AD Singh (restaurateur)

AD Singh is an Indian entrepreneur, the founder and Managing Director of the Olive Group of Restaurants.[1][2][3][4]

AD Singh
Born1960
NationalityIndian
OccupationRestaurateur
Websitewww.olivebarandkitchen.com

Early years

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Born in Delhi in 1960, Singh moved to Mumbai at a young age and attended Cathedral and John Connon School.[5] Soon after college, a scholarship at Lafayette took him to Pennsylvania to earn a degree that got him into the blue-chip companies TCS and Cadbury’s on his return to India.

Singh also worked with various NGOs, and wrote a weekly food column for The Metropolis - a part of The Times Group – in the 1990s. In 1988, he set up his first F&B venture, a boat party planning service called Party Lines.

Career

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Singh made his restaurant business debut in 1990 with Just Desserts, a jazz café that served only coffee and desserts.[6] He launched Olive at Union Park, Bandra in the year 2000.[7]

In 2003, Singh opened Olive Bar and Kitchen in New Delhi,[8] which was announced as one of the ‘Best new restaurants in the world’ by Condé Nast Traveler. Olive won numerous awards and accolades across Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Goa, Kolkata, and Hyderabad. – where, in 2005, Singh opened Olive Beach.[9][10][11]

Singh has launched 15 restaurant brands throughout the country.[12][13] He is credited with many ‘firsts’ in the Indian restaurant scene. Apart from India's first truly standalone restaurant Olive in Mumbai, AD has also opened India's first cocktail bar serving cocktails made with Indian ingredients - Ek Bar, and Guppy - one of India’s first Japanese restaurants. India’s first gastropub - Monkey Bar,[14][15][16] SodaBottleOpenerWala- to revive the dying legacy of a Bombay Irani café.[17][18][19]

Charity

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Singh runs a group wide initiative called ‘Kitchens Against Hunger’. Wherein Rs. 10 is added to every bill as a voluntary contribution towards alleviating hunger in children in India. Olive matches the amount to double the contribution which goes towards the cause.

Awards

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  • Delwine Excellence Awards Hall of Fame 2019[20]
  • Top Chef lifetime achievement - Restaurateur of the Year, 2016[21]
  • Eazy Diner Lifetime Achievement of the Year 2019[22]
  • DSSC announced AD Singh as The Power Packer in 2017[23]
  • The Icon of Indian Restaurant Industry Award - Big F Awards 2018[24]
  • The Lifetime Achievement award at the INCA awards 2017 [25]
  • Certificate of Appreciation for exemplary contribution in the field of Food & Travel by Times Power Icons, 2018
  • Awarded Hall of Fame at the Food Food awards, 2018[26]

Personal life

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Singh is married to Sabina Singh who is the Design Director of Olive Group of Restaurants, with two children Zoe Tara Singh and Zen Singh residing in Mumbai.

References

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  1. ^ Tarafdar, Suman. "AD Singh: The man who changed the way India eats out". thepunchmagazine.com. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  2. ^ "Restaurant Man: AD Singh talks about 25 years in the industry, plans to expand overseas". Hindustan Times. 2015-11-19. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  3. ^ "Restaurateur AD Singh shares his trade secrets". 2015-10-07. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  4. ^ IANS (2016-03-18). "Huge boom in regional Indian restaurants, bars: Restaurateur A.D. Singh". Business Standard India. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  5. ^ "AD SINGH – NRAI". Retrieved 2019-10-28.
  6. ^ Kohli, Diya (2017-07-07). "A.D. Singh: Sangria, sushi and all that jazz". www.livemint.com. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  7. ^ "Why Is AD Singh Dabbling in the Affordable Dining Space?". SmartCEO. 2017-04-10. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  8. ^ "As Delhi's Olive Bar & Kitchen turns 15, AD Singh does a throwback for us". Lifestyle Asia. 2018-11-26. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  9. ^ "Interview: Restaurateur Debonair - A D Singh of Olive Restaurants". delhiwineclub.com. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  10. ^ Alves, Glynda (2016-01-25). "Olive Bar & Kitchen turns 15, owner AD Singh relives some memorable moments". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  11. ^ Parakala, Vangmayi (2019-08-26). "Three Delhi restaurants are marking milestone years in 2019". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  12. ^ Chengappa, Sangeetha. "Olive Bar and Kitchen aims to open 65 restaurants in next five years". @businessline. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  13. ^ Agarwal, Sapna (2016-07-30). "The market for fine dining is very limited: A.D. Singh". www.livemint.com. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  14. ^ Chengappa, Sangeetha. "Olive Bar and Kitchen aims to open 65 restaurants in next five years". @businessline. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  15. ^ "Restaurateur AD Singh cooking up a storm by investing in new concepts and mentoring young chefs". The Economic Times. 2013-12-01. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  16. ^ Kuriakose, Simi (2015-08-02). "What's cooking for India's restaurant man? : The AD Singh profile". DNA India. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  17. ^ IANS (2019-06-16). "SodaBottleOpenerWala brings out comic book on Mumbai's dabbawalas". Business Standard India. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  18. ^ "SodaBottleOpenerWala Appointed Chef Irfan Pabaney as Country Head". BW Hotelier. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  19. ^ "Navroz Is A Month-Long Affair At SodaBottleOpenerWala". Outlook (Indian magazine). Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  20. ^ "Rajeev Samant and AD Singh inducted into delWine Excellence Awards Hall of Fame". www.indianwineacademy.com. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  21. ^ Wasan, Gaurav (6 September 2016). "This year's big winners at Top Chef Awards, New Delhi". indiatoday.in/.
  22. ^ "Vir's Choice Awards Delhi NCR". www.eazydiner.com. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  23. ^ "DSSC | Power Packers 2017". DSSC | Power Packers 2017. Archived from the original on 2019-10-22. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  24. ^ "It keeps getting bigger and better with each passing year". merinews.com/.
  25. ^ NRAI, Team. "India Nightlife Convention and Awards concludes its third edition – NRAI". Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  26. ^ Vishal, Anoothi (2018-10-26). "Who is the winner at food awards?". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2019-10-22.