Vinod Patel

Ten years ago I moved to San Francisco, a city that's proud mother to many fusion food concepts. Searching for the right career, I found myself managing a hotel. I'd finally started earning good money, so I ate out everywhere! From pricey restaurants to pop-up roadside cafés. But the best experience? The fresh, creative street food. Speedy eats, always served to a high standard. Returning to England in 2010, I asked myself: `why can't London be a street food hotspot too? We have the people, we have the culture!' In 2011 I went to research new dishes in India and America. I cooked for 100 people in total, both at home and abroad. Exhausting, right? So when you try Chula, you can thank: dozens of my family and friends, a panel of industry insiders, my aunt's personal chef and the kitchen of a 5-star restaurant in Bangalore. That's a lot of thankyou cards, but they've all played their part along the way. After extracting this juicy feedback, I created the Chula menu. I believe it reflects my very picky, passionate nature! It's a signature of slow-cooked meats and bean curries, roasted tomato chutneys, a Gujarati yoghurt dip and crunchy salad. A balanced lunch that will give you energy. It's also a cleaner curry (meaning I use less fat and salt) than the norm. June 2011 saw the very first Chula Fused Foods stall arrive in London's Tachbrook Street Market (we've since expanded to a couple of others). Come visit! We're out here braving all weathers, serving hundreds of happy customers (some of whom sneak back for seconds). So far, so good. We're really glad that we took a chance on Chula.