“It used to piss me off so much when I was living in France, people coming up to me and yelling “Colombian! Cocaina!!” Like most Colombians I know, Chef Pablo Naranjo Agular, the head chef of Le15 Café in Colaba, is not all too pleased with how the world has compartmentalized Colombians. This is no thanks of course to the phenomenal success of U.S. TV shows like Entourage and Narcos that have lionized nefarious Colombian drug lord, Pablo Escobar.
Chef Pablo isn’t just Colombian however; he’s a citizen of the world. And despite that term being used with reckless abandon on social media these days, in Pablo’s case, he’s the real deal. Brought up in Bogota with a Colombian father and a Hungarian mother, Pablo then spent ten years studying and working in Paris after which his friend/classmate at the Cordon Bleu, Pooja Dhingra, persuaded him to help extend her successful Ladurée-esque patisserie in Bombay, Le15, to a full-fledged restaurant.
The results proved very successful.
Indeed, if there was one hotspot in Bombay that saturated my social media this past year, it was Café Le15. Everyone from Bollywood stars to social media influencers to my own Bombay friends raved about it and its chef Pablo, whom they’re completely smitten with.
I can understand why. Pablo’s a tall, good-looking man with an insatiable joie de vivre that one can see in the twinkle of his eyes. He’s also visibly confident and passionate but in a way that never comes across as cocky.
As for the café itself, I loved it from the moment I stepped foot in it; from its quaint set-up to its emphasis on natural lighting to its subtly sexy color palette, “we were actually inspired by Monica Bellucci when we designed the interior. We wanted something refined, tempting but also fun at the same time.” said Pablo.
Irréversible, which Bellucci stars in, happens to be one of my favorite films of all time so I was pleasantly surprised to hear that I was sitting in a cafe inspired by her enigmatic, sexy-as-fuck Je Ne Sais Quoi. “She is more beautiful in person than she is on-screen. She and Vincent Cassel (her then husband) actually came to the restaurant I was working in in Paris and you can automatically feel the tension between them.”
I wanted more details of that incredible story (Cassel’s La Haine is another personal favorite) but knowing that we were pressed for time – it was brunch hour on a Saturday- and that I have a habit of going off on tangents, I had to remind myself that I was there to ask Pablo specific questions, namely about his move to India and how his Indian customers differ from the customers he served in Paris.
“Moving to India was of course difficult at first but I love it now. I learnt early on that Indians have their own understanding of food. It’s a strong, spiritual connection. When I first started creating the menu I was stubborn, very stubborn, I told myself that I wasn’t going to buy one single chili pepper but then customers kept complaining and eventually I gave in. I slowly started to create dishes that not only they enjoy but that I also enjoy making and that I’m proud of! Sometimes the eggless versions turn out tasting better than the original recipes.”
“If there was one hotspot in Bombay that saturated my social media feed in 2017, it was Café Le15. Everyone from Bollywood stars to influencers to my own Bombay friends raved about it and its chef Pablo, whom they’re completely smitten with.”
He turned his head to show me the cool looking tattoo of a chili pepper on his neck. “This is my way of owning it!”
Looking around Le15 though, it was surprising to me that his seemingly well-traveled, high society clientele would complain about their French food not being Indian enough.“I’m not kidding man, one customer wanted chili peppers in her dish so bad, she sent out her driver to get some!”
Because the café is located in a tourist-heavy location, I asked Pablo if his non-Indian customers are as finicky about their food.”Not at all, a lot of them are backpackers who’ve been all over India and have gone weeks without eating anything other than Indian food. They come here and are just grateful to have something different for a change.”
Pablo at a party with Imran Khan and Ranbir Kapoor
The locals who have no qualms with the way the food is, as it turns out, are the Bollywood stars who frequent Le15 like Sonam Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra, “Bollywood stars never act like divas when they come here. They’re not the least bit fussy about their food. They’ll eat whatever you put in front of them! Sonam (Kapoor) though loves the cupcakes especially and Parineeti (Chopra) always asks us for a bit of everything, she’s such a foodie!”
When I pressed him to tell me what he thought of Bollywood as an outsider, he said, “I’m new to all of this, this world of Bollywood. They’re like gods here and Mumbai is their playground.”
Unfortunately, before Pablo could delve in further with his two cents on the Hindi film industry, his staff called for him. We ended it there but I’d be lying if I said that our chat didn’t leave me with a sweet, lingering aftertaste.
I stopped by the café again though after a short excursion out-of-state and ran into Pablo, who sadly was in crutches at this point after suffering a nasty fall in his building.
“I actually thought about you the other day,” he said with a smile on his face, “I was at a Diwali party at Sonam’s house and I was talking to some actors and I thought of you.”
“Oh yeah? Who’d you meet?” I asked.
“A lot of people, but I honestly don’t remember their names. I know I chatted with Kareena (Kapoor)’s husband for a bit, he wished me a happy Diwali and asked about my leg. I told him ‘yeah I was just skiing in the mountains in Rajasthan and fell.’”
“Why’d you say that?”
“Because it’s more fun that way!”
I laughed. A little, harmless story embellishment never hurt anybody. In fact, it’s telling of Pablo’s winning personality. That’s what makes celebrity chefs– not culinary skills, which Pablo clearly has in spades (I recommend his ironic sriracha sauce and maple syrup waffles), but an engaging, magnetic quality that pulls you in.
Pablo’s got that quality in him and the funny thing is that he knows he does. It’s refreshing to see self-assurance in someone especially in this peculiar age we live in of fake humility and humble bragging.
Le15 Café is located at Lansdowne House Building near Regal Cinema, Colaba.
Call: 97693 41994
Timings: 11am to 11pm
Follow Chef Pablo Naranjo Agular on Instagram @chefpablonaranjo
COLLAGE by Bollywood Over Hollywood
PHOTO OF PABLO by Sumedh Sawant (used without permission)
BACKGROUND ART by Sameer Kulavoor (used without permission)
