Meet Sujit Rathore, the proud host of Nokha House, a charming homestay in the heart of Jaipur’s Bani Park area. In recent times, Sujit has launched his very own cafe and ventured into Pink City’s myriad culinary cityscape. Known to all as Nokha House by Firangi Deli, Sujit’s venture has won hearts right from the word go. The city’s various foodies cannot stop praising his spaghettis, pizzas, and indulgent cakes.
Eggplant parmigiana
Sujit Rathore.
Sit-out at Cafe Nokha.
Although we hail from the same batch of Mayo College and Mayo Girls’, it’s only now that I’ve chanced upon interacting with Sujit over his recent launch of Nokha House. Given our common communitarian heritage and boarding school nostalgia, I am able to better relate to Sujit’s entrepreneurial spirit than I would with a stranger. Thus without further due, Rajputana Collective is proud to reveal a brief conversation with one of Jaipur’s freshest culinary ushers.
Q. What was the idea behind Cafe Nokha?
A. My family has been in the hospitality industry for some time now, and I have learned a few things myself from some extraordinary people I have worked with, the idea was to put forward our own style, store and experience with food and services in our way.
Q. What is its USP?
A. We have put in our ideas into the décor, colours, sit-outs, garden, and lighting but I believe that the people who run a business are the key to a successful future, the USP I would say is our food—Italian, Mexican, and some other cuisines, prepared by our chefs in partner with Firangi Deli. So our deep dish pizza has become a popular choice as well as the soup menu is a treat to the senses, but out of all the cakes like the apple cinnamon cake and the baked cheesecake are something we are most proud of. The coffee that we have is for very serious coffee drinkers as we do our own blends, but the smoothie is a perfectly healthy and delicious choice for even those who choose to be vegan.
Q. How did you envision breaking into the already bustling Jaipur culinary scenario?
A. I personally like to eat out a lot, and I must say Jaipur has so much to offer. It is our humble effort to add our own colours of nourishment to the vibrant culinary delights of Pink City. If you like to eat chaat, then why not Tex Mex salad? If you’re a noodles person, then the good old spaghetti is for you too.
Q. What audience do you seek to target?
A. The world is getting smaller by the day, and people do like to travel so much more. For those who appreciate the ‘Firangi’ food or would like to explore it more, we humbly welcome them to try our food, also the vibe of our cafe is not something which one usually comes across, we try to keep things quiet and peaceful. If you want to sit beneath a tree with a book while sipping coffee or do yoga around the winter flowers, you too are our target audience.
Q. What are some of your cafe’s specialities?
A. Cold brew
Strawberry banana smoothie
Deep dish pizza
Goat cheese and garlic pizza
Good old spaghetti
Apple cinnamon cake
Q. What would you consider to be the most important factor in terms of running a successful food outlet?
A. The most important factor is guest satisfaction and fresh food. It’s a smaller menu but one that hits the spot.
Q. Any similar/ related plans in the pipeline?
A. I’d like to keep that as a surprise.
