Meet us

Experience, not guesswork.

Culinary, hospitality, kitchen systems, and growth — one circle around the table for founders building food businesses that last.

Culinary & Consulting

Puja

Puja studied at the Culinary Institute of America, Cornell University, and the University of Buckingham. Over the last 15 years, she has worked with large hospitality groups, independent brands, and, for the last six years, has consulted across the food and beverage industry.

She currently works full-time as a consultant with ongoing retainer clients. She also collaborates on curated food drops and pop-ups with other chefs, hosts supper clubs, and writes on food and culture for publications including Goya Journal, Scroll.in, etc.

Alongside consulting, she is currently building a condiment brand called Nomad Pantry.

When she’s not in a kitchen or on a client call, she’s usually writing — or hosting another table.

LinkedIn Writing on Goya Scroll.in

Hospitality Strategy & Launch

Armaan

Armaan believes restaurants are built long before they are opened.

Over the last decade, he has worked across bars, restaurants and hospitality brands — helping shape concepts, launch venues and build the operational foundations that allow businesses to grow beyond opening day.

At Hearth & Kin, he works with first-time hospitality founders to bring clarity to one of the most complex businesses to build. His work spans concept development, beverage strategy, operations, training and launch planning, always with one belief at the centre: great hospitality businesses are built through better decisions, not bigger budgets.

When he’s not opening a room, he’s usually tasting his way through someone else’s.

Beverage & Bar Programs

Anand

Anand is a mixologist and beverage professional with hands-on experience building and running bar programs across restaurants, bars and private experiences.

His work spans cocktail and beverage menu development, bar setup, costing, SOPs, vendor sourcing and team training, with a focus on creating programs that are as practical behind the bar as they are compelling across it.

At Hearth & Kin, Anand works with founders to translate a beverage idea into a bar that can actually operate, from the first drink on paper to the first pour on opening night.

When he’s not behind a bar, he’s usually chasing an obscure bottle or a better glass.

Kitchen Consulting

Siddarth

Siddarth is a hotel management graduate from Christ University, with hands-on experience across JW Marriott, The Leela Palace Bengaluru, Four Seasons Bengaluru, and a range of independent restaurants and pop-ups.

Today, he works as a kitchen consultant, helping food businesses turn ideas into kitchens that actually work — from concept development and menu planning to kitchen design, systems, SOPs, and day-to-day operations.

He likes good food, functional kitchens, and solving problems before they become expensive ones. When he’s not in a kitchen, he’s usually running very long distances.

Growth & Tech

Rakesh

Rakesh brings a decade of experience building and scaling ventures across tech, data, and digital growth. He leads go-to-market strategy, and previously held the same role (plus CISO) at BeGig, a SaaS-enabled freelancer marketplace backed by Tech Mahindra.

His path into tech and product started early — a postgraduate degree in Data Science from IIT Guwahati, followed by a stint as a Risk Analyst at Amazon, where he worked with cross-functional teams across Japan, Egypt, the US, and India on data-driven investigations and process improvement. He later co-founded Tribe X 47, a creator-commerce platform that generated over $1M in sales for 200+ creators before its acquisition.

As a Growth Consultant, Rakesh has worked hands-on with 15+ early-stage startups across edtech, agritech, D2C, SaaS, wellness, and events — helping them figure out GTM, sharpen their digital presence, and build the technical and marketing infrastructure to scale.

He now works with select clients on website builds, tech strategy, and growth systems — bringing the same data-first, no-fluff approach that’s taken his own ventures from zero to scale.

When he’s not building systems, he’s usually deep in a product rabbit hole — or on a long walk figuring out the next one.