Anushka Pathak, Founder - Nava Restaurant has been recognized as Culinary Innovation Category by Business Mint

Anushka Pathak
 

Anushka graduated from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia with a B.A. in Economics and Political Science. Prior to university, she completed her secondary education from the highly coveted Mayo College Girls School in Ajmer, Rajasthan.

Her inclination towards opening an ingredient-driven restaurant is accredited to the first time she ever tasted a Chicken Liver Pâté - a present day personal favorite of hers that she wouldn’t dare indulge in prior to 2015.

Over the course of her travels across the globe, what stuck with her was the ability of restaurants abroad to take complete ownership of the ingredients they worked with, while giving their guests an active insight into what goes on behind the scenes, through the visibility of open kitchens and interactive communal seating.

In the summer of 2018, Anushka dined at Toast & Tonic Mumbai for the first time, where she met Chef Akash Deshpande. They had a brief conversation after an astounding meal which not only led to a friendship, but also a long-term collaboration to build what would become Nava.

With over 5 years of experience in the Marketing & Public Relations sector, Anushka’s past stints include noteworthy organizations such as Weber Shandwick, Current Global, Vogue India, Pocket Aces Pictures Pvt. Ltd., and Adfactors PR, where she actively serviced a plethora of prominent corporations and startups. 

As a right hand amputee herself and an advocate for accessibility for the differently abled in India, she also spearheaded and helped launch the ‘Accessibility by Design’ programme at Current Global, that aimed to make any and all content published by the agency accessible to individuals with cognitive disabilities. Her work towards the said cause led to her becoming a TedX Speaker.

As of present day, she manages the business development, marketing, and strategy for all current operations at Nava. When she is not at work, she spends her time reading, writing and volunteering at a variety of organizations that help aid differently abled individuals across the country.