in Indian and Italian culture. The way community is essential for us, the way we are not afraid to express emotions, the familial ties, the warmth and relaxed nature of the people, the climate and the architecture. I really feel at home in Italy. Walking in the back streets of Torre a Mare reminded me of Model Town in Ludhiana so much, especially when I got invited up for a cup of masala chai by a Punjabi family who saw me strolling.
But, when it comes to food, there is nothing similar. Indian food is a mix of multiple ingredients and spices all very delicately balanced. Italian food is simplicity itself, focusing on a few key ingredients. It really shouldn't work, but somehow we found a balance.
The key to this has been to make sure that we don’t try to change the process. We create the Italian elements in traditional methods. The dough contains only the finest “00” flour, sea salt, yeast and water, prepared and proofed for 48 hours, just the way they do it in Naples. The base sauces for the pizza are created in a traditional Indian method, how they are cooked in most restaurants in Punjab. We also cook all the ingredients for the pizza and arancini in-house and pair them very carefully with the sauces to ensure they make sense and more importantly that the taste is great. It is this careful attention to detail and respect for the process which makes sure that when you come to East West, tucked away in North London, the food you get is unique and like no one has done before.
What matters most is that food must be made with love. Is there anything more Punjabi or Italian?
