Curry cooking classes on the menu as new Indian restaurant launches to complement spice import business

A new Indian restaurant will open in Hull this week and launch a first for the region with ingredients sourced direct from India and cookery tuition from award-winning chefs.

Mukesh Tirkoti and some of his team at the new Tapasya Spices and Kitchen in Holderness Road, Hull

Tapasya Spices & Kitchen has been fitted out to the standards set by Mukesh Tirkoti and his teams at two other Tapasya restaurants in Hull.

But the new venue is not connected to the previous ventures and has been set up as an independent project to showcase the products from Tapasya Spices, one of Mr Tirkoti’s other businesses.

He said: “We launched Tapasya Spices during 2020 to meet the rising demand from top chefs – and from ambitious amateurs who were tackling Covid-19 by cooking at home.

“Then I came up with the idea of opening a brand new restaurant which will enable lovers of Indian food to try the spices in dishes cooked by our expert chefs – and by the diners themselves.”

Tapasya Spices & Kitchen will open on Tuesday 8 June at the site of a former Indian restaurant in Holderness Road, Hull.

The Tapasya Spices & Kitchen building has been completely renovated and offers a main restaurant and a private dining room with more than 100 seats between them, plus a further 40 with the opening soon of outdoor seating.

The investment will create around 20 jobs initially with further recruitment planned as Covid restrictions are eased.

In addition to table service the restaurant will offer takeaways and deliveries and the kitchen can cater for large and small events off site. It will be available for hire for weddings and other functions and Mr Tirkoti is planning to present cookery demonstrations and classes.

A Tapasya Spices & Kitchen Pantry service will offers diners the opportunity to buy authentic ingredients as used by the restaurant’s chefs, and the dining experienced will also include authentic, home-made Halwai sweets.

Mukesh Tirkoti

Mr Tirkoti was a key member of the team which opened the first Tapasya restaurant in Beverley Road, Hull, in 2013. The company then opened a second destination, Tapasya@Marina, in 2016.

Mr Tirkoti Tapasya@Marina to success in the Remarkable East Yorkshire Tourism Awards (REYTAs) in 2019, before securing Michelin Plate recognition in the Michelin Guide for 2020.

He said: “Our commitment is to create authentic Indian cuisine from plant to plate. Tapasya Spices sources the essential ingredients from our networks in India, packages them to seal in the superb aromas and flavours and imports them to enhance the dishes which we know are perfect for the palates of diners all over the UK.  

“We are continuing to build a distribution network to make our spices, rice and pulses available to retailers and the hospitality industry across the UK and now we will also sell those products from our own restaurant, for people to enjoy on the premises or at home.

“We are redefining the dining experience by offering a restaurant service and a take away option, by hosting special events in our dining rooms and by catering for occasions of any scale in any location, indoor or outdoor. We will be announcing our first event very soon.

“We also offer the DIY option and you can sign off your meal in spectacular fashion with our show-stopping Halwai sweets!

“We are unique as a restaurant and because our kitchen is also the hub for Tapasya Spices product development we will be able to introduce new ideas all the time, with the most precise testing and tasting by our expert chefs.”

To find out more about the Tapasya Spices & Kitchen, please visit www.tapasyadine.co.uk

For details of introductory offers, visit @TapasyaDine on Facebook and @DineTapasya on Twitter.