IN A CONVERSATION, LABIB TARAFDAR, FOUNDER OF MADCHEF AND CO-FOUNDER OF YUM CHA DISTRICT, CHEEZ!, LAUGHING BUDDHA AND PAGLA BABURCHI, ELABORATES ON HIS JOURNEY FROM BEING A NOVICE COOK TO BECOMING ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS RESTAURATEURS IN BANGLADESH.
From running a food cart to now owning restaurants in multiple locations, your success story is worth elaborating on. Could you please tell us how it all began and how you overcame the various challenges along the way?
The idea of opening a restaurant did not pop out of the blue for me. I have always been fascinated by the food industry and have preferred a line of work in this field. It motivated me to try out different types of meat and bread. During my undergrad years in London, I would explore new recipes under the ‘mentorship’ of YouTube.
When I eventually came back to Bangladesh, I first worked for a few years at an NGO, and finally, with salary savings of BDT 200,000 decided to enter the food industry with a food cart called Madchef.
I immediately faced a lot of challenges – finding a good location to regularly set up shop, dealing with swindlers demanding money, or having my cart raided by the police. One of the raids ended with my cart being completely demolished. It was then that I decided to operate from an indoor shop instead of a food cart, and set up my first location in Dhanmondi in a small store of only 800 square feet.
What makes your fusion recipes so good? What is the motivation behind specialising in fusion recipes?
At our restaurants, we extensively apply food science to create the perfect fusion recipe. A good fusion recipe is very delicately balanced – it has to incorporate a variety of ingredients from different cultures without straying too far away from our Bangladeshi palate. What matters most is to create amazing recipes for our patrons, but have our personal touch at the same time. For example, one of the more popular items on our menu, The Hawk, was invented when a close friend of mine, whose name is Haque, requested me to create a burger for him. Everyone loved the burger so much that we decided to put it on the menu.
We love working with fusion recipes because it gives us two distinct advantages. First, it gives us the opportunity to serve new and exciting foods in our restaurants. And second, it gives us an opportunity to utilise local ingredients to recreate exotic flavours. This is very important because ingredients sourced locally are not as susceptible to supply chain disruptions compared to those that are imported.
What would you say are the critical success factors that have contributed to the popularity of your restaurants?
A key success factor is to develop a theme that makes each restaurant unique. Madchef is quite youth-oriented, so we reciprocate with the trends of the time and make sportful social media content. To that extent, our communication strategy is to brand Madchef as an integral part of the youth culture of Bangladesh. Youngsters love our unique burgers and options of several sauces that deliciously complement them.
With Yum Cha District, we have created an ambience that is both cute and comfortable – perfect for small gatherings with friends and family. Yum Cha District serves some of the best Asian fusion cuisine at a reasonable price.
At Pagla Baburchi we wanted to present our traditional food in a much more classy and elegant fashion than what the ‘Dhakaities’ are used to. The goal here is to make ‘deshi’ food more palatable to an even wider audience.
Laughing Buddha is a fine-dining, authentic Thai restaurant. We have tried to capture the raw and unique flavours of the street food and home food culture of Thailand. Laughing Buddha’s USP is that it takes these flavours and dials up some notes to be bolder and more versatile that directly appeals to our Dhaka tastebuds.
Another critical success factor, that has at least worked for me, is to get more partners on board as the business scales. The partners should each be able to bring something to the table. In the restaurant business, you need a partner who understands the food, a partner who recognises investment opportunities, and a partner who knows the industry inside out. Together, they can contribute to building a robust restaurant brand.
AT OUR RESTAURANTS, WE EXTENSIVELY APPLY FOOD SCIENCE TO CREATE THE PERFECT FUSION RECIPE. A GOOD FUSION RECIPE IS VERY DELICATELY BALANCED. IT HAS TO INCORPORATE A VARIETY OF INGREDIENTS FROM DIFFERENT CULTURES WITHOUT STRAYING TOO FAR AWAY FROM OUR BANGLADESHI PALATE.
Oftentimes, parents discourage their children to start their own business out of fear that they might be inexperienced. How should aspiring entrepreneurs effectively communicate and execute their ideas to alleviate these fears?
It’s pretty understandable for parents in our society to be sceptical about their children’s plans if they come out of the blue. Parents in South Asian culture put a lot of effort into building their children’s future, so the idea of their children selling food on the street will obviously make them uneasy. We must understand that our parents’ reservations stem from their intentions for our best interest. In my case, my parents were highly supportive of my decision of pursuing a career in the food industry. Also, I had the privilege of my parent’s support if I failed. Conversely, for many people, investing in a business might jeopardise the well-being of their retired parents; becoming an entrepreneur in such circumstances is not that easy.
The proper way to create a successful venture is to plan out an appropriate road map based on adequate research. Research and idea generation should start from a very young age; ideally, from the first year of our undergraduate life. At the same time, one has to reach out to people already in the industry for insights that will guide them to accurately execute their plans. I believe parents will have much more confidence in agreeing with their children and will support them to venture into a new business if they see the groundwork that they have done over the years.
What do you have in store for the future?
There are some exciting projects in the pipeline. At Madchef, we will soon be introducing steak and a few exciting items. Our vision is to evolve Madchef from a burger place to a casual dining restaurant. I have another business called Cheez!, which has also been quite popular, and I am trying to bring more cheese recipes that have never been served before. Finally, I want to take our restaurants beyond our borders. The items at Madchef and Cheez! have a vast global market and I want to showcase them to introduce our culinary creations to the rest of the world.