Interviewee: Anju Gautam, Founder – Mann Marzi
A former teacher and homemaker, Anju Gautam enters the hospitality industry with her first restaurant, Mann Marzi, located in one of Dubai’s premium addresses. Her approach to food is shaped by years of preparing meals for her family, documenting flavours on her travels, and carrying forward the culinary traditions of her upbringing in Jalandhar. Mann Marzi reflects her personal experiences, cultural influences, and attention to detail, offering a menu built around memories, familiar dishes, and reimagined flavours. As a first-time restaurateur, Anju has translated her background, values, and passion for food into a restaurant that represents her journey and perspective.
How would you describe Mann Marzi to someone visiting for the first time?
Mann Marzi is a multisensory dining space. Guests step into an environment shaped by sight, sound, texture, aroma, and taste. Music shifts with the hour, the lighting changes subtly, and each dish is thoughtfully plated with purpose.
It is a calm, intimate setting designed to evoke curiosity and comfort, where the experience feels both familiar and elevated.
What part of your personal journey shows up most in the restaurant?
The duality of my life: the warmth of home and the curiosity of travel. As a homemaker, I learned the importance of care and comfort. As a traveller, I learned to value detail and the stories behind food.
This balance appears in the textures, the design, the flavours, and the service flow combining emotional depth with modern, global inspiration.
How do your roots in Jalandhar influence your approach to food?
Growing up in Jalandhar taught me that food is an act of love. Our kitchen moved at a slow, intentional pace with fresh spices each morning, dishes prepared without shortcuts, and meals served with devotion.
No matter how contemporary a dish appears at Mann Marzi, its emotional foundation comes from that upbringing: respect for ingredients, patience in preparation, and the belief that food should touch the heart.
What was the biggest challenge stepping into hospitality for the first time?
The main challenge was turning a deeply personal idea into a structured, operational reality. Hospitality demands consistency, timelines, training, and systems. Managing everything from design to menu engineering to staffing felt overwhelming at times.
But each challenge taught me to trust experts, communicate better, and balance intuition with discipline. Seeing the concept come to life has made the journey worthwhile.
How do you define good hospitality?
Good hospitality is making someone feel understood without them needing to ask. It is comfort delivered with ease, supported by an atmosphere that feels warm yet refined.
For me, hospitality is successful when a guest leaves with an emotional imprint; joy, nostalgia, or simple contentment. At Mann Marzi, we strive for hospitality that is both efficient and emotionally aware.
Which dish on the menu feels closest to your heart and why?
The Cardamom and Rose Luqaimat with Rasmalai Ice Cream is especially meaningful to me. It brings together Emirati flavours with Indian emotion, reflecting Mann Marzi’s essence: where cultures meet naturally.
The cardamom reminds me of home, the rose brings nostalgia, and the Rasmalai ice cream adds a playful yet familiar Indian touch.
How do travel and culture influence your creativity in the kitchen?
Travel has shaped my understanding of food as a universal language. Each culture expresses itself through its flavours, rituals, and cooking styles. Whether in Bangkok, Tuscany, or small cafés across the world, I learned from how people connect through food.
At Mann Marzi, these influences appear subtly; in a spice, a technique, or a memory, never as forced fusion but as natural, meaningful references.
What do you hope guests feel when they dine at Mann Marzi?
I hope they feel something; nostalgia, comfort, curiosity, or quiet happiness. My intention is for guests to slow down and experience the space fully through its music, aroma, flavours, and pacing.
When a dish sparks a memory or reminds someone of a person or moment, I feel that the purpose of Mann Marzi has been fulfilled.
What’s next for you and Mann Marzi?
This is only the beginning. Mann Marzi will continue to evolve with new ideas, collaborations, and creative experiences across food, art, music, and design.
We are open to future locations, but each will be unique and shaped by its surroundings. My hope is to continue learning and creating, sharing stories through flavour as the journey unfolds.
