Prior to cooking shows and reality television, the names and faces of restaurants were personalities like Elaine, Toots Shor and Jimmy Armstrong who owned the establishments and strictly worked in the “front of the house.”  Those legends have been replaced by screaming chefs whose sole mission is to make their staff cry in the kitchen while unknowing customers are sitting unattended at their tables in the front of the house.

Fortunately, Raju Mirchandani — a charming rogue famous for owning the legendary Bar & Books clubs — may be the last of a breed who clearly understands why his business is still referred to as part of the “hospitality” industry. 

Mirchandani came to the United States in 1979 and shortly thereafter became director of catering at the Westbury Hotel in Manhattan, where two of the young chefs were Terrance Brennan and Daniel Boulud, who like Mirchandani, went on to their own remarkably spectacular careers.  Like Boulud, Mirchandani has restaurants in Europe as well, with Bar & Books in Prague and Warsaw. 

Mirchandani’s empire grew not from a business plan or blueprint but “on the back of a napkin,” which is also the title of his book and a pretty good guide to entrepreneurship.  Rather than the standard self-help prattle, Mirchandani gives us a “how I did it” story in a convivial, conversational tone that’s informative and fun to read.    

“I usually write all of my ideas on the back of a napkin,” said Mirchandani at La Bateau Ivre, a restaurant he owns on the east side of Manhattan.  “One of my long-time customers suggested I record myself and I started doing so about two years ago.  Now I have a book.” 

Mirchandani’s book is square and about the size of a paperback novel, but considerably thinner, which makes it a great read.  Anecdotal and tangential, Mirchandani tells his story with humor and he describes what he does as “a pain in the ass but there’s no better job.  Every day is an adventure.”

In a world where entrepreneurs seldom build anything tangible, Mirchandani’s book is not only fun, but informative and inspiring.  For a kid who left India with only 100 dollars in his pocket, he’s done okay.