Latest news with #CreamCentre
Indian Express
09-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Around Town: 65 years of Cream Centre — How a young Punjabi ice cream maker built an all-vegetarian restaurant that became a South Bombay icon
Sixty-five years ago, in April 1958, a young Ramesh Chona, who had come to India from Karachi during Partition, was running an ice cream manufacturing unit in Worli when he was presented with an opportunity: a shop right in front of Chowpatty in South Bombay. He decided to take it up and turn it into a restaurant. There was only one catch — the building belonged to a Jain, and the owner wanted it to be an all-vegetarian establishment. Ramesh Chona, a Punjabi, had no qualms about meat, but he chose to honour the owner's request and opened an all-vegetarian Punjabi restaurant. He named it after his ice cream business: Cream Centre. What began as a restriction turned out to be a blessing. Cream Centre quickly became a magnet for everyone, from the who's who of the business community to the Gujaratis in the diamond business in the close vicinity, to the vegetarian Marwaris and Gujaratis of Bombay, and eventually, the whole city. On weekends, it wasn't unusual to see long queues outside the restaurant. Its Channa Bhatura, a thick, spiced channa gravy paired with fluffy bhaturas and served with carrot pickle and onion, earned cult status and continues to be its bestselling item. Sanjiv Chona was only 19 when he took over the reins of the restaurant after the sudden passing of his father. An ambitious man with a refined taste for global cuisine, he went on to launch a string of restaurants over the years, including The New Yorker, which launched with an impressive graphic-novel style menu and hits like loaded nachos and baked pastas (which he exited in 1997 after parting ways with his cousin), as well as Bombay Blue, Noodle Bar, Spaghetti Kitchen, Gelato Italiano, and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf under the Blue Foods banner. Some of those global favourites, from Mexican to Chinese and Italian, eventually made their way to Cream Centre and became instant hits. Think onion rings, sizzling brownie, sizzlers, and especially the trademarked World's Best Nachos, made with house-crafted chips topped with a generous dose of their secret melted cheese sauce. 'I have a friend who manufactures cheese, and he was over at the restaurant when we decided to create a special cheese sauce for our nachos. He makes it only for us,' shared Sanjiv, who has revamped the OG Chowpatty outpost with his architect friend Ajit Shilpi to mark the brand's milestone. Commanding attention at the revamped outpost is a striking piece from Telangana-based artist Thota Vaikuntam's My Dancing Shiva series. The decision to make Cream Centre a multi-cuisine restaurant was rooted in its diverse clientele. 'We often see three, sometimes four generations sharing a table. We needed a menu that catered to all of them,' said Sanjiv, adding, 'Aren't most of our pre-meal fights about where to eat? So often, a group changes restaurants because the one they chose doesn't have pizza for the child.' Another crowd-favourite — American Cheese Corn Balls — was the contribution of his wife, Sabina, who held the fort at Cream Centre while Sanjiv was busy expanding the Blue Foods empire (which he exited around 2008). Despite its success, Cream Centre didn't expand until 2010. 'I was busy launching other restaurants,' said Sanjiv. It was around 2009-10 that he turned his attention back to the brand. 'My daughter Alisha had returned from Oxford after completing her MBA. I had decided not to enter any new partnerships, and together, we began expanding Cream Centre — launching around 14-15 restaurants, some family-owned, some franchised,' he explained. More recently, his son Rishi joined the business as CEO, and the father-son duo now plans to double the current footprint of 30 outlets. 'We see Bengaluru as a big market. We're eyeing six locations there, two in Pune, and about four more in Bombay. We're also planning to re-enter Dubai; we had an outlet there that shut during Covid,' he said. When asked about further international expansion, he showed us over 4,000 franchise interest emails from across the globe. 'But we only want to take on what we can manage. Quality has to be maintained. In India, we have a robust system, but replicating that globally isn't feasible yet.' To celebrate its 65th anniversary, the brand has relaunched its logo and introduced new items such as guacamole with tortilla chips, sizzling cheese Mexican fries, Mumbai vada pav, rice bowls, and baked Delhi kulcha. Rishi, described by his father as health-conscious, has brought that sensibility to the menu with options like Tandoori Soya Chaap. The dessert menu has now been taken over by Ice Cream Works, a company Sanjiv co-founded with Alisha eight years ago. Expect indulgent offerings like sundaes, Dubai chocolate kunafa, cheesecake, and angoori gulab jamun. 'Our new menu is a reflection of change, without the change. It proves that the classic and the contemporary can co-exist harmoniously,' Sanjiv said. The revamped outpost opens to the public today (August 9) and also boasts a comprehensive Jain menu, with everything from chaats to appetisers and mains across cuisines.
