Last week, a motley gang of Dishoom-wallas found themselves at a glitzy awards do in Battersea, feeling a bit like Peter Sellers at The Party with our slightly-too-tight tuxedos, five’o’clock shadows and squeaky shoes.
The reason we were there was to find out where we had placed in the Times Top 100 Best Companies 2017.
And we were completely bowled over to make our way into the list (for the very first time!) at number 36 – making us the 36th best employer in the whole of the UK, and the second-highest new entry in hospitality. (Many claps, cheers and a misty-eyed toast ensued.)
This achievement both delights and humbles us. It’s a badge of honour and a massive, huge – perhaps the biggest ever – source of pride for every single one of us at Dishoom (along with feeding millions of kids every year).
It’s a testament to the hard work of our team, whose big hearts and first-class skills and talents make Dishoom the special, if slightly barmy place it is. There’s no better bunch of people anywhere. Thank you – to each and every one of you.
We’ve been working harder than ever on building our culture – what it means to be part of Dishoom – and figuring out how we can best look after the 600-odd people who are in our care. And while we’re by no means perfect, we are determined that Dishoom should be an absolutely awesome place to work. A place where the jobs are fun, rewarding and stable. Where careers can take you far. Where we have the best training, the best pay, the best benefits. Where opportunities to grow and progress are absolutely there for the taking. A place where smart, big-hearted, motivated people can truly flourish.
This will be a major focus for us all this year, and every year that follows. So – delighted as we are to have made it into the list – we’re really only getting started.
If you want to know what our team think about working here, watch this clip:
If all this sounds like something you could get on board with, check out our Careers site to find out more.
With each new café that we open, we write a story deeply rooted in Bombay history or culture. This story, known to us as the founding myth, informs all aspects of the restaurant’s design. We spend months researching the Bombay of the period and combing the city for the right furniture, both vintage and new. In a way, you walk across our thresholds into our stories.
Bedecked in their annual finery of baubles, tinsel and lights, our cafés are ready to receive you for your Christmas celebration. So too are our chefs, who have assembled a most excellent array of festive fare for your table.
Our soft launch will run from 27th November to 2.30pm on 5th December. And to express our gratitude for being among our first guests, all food can be enjoyed at 50% off across breakfast, lunch and dinner – yes, really.
Stop by any Bombay tapri (street stall), café, or home, and you will likely find yourself with a gently steaming glass of chai in hand. Before the invention of chai, Bombayites drank kadha, an ayurvedic remedy for coughs and colds made of boiled water and spices like cardamom, cloves and nutmeg. Eventually locals started adding tea leaves, milk, honey and sugar to their ‘kadha’. Chai was born.