In Focus | Aman Dosanj of Poppadoms - Taste India!

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What is your name?
Aman Dosanj

What do you always find yourself saying?
‘It’s all good’ or ‘One more Butter Chicken’

If you could spend one whole day with anyone in the world who is currently alive, who would you select and why?
Madhur Jaffrey – she’s a fascinating lady that’s so soulful. I was captivated by her talk at MAD last year, where she spoke about cultural food traditions and her experiences. Indian food is such a misunderstood cuisine and no matter how small my contribution is, I’m proud to try and break some of those stereotypes and learn about the regional foods of India. I’d learn so much and would love to swap stories.

If you were to receive any existing public award, what award would you like to win?
Western living Magazine’s ‘Foodies of the Year’ Top 10. I’m proud that I made the list.

If you could spend a day with any historical figure, who would you choose and why?
I would spend a day with my Gran. She never got to see me in my whites or taste a lot of the newer dishes on our menu, that would mean more to me than a traditional historical figure.

Who inspires you?
I’ve been raised by two strong women, in my Granny and Mum. My Mum works six days a week in the kitchen with me without complaint and battles on through aches and pains and even when she doesn’t feel well. She is superwoman. My Gran would say ‘if you cook from your heart, people will come’, so that’s what I’m trying to do. I honestly believe the best food comes out of people’s homes, that’s why we cooked with home cooks and housewives during our 5 week culinary tour of India. In the words of Madhur Jaffrey ‘Indian’s are magicians when it comes to spices’. You don’t have to be a chef with papers to cook good food.

What are three things on your bucket list?
Attend Taste London
Eat at Noma and Relae in Copenhagan
Travel more of India and cook with housewives and home cooks

If you had an enormous yacht, what would you name it?
Seas the Day (I like a good pun)

If you could foresee a single day of your future in its entirety, what date would you select?
The day Poppadoms makes the Best Restaurants in Canada list.

What are you passionate about?
Obviously food, keeping things as seasonal and local as possible, and feeding kids right in the school system.
Women’s rights to being equal.

What has been your favourite day of your life, up to this point?
There’s been so many, in so many fields and each have been special and significant to me in different ways.

What has been your proudest accomplishment?
Playing football (soccer) for England to become the first British Indian of either sex to do so. It was that moment, that I realized I can do anything I put my mind to. As long as you’re willing to put in the hard work. From a cooking perspective, two self-taught home cooks have received a standing ovation during our collaboration with Waterfront Wines. And most recently to be recognized by Western living Magazine as one of their top 10 'foodies of the year'.

Where is your favourite place to dine in Kelowna? What do you like about it?
In Kelowna, Waterfront Wines is my go-to occasion place. The food is consistently good and I love their house-made charcuterie board. In the Okanagan, Miradoro at Tinhorn Creek, Jeff’s food is exciting to eat and I love attending their communal long table dinners. The Joy Road Catering God’s Mountain dinners are a must too. I’m going to throw in Poppadoms in there too.

What is your favourite activity or event in Kelowna? Why?
Hiking before work, and attending Feast of Fields. Last year we had the longest lineup and we served a vegetarian dish!

What is your name of your business/organization?
Poppadoms - Taste India!

What does your business/organization do?
Poppadoms is a little Indian restaurant in Kelowna that believes in seasonal and local.

Where can people find your business/organization online?
http://www.poppadoms.ca

What is your Twitter account?
@amandosanj and @poppadomsca

What is your Facebook account?
Poppadoms

What is your mission?
To show how each region in India is unique with different tastes, ingredients and cooking techniques, more than just Butter Chicken, and more than diced meat in a bowl

If you could achieve one thing within your field, what would it be?
Cooking in a professional kitchen is new to me, so to keep on learning and become more confident in my own ability is where I want to get to. The hard work is the easy part for me.

Where do you want your business/organization to be in five years?
I'd like Poppadoms to grow and grow, to offer a menu of dishes inspired by home cooks of India and not the standard dishes you see on other restaurant menus. To be constantly busy and to keep on having fun

Who do you consider to be a forerunner within your field?
Chef Jeff Van Geest from Miradoro at Tinhorn Creek. He is the most creative, out-of-the-box thinker I know and had the pleasure of working with

What three qualities do you feel that your business/organization exemplifies?
Hard work: when we moved from England we started a restaurant for the first time. None of us had previous experience, but we figured things out and now we're cooking (Mum and I), bartending (Harry) and being a sommelier (Jasmin). The hours are long, we don't have a very large kitchen team, but we've all fallen in love with food and the exciting part is we're just getting started.
Fresh: Not only in our local Okanagan/BC produce, but in our way of thinking.
Family: Yes, we argue and want to stab each other from time to time (no-one has done that by the way), but we're best and most creative when we're together. We are a family business with a difference because we do everything ourselves - from marketing and photography, to cocktails, serving, dishwashing and cooking.

What would you like to say to your employees/volunteers?
Poppadoms has always been a work-in-progress, but it's only getting better and better with the help of our staff

How does your business/organization impact the community?
We moved to Kelowna on an entrepreneurial visa. When we started the restaurant we wanted to expand that broader than just providing jobs at Poppadoms. We wanted to help the local community, so we try and support as much seasonal and local produce as possible. Our seafood is sustainable, Ocean Wise and from the Pacific or Okanagan. Our chicken is free-range and from Fraser Valley. Every year our list of local produce gets bigger and bigger, but that's a work-in-progress. Just because we're an Indian restaurant doesn't mean we can't support local. It makes no sense for us to buy in vegetables from India when we have amazing produce here. I know all of our farmers and it's cool to think your produce is picked for you in the morning and potentially on your plate that evening. You can taste the love in the produce.

What is the best part of operating in our city?
Moving to Kelowna was a hard adjustment for all of us. The Okanagan food industry has helped us a lot, we've never owed or worked in a restaurant before so just having people that are willing to answer simple questions has been really helpful. Without these people we wouldn't be open today and we wouldn't be able to grow in the way we have. We've collaborated with so many top Okanagan chefs by simply asking if they'd like to cook with us. from chef Jeff van Geest (Miradoro at Tinhorn Creek) to Mark Filatow (Waterfront Wines), even though they're at the top of their fields, they've treated my family and especially Mum and I with respect and as 'chefs', even though we don't feel we are worthy of that title just yet. But collaboration has been more than hosting an event to showcase contemporary indo-Okanagan food. When our fridge and freezer broke, I called Sandrine (Sandrine French Pastry and Ch ocolate), she offered up space in her fridge and freezer after hours and met me on he day off. Monika (Okanagan Grocery) let me spend a morning with her and her bakers so I can learn more about dough. Our apprentice went to culinary school for 6 weeks, so I had a crash course on the tandoor and had questions about why naan dough became sticky and pizza like, or too firm and elastic, so Monika helped a lot with the amount of knowledge she has. My grandma never got to see me in the kitchen, but she used to say 'if you make food with love, people will come'. I try and live by that. Lee Humphries (formally C Restaurant and Local Lounge) taught me how to fillet Arctic char during a collaboration at Local and he's given me advice and a pep talks. The Okanagan has a special food scene, there is no produce like that of the Okanagan. I'm excited to be a part of it and keep on growing as a person and a cook.

If you were trapped in an elevator with several wealthy investors from any field, which field would you want them to be experts in? What would say to them/talk about?
To build our dream Poppadoms. My sister and I have the look and feel already in our heads, bartender brother, Harry, behind the bar, Mum and I in the kitchen providing an intimate dining experience, like what we're doing at our 'One Big Long Table' family-style dinners.

What other businesses/organizations in our city would you recommend to others?
Growing Chefs Okanagan (teaching kids about where their food comes from and about growing their own food), Sandrine French Pastry and Chocolate, Okanagan Grocery,

If I could change one thing about our city, it would be
To allow restaurants to sell produce (like our spice kit or Okanagan fruit chutneys) at the local farmers market in Kelowna, like in Penticton (plus the selling of locally produced wine and craft beer at the market!)

What do you think makes our city great?
Our local farmers, fishers, winemakers, distillers, brewers. We're very lucky here in the Okanagan

My nomination for an In Focus feature is:
Dana Ewart, Joy Road Catering and Chris Van Hooydonk, Backyard Farm

Some general comments I would like to share are
Please support local businesses because we all need your help. #eatatpoppadoms

We encourage you to leave your comments and words of support below, and submit your own nomination by clicking HERE. You are also welcome to submit a form of your own by clicking HERE. Thank you, Kelowna!