How I Built the UK's First Indian Street Food Chain (it was easier than you think) - Nisha Katona, Mowgli
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Show Notes
From bricks through the window in 1960s Skelmersdale to queues around the block in Liverpool, this is a story of immigrant hunger, insecurity, obsession with standards — and building something that blesses a city. Dan sits down with Nisha Katona — founder of Mowgli Street Food — the woman who turned authentic Indian home cooking into the first national Indian street food chain in Britain.
Nisha breaks down why Mowgli was never meant to be a “curry house,” why Hindu home cooking avoids garlic and onion at lunch, and how sitting outside Greggs watching men in high-vis jackets shaped her pricing strategy.
We talk about scale, magic, heart, delivery, Empire, authenticity, Nando’s, Greggs, and why growth should never be something you’re ashamed of.
This is a masterclass in building a restaurant brand with soul — and keeping that soul intact across 27 sites.
If you care about food, cities, entrepreneurship, culture — or how to turn anxiety into momentum — this one’s special.
ON THE MENU:
00:00 Intro
00:54 Is Nisha a Workaholic?
02:54 Does Scale Kill Magic in Restaurants?
03:13 Treating Every Restaurant Like Your Child
04:26 Why She Decorated Mowgli to Fail
07:29 The First National Indian Street Food Chain
08:44 Curry House vs Authentic Indian Home Cooking
11:54 The Four Pillars of Building a Restaurant Brand
25:47 Researching Demand Before Opening a Restaurant
26:33 Pricing for Men in High-Vis Jackets
27:14 Chicken Tikka Masala & Britain’s National Dish
32:27 Why Mowgli Finally Launched Delivery
35:28 Temple Daal: Authentic Indian Home Food
41:40 Why Scale Doesn’t Kill Magic
43:18 Why She Backed Uber Eats in the North
44:46 Why Restaurant & Delivery Can Coexist
45:51 Restaurants Are Like Cinema for Your Tastebuds
59:45 Immigrant Parents, £2 in Their Pocket
01:00:50 Growing Up With Racism in 1960s Britain
01:27:00 Why She Refuses to Overbuild
01:30:48 The £35k vs £285k London Rent Decision
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