Daily Mirror
18-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Full list of worst price increases in supermarkets as items rise by up to 115%
The supermarket products that have risen in price by as much as 115% have been revealed by Which? magazine. Which? tracked prices at eight major supermarkets - including Aldi, Asda, Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Lidl, Ocado and Waitrose - to highlight the largest price increases in the year to May 2025. The biggest increase was Sainsbury's Sainsbury's No Added Sugar Dark Chocolate, which jumped in price by 115% from £1.25 to £2.68. Tesco shoppers saw the price of Galaxy Chocolate Sponge Cake Bars with Cream Centre and Maltesers Cake Bars rise by 85% from £1.49 to £2.75. Meanwhile, Morrisons Savers Milk Chocolate went up 71% from 47p to 80p and Lidl Vemondo Soya Drink Unsweetened rose 68% from 51p to 85p. While products normally come with a recommended retail price (RRP) it is ultimately down to retailers to decide how much they want to charge. You can see the worst price rises flagged by Which? in the list below. Which? analysed the prices of 27,000 products across 20 food and drink categories. Its data shows the price of chocolate has risen by 17.5% in the last year, while biscuits are up 10.1% and butters and spreads have increase by 9.4% The Mirror has contacted all the supermarkets included in the Which? report for comment. Reena Sewraz, Which? Retail Editor, said: 'It's always worrying when we see supermarket food prices going up because we know this will have a big impact on hard-pressed households who already spend a larger chunk of their budget on groceries. 'Our research shows that shopping at Aldi or Lidl if you have local branches and buying own-brand products are the surest way to keep down the cost of the weekly shop.' Full list of products with biggest price rise according to Which? Sainsbury's - Sainsbury's No Added Sugar Dark Chocolate 100g - £1.25 to £2.68 (115% increase) Tesco - Galaxy Chocolate Sponge Cake Bars with Cream Centre - £1.49 to £2.75 (85% increase) Tesco - Maltesers Cake Bars - £1.49 to £2.75 (85% increase) Morrisons - Morrisons Savers Milk Chocolate 100g - 47p to 80p (71% increase) Lidl - Vemondo Soya Drink Unsweetened 1000ml - 51p to 85p (68% increase) Tesco - Tesco Fruit & Nut Milk Chocolate 200G - £1.38 to £2.25 (63% increase) Ocado - Turf & Clover 2 Ultimate Beef Burgers 300g - £3.10 to £5 (61% increase) Asda - Philadelphia Lactose Free Soft Cheese 150g - £1.74 to £2.75 (58% increase) Sainsbury's - Stamford Street Co. Low Fat Natural Yogurt 500g - 35p to 55p (57% increase) Tesco - Creamfields Low Fat Natural Yogurt 500G - 35p to 55p (57% increase) Morrisons - Naked Blue Machine Super Smoothie 750ml - £2.61 to £3.91 (50% increase) Waitrose - Waitrose Belgian Dark Chocolate 72% 180g - £2.11 to £3.17 (50% increase) Sainsbury's - Fox's Fabulous Chocolatey Biscuit Selection 245g - £4 to £6 (50% increase) How to save money in the supermarkets Try swapping more expensive branded goods for cheaper supermarket-own labels - this is also known as the 'Downshift' challenge and it is estimated you could save around 30% on your food bill. Next, don't just stick to one aisle in the supermarket. Make sure you compare prices at and shop around to find the best deals. But avoid shopping at your local convenience store if you can, as these are always more expensive than going to a big shop. Another tip, is to find cheaper versions of the same products in the world foods and baby sections. Finally, keep an eye out for those yellow sticker deals - not only will they save you money, but you also help cut down on food waste. We've got more supermarket tips to save you money here.
