Curry chefs branch out with a world buffet extravaganza

Mr Gill, who prefers to be known by the Cook nickname given to him as a young chef, credits two formidable mentors with having a lasting impression on his career.

First there was Balbir Sumal, Glasgow's original "curry king" for whom he left school to work for aged 16.

Then came big brother Charan, the man who built the Harlequin Restaurant Group and inherited Balbir's crown.

Mr Gill, the youngest of five brothers - he also has a sister - relished the chance to learn from both.

In 20 years with Harlequin he progressed from leading the kitchens in the Ashoka restaurants which his brother was busily stockpiling to taking more prominent, front-of-house roles.

Speaking as his chefs prepared for a weekday lunch in Cook & Indi's Sauchiehall Street restaurant, Mr Gill, who is 10 years younger than Charan, recalled how his brother had encouraged him to develop his career.

He said: "I actually got fed up working in the kitchens and just wanted a change. That is why he [Charan] said to me: why don't you come front of house?

"I had never done waiting before, but I am a very quick learner and quick at picking up things.

"Obviously working with Charan, who was a very shrewd business man in those days, and part of the family [was helpful]... he was driving me in those days. I was young, I was very keen to learn."

Mr Gill would ultimately work in many of Harlequin's outlets, from Ashoka restaurants in Johnstone in Glasgow's Ashton Lane to Ashoka Shaks in Linwood, Coatbridge, Dundee and Livingston, before rising to take on a more general, area manager role.

He remained with the company for several years after Charan sold the group to Sanjay Majhu for £8 million in 2005, most recently assuming the position of franchise director.

In that role he was responsible for four Ashoka Shaks, as well as the Ashoka Johnstone, which he had bought independently in 2003 before Harlequin was sold.

But in 2010 he decided it was time for a change. With no fixed plans in mind, he had a vague notion of keeping the Johnstone restaurant going and moving into semi-retirement.

A chance meeting with Indi Singh changed all that.

A long-standing friend of 18 years, whom he had to got to know through the trade, Indi said he was trialling a new "multi-cuisine" concept at his father's restaurant in Uddingston, and invited Mr Gill to take a look.

Mr Gill recalled: "I met him that night, basically. I went to his restaurant in Uddingston and I thought, yes, great idea, great concept, I think it can go to the next level."

So convinced was Mr Gill of its potential that within 24 hours he had gone into business with Indi, and their first premises, in Hamilton, was located very quickly thereafter.

The pair played a hands-on role in the site's refurbishment, getting their hands dirty alongside the joiners and electricians. They also did their homework, researching other buffet concepts south of the border, and tweaked Indi's Uddingston blueprint by introducing different dishes and the new kinds of catering equipment.

Within two months they were ready, and Cook & Indi's first World Buffet opened in June 2011.

Mr Gill said its impact was immediate: the locals lapped up the offer and he relished getting back to what he does best.

He said: "It was good for me because I was back. It was many years since I had been basically stuck in my own restaurant, and I was there full-time for about two months, between Indi and I doing shifts. We worked in the branch hands on to make it work.

"We were concentrating on Indian food, which we knew about anyway, but we had the challenge of doing Chinese, sushi, pizza, pastas and dessert counters.

"It was a big challenge trying to get the staffing right and different chefs for the kitchens, but it was a great experience and it worked really well."

Since then the operators have wasted no time in building the chain. After Hamilton came Sauchiehall Street - in the site Charan once traded as Slumdog - then Darnley (formerly Ashoka at the Mill), Bishopbriggs and Johnstone, which had been an Ashoka restaurant since 1989.

In spite of his longevity as an Indian restaurant, Mr Gill had no qualms about relaunching the Johnstone venue, and was vindicated after seeing turnover double within its first four weeks of trading.

He applied the same logic to the 300-seater Ashoka at the Mill. It came on board in April this year after being acquired by Harlequin, and features an extended dessert counter, carvery and a special kids menu.

The formula was then rolled out in Bishopbriggs, where the duo installed a 350-capacity World Buffet in a building formerly occupied by the Briggs bar, Timeout restaurant and function suite.

Each restaurant operates a fixed price menu, ranging from £6.99 for lunch through to £9.99 in the evenings and £13.99 on weekends, where diners are invited to "eat as much as they want".

Mr Gill said the model of combining culinary choice with keen prices allows the restaurants to attract a broad customer base. He explained: "Kids love it. We get loads of families coming in, we get the pensioners, tourists and students coming in and big parties.

"We cater for everybody."

Each of the restaurants follow a design and layout specified by Mr Gill himself, who retains the same team of trades people who worked on the refurbishment of the Hamilton restaurant.

Today Cook & Indi's World Buffet directly employs 130 staff, many who used to work for Harlequin. With a commitment to changing its menus every 10 days, and at least one new dish being introduced each month, chefs want to work for the group because of the culinary challenge it involves.

To date, the company has funded the expansion through its own resources, and Mr Gill has no plans to change that. He explained: "They [the bank] have been very good to me. I don't want funding, to be honest with you, our business is very strong. Our restaurants are very strong - one funds the other.

"Every penny we are making just now is going back into making new chains [outlets]. And I think we are in a very strong position from where we were two years ago."

The entrepreneur admits the rapid growth of the business has been "frightening" at times, but is no mood to put on the brakes just yet. Prospective sites continue to be assessed, such as ones in Edinburgh, Dundee and Inverness.

However the thought of expanding south of the Border has been ruled out.

Mr Gill, who praises the role played by the group's staff in its development, said: "The vision is to take it to double figures by next year. We will own six this year, four should be achievable next year, but who knows.

"We are I think the only restaurant chain doing multi-cuisine in Scotland. We want to retain it, we want to make it bigger and stronger.

"We are going to have competition out there coming up, I think very, very soon. There will be people maybe trying to join the bandwagon, but we want to be a step ahead of them."