Neil Patel was just eight when he started cooking alongside his grandmother as she served dishes at the temple where the family worshipped. By the age of 12 he was cooking at events –including catering a wedding for 3,000 people.
Little wonder, then, that the budding chef blossomed into an entrepreneur at the helm of one of Cardiff's most-loved restaurants – even if it meant constant 4am starts and budgets so tight the family initially had to buy just one table a week from Ikea to furnish their venue. Now, more than two decades on from those formative years cooking at his grandmother's elbow, Neil's restaurant Vegetarian Food Studio has been a mainstay of the Grangetown community for nearly 20 years.
Beloved by locals and having gained many loyal customers over the years the Penarth Road restaurant and takeaway has also won national recognition in The Sunday Times, Guardian, and Daily Telegraph for its food. If it's ever crossed your mind that a vegetarian diet could be limiting the restaurant's extensive menu is here to prove you wrong. With more than 100 dishes to choose from there's something for all tastes with both southern and northern Indian dishes on the menu.
