The Sassy Spoon is a multi-award-winning gourmet eatery and is considered one of Mumbai’s premier restaurants, known for its wide array of food, luscious desserts and elegant ambience
If you are taking your date out for the first time, or celebrating a special occasion — such as your fiancé’s birthday, or your engagement or anniversary — or if you happen to be a food-lover, you must drop in at The Sassy Spoon at Nariman Point. The Sassy Spoon is the creation of Rachel Goenka, founder-CEO of The Chocolate Spoon Company (TCSC), the holding company for her enviable chain of restaurants, bars, bakeries and patisseries. Of its many firsts, TCSC brought in eclectic European cuisine to India in 2013.
The most critical ingredient
Rachel began her journey at age 24 and is best known for her astute business acumen and a strong belief that ‘employees are the most critical ingredient on your business platter!’ Sassy is what best describes her approach to all that she does — from restaurant conceptualization to delighting the customer with holistic dining experiences.
Get to the go-to dishes
Some go-to dishes at The Sassy Spoon are Grilled Cumin Prawns with Palm Hearts, Asparagus and Strawberry Chilli Puree, Smoked Lamb Galouti Kebabs, Rachel’s Prawns in Maple, Chilli, Emmental and Crusty Brun. Those who have a sweet tooth must try some of the most delicious desserts, such as the seven textures of Hazelnut and Chocolate, Dark Chocolate and Raspberry, Caramel Peanut Tart, or the Sticky Toffee Pudding! Strawberry-lovers must try the Strawberry Cream, Strawberry and Cheesecake, or the Strawberry Beer from the special Strawberry Menu and a lot more.
Brands that made their mark:
Rachel’s chain has 15 outlets and 2 central kitchens in Mumbai and Pune.
- The Sassy Spoon — serves European cuisine
- House of Mandarin — an authentic Chinese premium diner
- Baraza Bars and Bites — a beach shack-inspired bar famous for its wide-ranging beverage selection and creative bar bites
- Wicked China — a contemporary, quirky Asian resto-bar
- Sassy Teaspoon — a chain of patisseries and bakeries
Rachel — the entrepreneur
- Rachel was instrumental in redefining how restaurants in India curated desserts with a range of innovative offerings
- She likes to go all out with desserts and loves to play around with flavours and textures
- She pays a lot of attention to service and décor, too, to ensure that guests have a holistic dining experience
- Besides traditional dine-in business, under Rachel’s leadership, TCSC has been aggressively diversifying its revenue streams via outdoor catering, corporate lunch-box services, private labelling and banqueting
- Rachel is also scheduled to launch TCSC’s first multi-cuisine, delivery-only cloud kitchen, aimed at leveraging the advent of third-party delivery channels in Mumbai soon
- Ms Sassy, as Rachel is widely known, has made her mark in a heavily male-dominated industry and is intent on blazing a trail for other aspiring women entrepreneurs across all industries
Education
Rachel graduated with a double degree in Journalism and English from The Pennsylvania State University. After her stint in journalism and advertising, she realized that her true calling and passion was in food and decided to turn her dream into a reality. She then attended The Ballymaloe Cookery School in Ireland, where she trained under celebrity chéf Rachel Allen and then moved to Lé Cordon Bleu in London to specialize in patisserie.
Background
Rachel is the daughter of Viveck Goenka, C&MD of the Indian Express Group, and Zita Goenka. She spent most of her childhood in Dubai and moved back to India in 2007.
Personal life
Rachel married her high-school sweetheart Karan Khetarpal, a Dubai-based banker in 2014. Rachel and her husband recently welcomed a baby boy and she is already learning the art of balancing work and life at home. As her tribute to all working moms, she will be launching a new sassy dessert that has been influenced by her son, Kabir.
The philanthropic streak
She has been involved in a wide range of charitable projects around the country, including hosting celebrity Chéf Rachel Allen and Irish NGO-Goal, for their work in India and ensuring that the proceeds from the restaurant extend towards supporting the girl child movement. She has also been associated with Pall Can Care in New Delhi and Akanksha in Mumbai.
She has written articles for such publications as The Hindustan Times and Uppercrust, among others. She is currently working on a book inspired by her family recipes.
Future plans
Rachel also has aggressive growth plans for TCSC. She aims to hit 100 outlets over the next 5 years by scaling existing brands into additional micro-markets within Mumbai and Pune, as well as targeting both metros, Delhi and Bangalore, and developing such markets as Hyderabad, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Kolkata and so on.
