3 hours Ago By Riddhi Doshi
Ritu Dalmia is the grand dame of Italian haute cuisine in India. DIVA, opened at the tun of the 21st century. It was the first serious standalone Italian restaurant in Delhi and the place to be seen with a forkful of risotto and a sip of Negroni.
It made Dalmia, its gregarious short-haired chef, a household name in the right circles of urban India. She is rarely seen not smiling, or laughing. This time, she laughs, admitting “I am the biggest liar.
” A Delhi girl, she had claimed she would never open a Mumbai version. The truth is, since then she has three. The third, DIVA, recently opened its doors at Jio World Drive in BKC, Mumbai.
The first one was the Tasting Room at Good Earth, a Delhi-based home decor store in Lower Parel, in 2021. The second was Motodo, her flagship pizzeria at Jio World Drive, in 2022. Dalmia admits to a penchant for dissimulation—such as vowing never to write a book (she has written four) or do a TV show (Italian Khana).
“What can I do but hang my head in shame,” she jokes. “But with time, your thoughts, prospects, and processes change. Don’t hold me to what I say today, as it might be different tomorrow,” she adds.
The menu at DIVA is designed with shoppers in mind. It offers nutritious bowls and plates that can be enjoyed solo or shared with friends after or in between serious shopping. “I am serving all the food I would like to eat, regardless of its origin,” says Dalmia.
These include Asian bowls, Mac and Cheese, Rogan Josh, ghar ki (home-style) chicken curry, chola palak chawal, and more. “Times are changing. People are no longer concerned with a specific cuisine; they just want good food,” she elaborates.
Dalmia doesn’t plan or strategise her life or business. She operates on impulse. Growing up, she often travelled to Italy and fell in love with the cuisine and cooking.
At 21, she gave up her family’s marble business to become a chef, opening her first restaurant, Mezza Luna, in Delhi in 1993. She recalls a family offering her a job as a cook at a salary of `25,000 and a room to live in. “Back then, people thought of chefs as domestic help,” she says.
Mezza Luna, too ahead of its time, shut after about three years. Dalmia moved to London in 1996 and launched VIVA, an Indian fine dining restaurant. Despite the positive reception, she returned homesick to India in 2000 for another go.
In 2017, she opened Cittamani in Milan, offering food that blends Indian and Italian flavours. She partnered with Michelin-starred chef Viviana Varese for Spica and the now acclaimed VIVA, which earned a Michelin star before closing in 2024. Though Dalmia fell in love with food in Italy, there’s more to her than Italian cuisine.
This year, she launched Atrangi in Dubai, serving regional Indian cuisine. The pickled doodhi and smoked dahi take inspiration from the pachadi (raita) of Kerala, while the jholi samosa is designed after traditional jholi, a kadhi from Uttarakhand, but is served as kadhi samosa like the Marwadis do. “Indian food is like my mistress, and Italian food is my wife,” she says.
But what does she think of the “bastardised” Italian food available almost everywhere in cities and small towns “I love it,” she declares. She enjoys masala pasta and tadka pasta, even though she would never serve them herself. “I’m no longer a chef who gets offended or angry when people say, ‘Isme thoda masala daal do’ (add some masala to it).
The market is big enough to accommodate all kinds of diners and restaurants. I’m happy doing my craft and will never compromise on that.” The only time she is cutting corners is getting more downtime.
“My partner keeps telling me that at this rate, I’ll drop dead soon,” she says. Her downtime is with her four dogs, three cats, and reading. “My books and animals help me unwind.
It’s not enough, but someday, I’ll get more rest,” she says. For now, the diva is not resting on her laurels..
