The State of Kerala at the southwestern tip of India is among the most popular tourist destinations in the world and is famous for its beautiful coastal scenery and delicious food.
The owners of the new Fusion Authentic Indian Cuisine restaurant on Gordon Street can’t bring the tropical climate of the Malabar Coast to Guelph but they can serve up some of the region’s most popular dishes such is dosa appam.
“It looks like a pancake but it is made with rice and coconut,” said owner Jobi Joseph. “We will be serving North Indian and South Indian food. We have different chefs - a chef for the north and a chef for the south.”
Their goal is to deliver authentic preparation and presentation to each item on the menu.
“We have paratha and the beef fry, which is the key dish in Kerala,” said restaurant manager George Joseph. “The northern Indians have their own specialty like the butter chicken, which is a really attractive thing. Everyone likes that. We have lots of naan and tandoori roti and we have tandoori chicken.”
One of the key elements for making authentic Indian food is using a traditional tandoori oven.
“We have a specialized tandoori chef,” said George. “We have two tandoori ovens and they are making the delicious food on there.”
Both George and Jobi grew up in Kerala where this food was a part of their daily diet.
“I studied electrical engineering in India,” said Jobi. “I was working in the Middle East but I couldn’t get citizenship there. They say you can only sign up for two to six year contracts and then you have to go back to India.”
He eventually landed a job as a quality control inspector with the Indian division of Hammond Power Solutions and in 2014 he moved to Canada with his wife Shini Jobi and their four children.
“We have three boys and one girl,” said Jobi. “My wife is working as a nurse at General Hospital. Canada is a good place. There are more opportunities and the lifestyle is better than in India.”
It was his wife’s uncle, Joseph Stephen, that convinced Jobi to partner with him and open the restaurant.
“This is the first time I owned a business but Joseph Stephen has two different businesses,” said Jobi. “He makes plantain and cassava chips in his factory Mr. John's Food Company in Etobicoke and he has Mr John’s Kerala Kitchen, a catering and takeout restaurant in Scarborough.”
George earned a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management in India then worked as a bartender at a number of five-star hotels in Kochi such as Le Meridien, Leela Palace and the Kochi Marriott Hotel.
“I came here and finished my post-grad education at Lambton College in Toronto,” he said. “I worked as a bartender in Toronto and my new challenging position is as the restaurant manager here.”
They have everything ready to go and are just waiting on contractors to finish work on the bar so they can officially open the doors.
“We planned for Dec. 1 but we weren’t finished the bar yet,” said Jobi. “So, probably Dec. 20 we will try again. It’s not a guarantee. Not everything is perfect.”