This week, James and Luke head to Southall for lunch at Saravanaa Bhavan, an international vegetarian Indian restaurant with branches in 27 countries across the world. They’re going there for lunch with Mukesh Gauthaman, whose ambitious project to reintroduce some of heirloom to his home village in Tamil Nadu and has brought him to the UK to study international business at Brunel. Saravanaa Bhavan offers both work and food from home.

**Introduction** (0:00 – 6:20)

(Starter)

James and Luke introduce Mukesh Gauthaman.

They also discuss how Southall acts as a region of projected homeland for South Asian diaspora.

**Interview** (6:21 – 15:49)

(Main Course)

James and Gauthaman discuss what foods they enjoy, Gauthaman ties this back to agriculture.

**Post interview discussion** (15:50 – 29:14)

(Dessert)

Dr Devanshi Chanchani shares her experiences and views of how Saravanaa Bhavan operates in India and how it has propelled authentic South Indian food into the mainstream.

James and Luke review this and discuss how restaurants like Saravanaa Bhavan showcase localised foods in a globalised way.

**Closing Remarks and acknowledgments** (29:15 – 29:50)

The Migration Menu has been brought to you by James Staples and Luke Heslop, with help from Tina Boulton, Esther Opoku Debra and Vimal Dalal. If you have any questions or comments for us, send them in and we will address them in a future show, you can get in touch at info@themigrationmenu.com. Or on ‘X’ - formerly Twitter: @migration_menu.

Restaurant location: Saravanaa Bhavan, 97 South Rd, Southall UB1 3AG

Menu dishes eaten:

Rasa Vada

White Rice

Hot Idly with Sambar and Chutneys

Business Meal- Limi

Menu: https://saravanabhavanlondon.co.uk/southall/

To see images for this episode, click here.

Literature mentioned:

Baumann, G. 1996. Contesting Culture: Discourses of Identity in Multi-ethnic London, Cambridge University Press

Nasser, N. 2004. Southall’s Kaleido-scape: A study in the changing morphology of a west London suburb, Built Environment, 30(1), 76-103

Srinivas, T. 2015. Everyday Exotic, Transnational Space, Identity and Contemporary Foodways in Bangalore City, Food, Culture & Society, 10(1), 85-107

For a list of academic literature on these topics and more, please see the list of extended bibliography on the references page or click here.

Guest speakers:

Mukesh Gauthaman

Devanshi Chanchani

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