Restaurateur of the Year - Group Sponsored by St Ewe Eggs THE SHORTLIST
Marcello Distefano San Carlo
Restaurant Group
Thom and James Elliot
Pizza Pilgrims Nisha Katona
Mowgli Street Food
Jyotin, Karam and Sunaina Sethi JKS Restaurants
THE JUDGES Iain Donald Iain Donald
Restaurant Consultant John Nugent
Green & Fortune
Robin Rowland TriSpan
Mark Selby Wahaca
After 20 years as a child protection barrister, Nisha Katona opened Mowgli’s first Liverpool restaurant in 2014 to share her love of the light and flavoursome Indian cuisine that had been part of her family for generations. Launched at the height of the ‘dirty’ burger
craze, Mowgli’s predominantly vegan menu features both authentic dishes and newer creations, such as a take on a chip butty and gunpowder chicken, inspired by Katona’s daughter’s love of KFC. The success of the business attracted inves-
tors and, at the start of 2023, TriSpan’s Rising Stars restaurant fund took a stake in Mowgli, which then had 15 sites, with Katona retaining a significant interest. Mowgli has opened over five new restau-
rants in the past year and now has 21 sites around the UK. Throughout the growth of the business Katona has remained hands-on in all areas, including personally training chefs and maintaining total control of the group’s social media output. Her vision for Mowgli is for it to enrich the
cities it goes to, starting with its teams. The group’s motto is for staff to display ‘grace, intelligence and graft’, and there is a focus on turning jobs into long-lasting careers. Employees are supported with bespoke leader- ship and development programmes, appren- ticeships and external coaching. The group’s pay and benefits package is designed around creating a healthy work- life balance, including offering time off over the festive season and New Year’s Day. A great source of pride for the business is that the annual staff turnover is less than 50%, proving that teams are happy to stay. Mowgli believes in developing a grounded perspective by appreciating the lives of others
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WINNER Nisha Katona, Mowgli Street Food “An amazing business led
2024
by pure passion” Iain Donald
across the globe, and by working with inter- national charity partners, it sends up to 40 employees a year to supported Indian commu- nities and takes part in regular charity events. As well as leading Mowgli, Katona has
stood out as a passionate advocate for the hospitality industry and received an MBE for services to the food industry in the 2019 New Years’ Honours. In 2021 she was appointed to the government’s hospitality council and
in the same year she became a judge on Great British Menu. This was a highly competitive category that
one of our judges said was “the best cohort of nominees in recent years”. As another judge said: “I have no doubt Mowgli will go on to even bigger and better things.”
WHAT THE JUDGES SAID “An amazing business led by pure passion.” Iain Donald
“Food passion, elevating great teams and a strong growth trajectory made this entry a great winner.” John Nugent
“Nisha has built an incredibly respected brand and concept which has succeeded throughout the UK and has a huge and diverse following. Her eye for detail in design and consumer desire around menu innovation is so impressive.” Mark Selby
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