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The thoroughbred horses near the winning post at Mahalaxmi accelerate in a burst of great speed, and then slow down as they go past a largish Swiss chalet-like structure with huge French windows which houses an iconic restaurant of Bombay, appropriately named Gallops.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more than 33 years, Gallops has titillated the palates of generations of Bombayites including the master artist M. F. Hussain, walking in barefoot, to soak in the ambience for the many horses he drew; the god of Indian cricket, Sachin Tendulkar, dipping home-baked pao (bread) in the rich gravy of nalli nihaari (tender baby lamb on the bone), a signature dish; and actor Sanjay Dutt who, during his many travails in court, came almost daily to eat his favorite chicken a la Kiev, an almost forgotten delicacy, where chicken breast is stuffed with herbed butter, coated with eggs, and then gently fried.
The life force behind Gallops is the diminutive Jasmine Patel; her pretty face concealing a shrewd restaurateur mind. While her business partners including her son Mikhail are catering college graduates, Jasmine has had no formal training in the culinary arts. (Her daughter Michelle is not part of the Gallops business.) Daughter of late Paeterasp Patel, the uncrowned king of Khareghat Colony, and sister of Khushru Patel, one of India’s most celebrated printers, Jasmine and Gallops have been inseparable for over three decades.
The idea of starting an eatery at the racecourse arose over coffee with two friends, Bobby Singh and Rahul Malik. With great persistence, in 1986, Jasmine managed to convince the then satraps of the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) to grant them the contract, even though none of them had ever run a restaurant. She fell in love with Gallops and with Singh almost at the same time and married both.
The stable like interior of Gallops, designed by a Parsi architect on the lines of an English pub, merges unobtrusively with the greens of the turf. Everything about this restaurant is large and spacious, from the furniture to the food portions. Even in the worst of times, Jasmine finds it repulsive to economize, says Malik. However good is the quality of the food, Malik is never satisfied, counters Jasmine. Her eye for detail and his nose for food have created the brand equity of Gallops.
However, the eatery has survived the toughest decade of its existence to emerge unscathed. A long and acrimonious litigation with the RWITC even resulted in a brief closure for 10 days. Just a few weeks ago, the members of the RWITC overwhelmingly voted to approve the comprehensive settlement reached between the Club and Gallops. Jasmine was not the only one to heave a sigh of relief. Most members of the RWITC were aghast at the thought of no longer enjoying the melting dori kababs (where the mince is held together with a string) and the distinctive yakhni pulao (rice simmered overnight with yogurt and tender mutton stock). Both have to thank Justice Gautam Patel of the Bombay High Court, who sat late to hammer out a difficult settlement. A gain of Rs 48 crores to the Club and business as usual for Gallops, with all restrictions on parking, mobile phones and entry finally removed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The day starts early at Gallops since work, as training of horses is called in racing parlance, begins before sunrise. Exhausted jockeys, trainers, owners and punters, along with morning walkers, gorge on crispy omelettes, melba toast and fresh pudina (mint) and lemon grass infused tea. Non-members envy the hefty 20% discount which RWITC members enjoy at Gallops. (Even premium alcohol like single malt is discounted at 15%!) Of course, the members constitute a very small proportion of Gallops’ customers. And now that peace has finally returned, the committee members and stewards (like this writer) can salivate, without feeling guilty, over those divine egg sandwiches of marble bread that Jasmine has supplied for decades.
Unlike the many Parsi battleaxes of the fairer kind we have dealt with during the 40 years of our legal practice, Jasmine is soft-spoken and dislikes anyone who wears a black gown because of her legal battles (with a few notable exceptions, of course). A people’s person to whom all her servers, cooks, cleaners and staff is family, as evidenced by the low rate of attrition at the restaurant, Jasmine often cannot believe that circumstances compelled Gallops to wage this long legal battle. The good news is that this has not made her bitter and cynical. Being a strong believer in the power of prayers has perhaps helped. Parsi diners receive a booklet, sponsored by her, containing the Behram Yazd Mushkil Aasan prayer. Ganesha is installed every year and given a fond farewell with almost every employee joining the procession to immerse the Lord. Although Jasmine is a devout, daily praying Zoroastrian, she finds nothing inconsistent in worshipping Shirdi Saibaba or at the Ajmer Dargah and the Banglasahib Gurudwara in Delhi.
In Paris, there is a celebrated Italian restaurant called Le Grand Venis (LGV) serving exquisite food. Its proprietor Marina Piprel, a lady in her early 70s, notes down every order from its 36 tables, continuously monitors the service, personally replaces an item not to the customer’s liking; is present every evening from 6:30 to 11:00 p.m. and personally purchases fresh ingredients from the market every morning. The lady’s 102-year-old mother, who expired recently, had done the same. Jasmine tells us this story and aspires to be like her role model. Mikhail too oversees service. Unlike LGV, which is closed on Sundays and Mondays, Gallops is open every day of the week.

 

 

 

 

Despite a complicated hip surgery, Jasmine works for 12 hours, six days of the week, and retires at 1 a.m. only after reading the daily sales figure WhatsApped to her. She has inherited her father’s flair for numbers and a near photographic memory for the cost and sale price of every dish on the menu (comprising several pages, unlike the trendy avant garde restaurants having a two-page one). While her longtime business partner Malik and his son Yajush conjure up items like the Jalebi cheesecake, rated by Buzzfeed International as one of the five must-eat desserts in India, every new idea is subject to Jasmine’s veto. She does not give a green signal easily until she is convinced that a new product will be accepted by the patrons, a recent example being the English high tea, complete with individual tea Charlies (tiered stands) laden with scones, cookies, pastries and bread, all baked in the restaurant itself. Ladies of leisure, sauntering in late for lunch, polish off the unlimited goodies at the high tea, in a brazen display of gourmandizing.
Jasmine’s single-minded mantra (secret) for the success of Gallops is consistency. Patrons wholeheartedly agree. The egg vindaloo tastes exactly the same as it did 20 years ago. Taste buds and neural networks collectively provide instant recall. That is perhaps the unique selling point of this restaurant. To celebrate the end of legal disputes, she has organized a Parsi food festival during the 10 days of the coming muktad and up to Khordad Saal, with emphasis on authenticity. Temporarily hired Parsi chefs from Udvada and Navsari will serve topli-na-paneer (burrato-like delicate cottage cheese in salted whey), sooran (yam as mock meat)-na-kabab, fresh boi (mullet) from Udvada, crispy boomlas (Bombay Duck) with rice chappatis, Bharuchi akoori  as a topping on home baked khaari (salted, puffed) biscuit and doodh-na-puff (sweetened creamy whipped milk froth, left overnight to cool in the morning dew).
Inertia is the biggest enemy of a restaurant, says Jasmine. However established your delicacies are, resting on laurels can invite trouble. The kitchen must be galvanized at all times. The chefs, big and small, love to innovate and like being goaded to deliver more. The lady entrepreneur’s persistence during great adversity and emotional upheaval deserves to be emulated by our youngsters. There is a lot of sweat, grime and heartache behind that prawn thermidor.