“Thank you for visiting my new home in Amsterdam. I hope it gives you a sense of home too. Let me tell you about my tumultuous travel journey that led me here.”
While working as a criminal lawyer in New Delhi and in a long-distance relationship with Anand, Foram found herself one night sitting drunk on the toilet seat. There, she saw a poster that read, “Fly away to follow your heart.”
People who know Foram can tell you she strongly believes in her instincts. Foram saw this poster as her sign, and one month later, she found herself on a plane to Amsterdam.
On the other hand, Anand is a numbers guy who works in a trading firm called Optiver. But what is unusual about him is his creative bent. He has played a big role in designing Miri Mary’s aesthetics and choosing various art pieces. Anand is a firm believer in the “pursuit of excellence.”
This trait of Anand can be seen in all the brainstorming discussions he has with the team at Miri Mary; he says one thing: “We only serve a particular dish or cocktail if it’s EPIC”.
“We only serve a particular dish or cocktail if it’s EPIC.”
But where did the inspiration come to start a Indian restaurant in Amsterdam, focused on Indian food, which they feel is underrepresented globally? They believe India and Indian food are under a strong grasp of “stereotypes” and the vastness of Indian cuisine is typecasted into mere “curries”.
Anand & Foram want to showcase through Miri Mary that India has come a long way beyond the pigeonhole of being a poor country of elephants, lions, and snake charmers. At Miri Mary, you will be surprised to see the artfully chosen handmade furniture pieces woven together with the warmth of state-of-the-art food and cocktails. They want to showcase at a global stage “how beautiful, diverse and rich Indian culture and Indian food.”
Anand & Foram do not believe in doing anything for the sake of doing it. From the aesthetics, to the food, to the cocktails and the whole vibe– everything is being done and chosen with a lot of love and effort. Coming from the field of law and finance, they did not know much about the hospitality industry. So, they started from the scratch.
Foram took a 2-months food trip in India, where she visited around 120 restaurants across India. From modern fine dinning restaurants at 5-star hotels, to locally renowned restaurants, to roadside eateries, she tried to cover all to understand the local food from different parts of the country. On this trip, she also had another mission – to find chefs from different regions of India who are specialized in different cuisines.
All the chefs at Miri Mary have especially come from India to become a part of the Dream Team. Being new to hospitality industry played in their favour, on the one hand they delved deep into everything which went into the building of Miri Mary, from food, to cocktails, to coffee, to aesthetics and design. Having said that, A & F definitely had a vision on how they want Miri Mary to be and everything that you see, touch, smell, taste and feel at Miri Mary is inspired by this vision – “it should have the heart of Amsterdam and the soul of India”.
“There have been learnings for sure, but no regrets, never.”
Why start an Indian restaurant in Amsterdam?
Amsterdam feels like “Home” says Anand & Foram. In their eyes, Amsterdam has the perfect combination of culture and beauty, which they believe Miri Mary to have as well. Also, the thoughtfully chosen location in – De Pijp is a melting pot of people worldwide.
With Miri Mary they hope to show everyone that India is more than just curries, and butter chicken. At Miri Mary, you will find a choicest list of cocktails. These cocktails are inspired by Indian flavours, which many people don’t know to be a thing.
What are their favourite dishes at Miri Mary?
As a vegetarian who has never tasted meat in her life, Foram faces a moral dilemma in serving dishes with meat. Some of her favourite dishes are Eggplant and Tomato Arancini – an age-old local dish which you can only find in houses in western India, which our chefs have made in the form of Italian arancini. Another one will be the Mushroom with Saffron Cream – Charred oyster mushrooms served with a fragrant saffron cream from Kashmir.
Anand, on the other hand, loves the prawn canapès – prawns are mostly eaten in coastal regions, and they are made very differently in different towns. Our recipe is inspired from the southern coastal city Mangalore and served as an easy-to-eat canapé.
Our sharing plates and our signature dishes are all inspired by age-old recipes of moms and grandmas. These dishes, as delicious as they are, are not commercial and, thus, cannot be found in restaurants even in India.
What has been the biggest challenge – or maybe even blunder so far?
Foram tells us she is not the one to regret anything. “There have been learnings, but no regrets, never.” Anand & Foram are most proud of the fact that they did it. They changed the course and did what most would be scared of changing a successful career and starting something from scratch.
And, if this was not challenging enough, Anand & Foram found out three months before the opening date that they were pregnant. 2022 has been very challenging but, at the same time, supremely rewarding as they gave birth to two children –Miri Mary and, recently, a beautiful baby girl – Nyra.
“Indian food is more than curries & butter chicken.”
