Gauri Khan-owned Torii's head chef Stefan Gadit says fake paneer controversy helped restaurant: ‘It actually increased our business'
A few months back, Gauri Khan-owned restaurant in Mumbai, Torii, was embroiled in a controversy after content creator Sarthak Sachdeva accused them of serving 'fake' paneer. Following these claims, the restaurant's management had issued a statement dismissing the claims and reiterated that they aspire to excellence in the food they serve. Now in an exclusive interview with SCREEN, the restaurant's head chef Stefan Gadit has opened up about the aftermath of the controversy.
He said during the interview, 'It makes an impact when we point fingers at something baseless. The quality, the ingredients, everything we provide is top-notch; we had nothing to worry about. We issued the statement so that people could know what is happening and how things are done. There is a lot of stuff going on with food chemistry and food science, it takes four years, just pouring something on something was just…don't get me wrong. He did that with his pure intentions, just wanted to check.'
Also Read: After viral controversy of fake paneer allegedly served at Gauri Khan's Torii, we asked an expert if the iodine test is fool-proof
Sharing what further action was taken against the content creator, Stefan added, 'We did speak to the gentleman and tried to get a sense of how things are done in the culinary world and how food science works. He understood and took off the post. We, as a team, as the management, believe that people are smart enough to understand what was going on.'
When asked if these allegations affected the restaurant's business, Stefan shared, 'It increased our business and I got more than 20-30 followers on Instagram, so that was a blessing in disguise, I would say.'
In April, Sarthak had conducted an iodine test on paneer he ordered from Virat Kohli, Shilpa Shetty, and Bobby Deol's restaurants besides Torii. While he had no comments to make on those, he claimed the paneer used at Torii was fake based on an iodine test. Following this, the restaurant issued a statement saying, 'We are utterly surprised at the news of 'fake paneer' being served at Torii. The iodine test reflects the presence of starch, not the authenticity of the paneer. For all dishes that contain soy-based ingredients (a staple in Asian food), this reaction is expected. From sourcing our produce to the food being served on the plate to our patrons, there are quality checks at every step of the way. Our commitment to excellence in the food we serve remains unwavered.'
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