If you happen to pass through Ambewadi Chawl at Charni Road in Mumbai, you are likely to spot a Tata Nano parked on the road. This vehicle is peculiar, with the aroma of freshly-cooked seafood wafting from the car. It’s unlikely that you’ll miss it, as the white car also has a long poster that boasts of delicacies made by a five-star hotel chef.
Pankaj Nerurkar from Girgaon worked in the hospitality industry for two decades. After gaining experience as a chef with Grand Hyatt and an international cruise, as well as that of brand chef at The Irish House, he started Khadpe’s, a Malvani cuisine restaurant, in 2017.
The blow of the economic crisis by the COVID-19 pandemic did not spare Pankaj either. The financial losses brought services at two of his restaurants at Prabhadevi to a sudden halt.
But the pandemic had quashed his business, not his dream. The 43-year-old picked up the broken pieces and began selling authentic Maharashtrian seafood cuisine from his Nano and earning Rs…