Todiwala was the chef-patron at Mr Todiwala’s Kitchen, which opened in 2011 when the hotel was owned by Shiva Hotels. Shiva sold the hotel to an investment group in November 2022, marking the end of the partnership with the chef.
“Mr Todiwala’s Kitchen had a wonderful run at the Hilton but since the pandemic, it has not really re-opened properly. We have a great relationship with Rishi Sachdev, Trevor Lynn and Dominic Fitzgerald, and Pervin and I are truly grateful for the experience of working with them and Shiva to create a successful signature restaurant,” he says.
“We were able to serve hotel guests as well as customers who travelled to the Hilton because they knew Mr Todiwala’s Kitchen was there.
“Now it’s time for pastures new, and I have no doubt that this will not be the last food lovers will hear of Mr Todiwala’s Kitchen. In fact, this is an opportunity for us to look for a new home in other hotels across London.”
With the closure of Mr Todiwala’s Kitchen, the live cook-offs of Zest Quest Asia, the student competition that he and his wife Pervin founded in 2013 and which have been held at the restaurant since 2013, have moved to the London Geller School of Hospitality and Tourism in Ealing.
The Zest Quest Asia Gala Dinner and Awards Night has likewise transferred to the Radisson Hotel and Conference Centre London Heathrow where it will take place on 17 February 2023.
The Todiwalas will continue to run their flagship restaurant Café Spice Namasté, which in early 2021 moved from the site it had occupied on Prescot Street in east London since 1995. The restaurant is now located at the edge of Royal Albert Wharf in London’s Docklands.
