“Rang Punjab,” in Amritsar is the brainchild of Kiran and Gurpreet, that serves some of the most authentic food is Kiran’s ode to Punjab
The Voice of Chandigarh:
Kiran Dhillon had the privilege of growing up amidst honest food. She learnt early on that the finest cooking depends on the freshest ingredients – a lesson she got right in her backyard. Kiran’s culinary journey began at her father’s farm in a village in the Faridkot district. Her father, an agriculturist, taught Kiran invaluable lessons on cultivation, apiculture, poultry, dairy and fisheries and sustainable cuisine.
Kiran’s food philosophy centres around good ingredients and she considers Farmers as real heroes. As a child, seeing her father’s delight in growing vegetables, she knew that someday she would open her own farm stay and restaurant. “I grew up eating my mother’s delicacies cooked with ingredients from the farm,” she explains. “Everything is seasonal, and that’s how the eating configuration at home remains even today. Most vegetables are grown at our farm and are plucked as and when we need them. It can’t get fresher than that! So being an errand girl for mom those days came in handy at “Rang Punjab, her labour of love that runs on the same philosophy – finest and freshest ingredients for wholesome food.
Dhillon dabbled in various creative pursuits before returning to the farm. Armed with a degree in fashion from NIIT Mohali, Kiran spent a decade in the fashion and luxury industry acing aesthetics and designing.
The food lover in her found a coherence between fashion and food too. During her research trips to Europe and Asia, while studying the heritage of a place she also became curious about how the food was intertwined with the culture. So, while designing collections for brands like Zara, Mango, Hugo Boss and Calvin Klein, she was also journaling the food maps across the continents.
Keen to re-orient her skills, Kiran then did an MBA in luxury brand management from Paris and China. She came to Mumbai to join an agency that conducted fashion shows, fashion tours and IPL events. After this, Kiran shifted to Delhi where she used her corporate and management lessons to help a friend successfully launch a fitness Mobile app which was bought by a conglomerate.
Having lived across the world in some of the most bustling metropolises, Kiran’s heart still belonged to the simpleton honesty of Punjab, where she came to be with her parents and decided to give wings to her dreams.
Kiran combined her entrepreneurial edge with her love for F&B and along with her chef friend Gurpreet Gehdu brainstormed ways to transform locally harvested ingredients into culinary experiences. They experimented with local and global trends and combined the purity of their ancestral food.
Kiran is passionate about ensuring that the journey from plate to palate for each guest is a memorable one. “Biodiversity for me is key, it must be showcased and celebrated,” says Kiran.
“Rang Punjab,” in Amritsar is the brainchild of Kiran and Gurpreet, that serves some of the most authentic food is Kiran’s ode to Punjab.
Drawing from her roots in rural Punjab, she recreated the by lanes of old Amritsar with their stained-glass panels and colour palettes. The team replicated the way shops were constructed, wooden almirahs were created and the products were displayed. The chajjas and wall brackets transport you to another era. The stained glass is so rare, it had to be commissioned from Firozabad in UP, and the brass chandeliers were custom-made by India’s top origami artist.
Rang Punjab Amritsar is the manifestation of many of Dhillon’s visions, a restaurant showcasing cuisine from across Punjab, with a sustainable farm-to-table model and interiors redolent with old world charm and nostalgia.
