Rachna Panjabi brings her passion for fine dining to her restaurants

Bringing world-class food to the city

Rachna Panjabi brings her passion for fine dining to her restaurants

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When Pune restaurateur Rachna Panjabi turned to work after a hiatus of ten years, which spanned her journey from a young girl to a wife and a mother of two, she did so with a vengeance. And the result was one of

Pune's classiest Italian fine dine restaurants.

Born and brought up in Pune, Rachna is a foodie to the core. And that's what led to the opening of her own restaurant CCasanova even though she has no professional training in the hospitality industry.

She has developed her brand to a level that won her a best food award recently. And that's not all. Contrary to reports which said that pub-goers were upset over a stench in the basement, CCasanova boasts of a hygiene award from the municipal corporation that speaks of the high standards of quality and sanitation at her restaurants.

A fashion designer by training and an ex-student of Wadia College, Rachna was married at an early age of 19 years to a well-known businessman, Rajesh Panjabi.

After a decade of marriage and rearing children (her son Rahil is 10, and daughter Karina is 11), Rachna was itching to get back to work, and an unused business block owned by her father presented an opportunity.

"When I was told there is an empty office complex that I could use, I immediately latched on to the idea of opening a restaurant. At that time Pune didn't have many fine dining restaurants. I was especially disappointed as I had travelled the world and couldn't find a decent world food place here," said Panjabi.

Intense research and trials later, up came CCasanova in 2006.

"We had our ham coming in from Spain, our salmon is Norwegian, the Chevres cheese comes from France. Our ingredients come by air every alternate day. The idea kicked off great because we didn't just have foreign dishes, we have authentic foreign food," claimed Panjabi.

The venture took off. Within the year the restaurant soon became a popular hangout, especially for foreigners.

And Rachna was restless once more. So she added another feather to her capu00a0-- Shikharra, her Kashmiri and north Indian food speciality. Cafe Zaatar, with it's authentic Arabic food, and The Bakery Shop followed.

"Thanks to our offers, we have moved from the image of being an elite-only venture. We now see a steady stream of office-goers and college students," added Panjabi.

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels